The Money Scale
Brian Gongol


All figures are in current dollars, except where noted

Amount Description Source
$ 13,600,000,000,000 present value of projected actuarial deficit in the Social Security Trust Fund 2008-04-22, Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, Summary of the 2008 Annual Reports
$ 10,632,005,246,737 U.S. Federal debt on January 30, 2009 2009-01-30, US Department of the Treasury
$ 9,000,000,000,000 federal debt ceiling after limit increase, March 16, 2006 2006-03-16, VOA
$ 3,000,800,000,000 total federal, state, and local government receipts, FY2001 2003, Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, FY2003
$ 2,792,611,000,000 total federal spending, FY2008 2008, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2008
$ 2,556,213,000,000 total federal spending, FY2007 2007, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2007
$ 2,162,204,000,000 total federal spending, FY2004 2004, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2004
$ 2,130,000,000,000 China's foreign exchange reserves, July 2009 2009-07-15, "China's foreign reserves top $2 trillion", BBC News
$ 1,778,884,261,773 total federal spending, FY2001 2001, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2001
$ 1,200,000,000,000 estimated cost of war in Iraq through January 2007 2007-01-17, New York Times, "What $1.2 Trillion Can Buy"
$ 853,700,000,000 China's foreign reserves, February 2006 2006-03-29, Times of London, "Chinese Foreign Reserves to Exceed $1 Trillion"
$ 787,000,000,000 Federal economic stimulus package, February 2009 2009-02-12, USA Today, "How will the $787 billion stimulus package affect you?"
$ 781,000,000,000 increase in federal debt ceiling approved by Congress, March 16, 2006 2006-03-16, VOA
$ 600,000,000,000 Bush 2003 economic stimulus plan 2003-01-06, CNN
$ 489,300,000,000 GDP of Poland, 2005 2006-01-10, CIA World Factbook
$ 483,433,532,793 Social Security expenditures in FY2001 2001, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2001
$ 371,000,000,000 estimated Federal budget deficit, FY 2006 2006-03-03, Congressional Budget Office
$ 353,900,000,000 GE's market capitalization, 2.17.2006 2006-02-17, Bigcharts.com
$ 257,700,000,000 GE's market capitalization, 1.7.2003 2003-01-07, Bigcharts.com
$ 255,385,395,516 DOD expenditures, FY2001 2001, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2001
$ 153,000,000,000 GDP of Chile, 2000 2002, CIA World Factbook 2002
$ 129,026,000,000 gross state product of Iowa, 2007 2008-08-15, Iowa Workforce Development
$ 120,400,000,000 GE's market capitalization, 2.16.2009 2009-02-16, Bigcharts.com
$ 106,000,000,000 GDP of New Zealand, 2006 2007, CIA World Factbook 2007
$ 102,000,000,000 gross state product of Iowa, 2003 2005-07-08, Iowa Workforce Development
$ 88,000,000,000 direct Federal expenditures in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma through March 2006 2006-03-21, Brookings Institution, "Federal Allocations in Response to Katrina, Rita and Wilma"
$ 85,000,000,000 Federal funding for post-Katrina rebuilding of Gulf Coast 2006, State of the Union Address
$ 84,600,000,000 gross state product of Iowa, 1999 2001, State of Iowa Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
$ 78,365,000,000 U.S. reserve assets, 12.27.2002 2003-01-15, Treasury Department
$ 69,382,000,000 average daily NYSE trading volume, January 2006 2006-01, NYSE Monthly Volume Release
$ 67,000,000,000 AT&T offer to buy BellSouth, March 2006 2006-03-06, Red Herring
$ 60,000,000,000 G8 aid pledge for developing world announced in June 2007 2007-06-08, Times of London, "G8 announces $60 billion aid deal - but accused of backtracking"
$ 52,608,600,000 annual sales by state lotteries, FY 2005 2006-05-09, North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries
$ 50,000,000,000 Bill Gates's net worth in 2009 2009, Forbes 400
$ 42,000,000,000 Chinese plan to build a "new socialist countryside" 2006-03-05, BBC News
$ 41,400,000,000 estimated FY 2009 losses from Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) 2009-12, "Financial Audit: Office of Financial Stability (Troubled Asset Relief Program) Fiscal Year 2009 Financial Statements", Government Accountability Office
$ 40,475,000,000 Microsoft's cash and short-term investments on-hand, 2002 2003-01-07, Forbes online
$ 40,000,000,000 Warren Buffett's net worth in 2009 2009, Forbes 400
$ 40,000,000,000 Google shareholder value lost in one-month drop in share prices, January to February 2006 2006-02-17, Christian Science Monitor
$ 40,000,000,000 cost to upgrade GPS navigation system for US air traffic 2007-06-11, Los Angeles Times, "Carpool lanes for airplanes?"
