For the 27th annual Forbes billionaires list, our team of reporters spent months tracking down the wealthiest people around the globe. We looked at public companies and hidden fortunes, as well as a host of other luxury assets to compile the authoritative account of the rich in 2013 (read more about our methodology here). Ultimately, we found 1,426 billionaires who are together worth a total of $5.4 trillion—a record sum.
That number is so large that it’s hard to grasp. From Alex Knapp and Bob Mansfield, here’s an infographic to help understand what $5.4 trillion really means, and what that kind of money could do if it were put to the same use:
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Source: Forbes
