What's a billion here or there? (LINK)
March 7th 2008 08:44
Internet wealth strikes again. There’s no doubt it’s still a place to make heaps of money, if you’re of a mind to. This week in the Forbes list of the wealthiest people around, the youngest billionaire is Mark Zuckerberg, who set up the social networking website Facebook in his college dormitory room four years ago,. Zuckerberg is only 23. He’s worth $1.5bn.
If Zuckerberg had been a billionaire before 1975, and lived in England, his
fortune would have been worth a million million. As it is, it’s only worth a thousand million. Still, that would keep most of us in pocket money and luxury vacations.
Apparently the British adopted the US billion in 1975, so what was the British billion is now the trillion. At least that’s what supposed to be the case, but obviously there’s a great deal of misunderstanding.
However, one person amongst the many on the Net who seems to know what he’s talking about is David Dreaming Bear, of Horsethief Canyon, California. He writes, on the Guardian’s Notes and Queries column:
“About four years ago, I wrote the Guardian to ask which "billion" they used: the US (1000 million) or the French (million million). The old "British billion" was the French. It was a bit difficult to understand Guardian articles when large numbers are used if you do not know which billion is referenced.
The US billion has become universally used in English-speaking countries. In 1974, British government statistics adopted the US billion. The UK press conforms. The French have shifted about between meanings but finally confirmed the "French" billion in 1961. Most non-English speaking nations follow the French with the notable exceptions of Russia and Brazil. Because the public rarely have any experience with such large numbers, the use of the French billion persists in Britain, especially among the elderly and the classical. In contrast, a US Senator, Everett Dirkson, reportedly once remarked, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money".”
If Zuckerberg had been a billionaire before 1975, and lived in England, his
Apparently the British adopted the US billion in 1975, so what was the British billion is now the trillion. At least that’s what supposed to be the case, but obviously there’s a great deal of misunderstanding.
However, one person amongst the many on the Net who seems to know what he’s talking about is David Dreaming Bear, of Horsethief Canyon, California. He writes, on the Guardian’s Notes and Queries column:
“About four years ago, I wrote the Guardian to ask which "billion" they used: the US (1000 million) or the French (million million). The old "British billion" was the French. It was a bit difficult to understand Guardian articles when large numbers are used if you do not know which billion is referenced.
The US billion has become universally used in English-speaking countries. In 1974, British government statistics adopted the US billion. The UK press conforms. The French have shifted about between meanings but finally confirmed the "French" billion in 1961. Most non-English speaking nations follow the French with the notable exceptions of Russia and Brazil. Because the public rarely have any experience with such large numbers, the use of the French billion persists in Britain, especially among the elderly and the classical. In contrast, a US Senator, Everett Dirkson, reportedly once remarked, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money".”
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