$ 37,000,000,000 Warren Buffett's bequest to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2006-07-05, The Age
$ 37,000,000,000 2007 investments in Western financial companies by Mideastern and Asian sovereign funds 2007-11-27, Financial Times, "Sovereign funds upbeat on growth of financials"
$ 36,000,000,000 Warren Buffett's net worth in 2002 2002, Forbes 400
$ 32,000,000,000 stock market capitalization lost due to Enron collapse 2002-04-15, Consumers Union
$ 31,447,000,000 Microsoft's cash and short-term investments on-hand, 2009 2009, Microsoft Corporation Annual Report 2009
$ 30,000,000,000 financing package offered by Federal Reserve to aid in sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan 2008-03-20, "JP Morgan buys Bear in fire sale, as Fed widens credit to avert crisis," Wall Street Journal
$ 23,400,000,000 discretionary budget, US Department of Energy, FY 2006 2006, Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, FY 2006
$ 20,300,000,000 estimated budget to rebuild Iraq 2003-10-01, Nightline, ABC News
$ 18,100,000,000 Citigroup write-offs on bad loans in late 2007 2008-01-15, The Economist, "Citi's kitchen-sink moment?"
$ 17,000,000,000 Chinese order for Airbus airliners 2007-11-26, Bloomberg, "Airbus wins $17 billion Chinese order for 160 planes"
$ 15,538,519,844 food stamps issued in FY2001 2001, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, FY2001
$ 12,750,000,000 net losses at Ford Motor Co. in 2006 2007-01-25, "2006 was worst year ever for Ford", LA Times
$ 10,390,665,000 Iowa state government revenues, FY 2005 2005, State of Iowa Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, FY 2005
$ 10,000,000,000 Chinese investment fund for southeast Asian countries 2009-04-13, "China offers funds to boost ASEAN", BBC
$ 9,500,000,000 revised estimate to rebuild New Orleans levees after Hurricane Katrina 2006-03-31, Washington Post, "Levee Repair Costs Triple"
$ 9,000,000,000 Iowa state government revenues, FY 2001 2001, State of Iowa Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, FY 2001
$ 7,500,000,000 developer's estimate of cost to replace World Trade Center towers 2004-12-07, Washington Post
$ 7,400,000,000 sale price of Chrysler to Cerberus 2007-05-14, CNNMoney.com, "Chrysler's price: Embarrassingly low"
$ 7,200,000,000 estimated losses at Societe Generale caused by unauthorized trading by low-level trader 2008-01-25, Wall Street Journal, "French bank rocked by rogue trader"
$ 6,460,000,000 sale price of Times-Mirror to Tribune, March 2000 2000-03-13, ABCNews.com
$ 6,291,000,000 total Iowa state government expenditures, FY 2008 2007-06-06, Report of State Auditor David Vaudt
$ 5,581,170,000 operating budget, National Science Foundation, FY 2006 2006-01-12, NSF
$ 5,240,000,000 operating budget, City of Chicago, 2006 2006-03-05, City of Chicago OBM
$ 5,230,000,000 pay for Goldman Sachs employees, first quarter 2011 2011-04-19, The Guardian, "Goldman Sachs smashes forecasts with $2.7bn first-quarter profit"
$ 5,000,000,000 investments by Venezuela in energy ventures outside the country under Hugo Chavez 2006-02-17, BBC
