I don't believe a person can really be a billionaire. The real test of wealth is this - how much money would you get if you liquidated all your assets? Say in a week.

If an ultra-rich person decided to do that, the value of the assets would slide constantly downward as he put them on the market. There would be a glut. There would also be a growing lack of confidence in what he's selling. ("Why is he unloading? What does he know?")

It's kind of like the strength of ants. An ant can lift a large weight compared to its own weight, but you cannot simply multiply an ant to a giant ant and get an ant that can life a ton. It won't work. I forget just why.

So there are two examples that show that you cannot take an ordinary amount, multiply it out the wazoo on your calculator and arrive at a realistic value.

I believe that there are very rich people, but not really any billionaires.