$ 4,502,000,000 operating budget, City of Chicago, 2002 2003-01-10, City of Chicago OBM
$ 3,000,000,000 damage estimate after flooding in England, 2007 2007-07-06, Channel 4, "Flood damage tops £1.5 billion"
$ 2,400,000,000 Mark Cuban's net worth in 2009 2009, 2009 Forbes 400
$ 1,900,000,000 direct government payments to Iowa farmers, 1999 2001, State of Iowa Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
$ 1,800,000,000 Mark Cuban's net worth in 2005 2005, Forbes 400
$ 1,800,000,000 sale price, Volvo car unit (sold by Ford to Geely) in 2010 2010-03-28, The Economist: "Devolving Volvo"
$ 1,500,000,000 cost to build the Burj Khalifa 2010-01-04, "Today, Burj Khalifa is the Tallest...", Fast Company
$ 1,500,000,000 net farm income in Iowa, 1999 2001, State of Iowa Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
$ 1,400,000,000 GE annual employee health care costs, 2002 2003-01-14, Forbes online
$ 1,383,000,000 surplus revenues, U.S. Mint FY2001 2001, United States Mint 2001 Annual Report
$ 1,382,750,000 value of all quarters produced by U.S. Mint, FY2001 2001, United States Mint 2001 Annual Report
$ 1,300,000,000 Mark Cuban's net worth in 2002 2002, Forbes 400
$ 1,144,026,000 Clear Channel Communications net losses, 2001 2001, Clear Channel Communications 10-K
$ 1,020,000,000 cash infusion from Ford to Jaguar unit, 2005 2005-01-05, BBC News
$ 925,000,000 operating budget, Chicago Transit Authority, 2003 2003-01-10, CTA
$ 671,900,000 operating budget, Broadcasting Board of Governors, FY 2007 2006-02-06, BBG
$ 612,500,000 settlement resolving BlackBerry patent dispute 2006-03-03, CNet
$ 547,000,000 U.S. aid package to Ghana, 2006 2006-08-01, VOA
$ 425,000,000 FBI computer upgrade, 2006-2009 2006-03-17, Washington Post
$ 375,000,000 construction cost for Luxor hotel in Las Vegas, 1993 2009-04, "Outrageously-designed hotels", ABC News
$ 371,000,000 estimated losses from flooding in China, June 2007 2007-06-12, ReliefWeb, "Rising death toll in South China floods"
$ 365,000,000 Powerball lottery jackpot, February 18, 2006 2006-02-22, USA Today
$ 350,000,000 pledge to aid "Palestinian political, economic, and security reforms" 2005-02-02, State of the Union Address
$ 345,800,000 Iowa's annual receipts from federal Highway Trust Fund 2002-07, Iowa DOT, "Federal Transportation Funding in Iowa"
$ 274,700,000 campaign funds raised by 2004 Bush Presidential campaign 2006-03-11, Washington Post, "Money's Going to Talk in 2008"
$ 253,000,000 campaign funds raised by 2004 Kerry Presidential campaign 2006-03-11, Washington Post, "Money's Going to Talk in 2008"
$ 252,000,000 bank heist in Baghdad, July 2007 2007-07-13, Stars and Stripes, "$252 million stolen in Baghdad bank robbery"
$ 205,000,000 approximate price of a Boeing 747-400, 2006 2006-03-29, Boeing
$ 199,000,000 stock grant to Google CEO Sundar Pichai 2016-02-08, Bloomberg
$ 140,000,000 reported purchase price for Jackson Pollock's painting "Number 5" 2006-11-03, The Guardian, "Mexican splashes out record $140m for Jackson Pollock's drops of genius"
$ 100,000,000 joint US-Russian program to recover weapons-grade uranium from 24 former Soviet nuclear reactors, 2004 2004-05-27, BBC, "US and Russia sign nuclear deal"
$ 71,400,000 auction price for Andy Warhol's "Green Car Crash" 2007-05-17, Daily Mail, "Marilyn fetches £14m on record day for Warhol"/a>
$ 70,500,000 box-office receipts for opening weekend of "Ice Age", April 2006 2006-04-02, Variety
$ 70,000,000 bank robbery in Great Britain, February 21, 2006 (£40 million at exchange rate of $1.75:£1) 2006-02-23, The Guardian
$ 61,300,000 2001 billings, KIIS-FM Los Angeles 2002-03-13, Radio World Online
$ 53,500,000 approximate price of a Boeing 737-600, 2006 2006-03-29, Boeing
$ 44,030,434 ACLU total income, 2001 2002-12, CBBB Charity Report
$ 41,000,000 Minnesota Public Radio operating expenses, FY2002 2002-01-08, MPR Press Release
$ 37,484,194 contributions and grants to ACLU, 2001 2002-12, CBBB Charity Report
$ 22,000,000 sale of WKIE/WKIF/WDEK trimulcast near Chicago, 2003 2003-01-03, Radio and Records Online
$ 18,300,000 replacement roof for Metrodome 2011-02-11, "Dome decision: Raze the roof", Minneapolis Star-Tribune
$ 14,071,702 online contributions via Amazon.com to Red Cross tsunami disaster relief from Dec. 26, 2004 to Jan. 4, 2005 2005-01-04, Amazon.com
$ 11,000,000 planned elementary school, West Des Moines, Iowa 2001-02-10, Des Moines Register
$ 5,000,000 U.S. government support for relief operations after earthquake in Indonesia 2006-05-28, US State Department
$ 3,000,000 average price, 30-second commercial, Super Bowl 2009 2009-02-03, "How $3 million gets you 30 seconds", CNNMoney.com
$ 2,500,000 average price, 30-second commercial, Super Bowl 2006 2006-01-03, CNNMoney.com
$ 2,100,000 average price, 30-second commercial, Super Bowl 2003 2003-01-13, Advertising Age
$ 853,000 lottery prize won by US Senator Judd Gregg, October 2005 2005-10-20, CBS News
$ 211,000 median US home price, January 2006 2006-03-06, Bloomberg
$ 120,300 U.S. median household net worth, 2007 2009-02, "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2004 to 2007", Federal Reserve Board
$ 55,000 U.S. median household net worth, 2000 2003, US Census Bureau, "Net Worth and Asset Ownership of Households: 1998 and 2000"
$ 52,029 U.S. median household income, 2008 2009-12-02, USDA Economic Research Service
$ 49,007 Iowa median household income, 2008 2009-12-02, USDA Economic Research Service
$ 47,300 U.S. median household net income, 2007 2009-02, "Changes in U.S. Family Finances from 2004 to 2007", Federal Reserve Board
$ 44,389 U.S. median household income, 2004 2005, US Census Bureau, "Income, Poverty, and Heath Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004"
$ 41,994 U.S. median household income, 1999 2002, USDA Economic Research Service
$ 40,200 U.S. median household net worth, 1995 2001-02-22, US Department of Commerce
$ 39,469 Iowa median household income, 1999 2002, USDA Economic Research Service
$ 7,718 per capita income tax burden, 20001 2003-01-16, Treasury Department, Tax FAQ
$ 6,765 expected per capita income tax burden, 2002 2003-01-16, Treasury Department, Tax FAQ
$ 2,505 per capita income tax burden, immediate post-WWII1 2003-01-16, Treasury Department, Tax FAQ


1 inflation-adjusted to 2002 dollars