Bill Gates
 

Having just watched another quality programme :erm: it is reported that Billy Boy is worth 46 billion pounds. I can't get my head round how much one billion is, is it a million million or a thousand million??? Any brainy folk out there who can enlighten me :shrug:

Re: Bill Gates
 

It's the US/International billion, 1x10^9
1,000,000,000
1,000 million
So not as big as the good ol' British Billion (million x million)

Re: Bill Gates
 

He gets something like $12 billion dollers every 12 seconds im lead to believe, from every M$ product sold.

Re: Bill Gates
 

I think that if it is an english Billion they are referring to, it is /was (it may have changed) a million million.

If it was an American Billion, it would be 1 thousand million.

Either way, a hell of a lot of money.

Edit: Xaccers beat me...

Re: Bill Gates
 

As Xaccers had already stated, it depends where you are;)
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=billion
Still hasn't bought him a decent haircut though :rofl:
https://www.cableforum.co.uk/images/...2005/01/14.jpg

Re: Bill Gates
 

Wonder if he needs a PA, bet he's great for a Christmas bonus ;)

Re: Bill Gates
 

Man .. was your hair any better in the 70's/80's? ;)

Re: Bill Gates
 

In most places its the american method which is used which is multiples of ten to the power of three. i.e 1 times ten to the three is a thousand, a million is 1 times ten to the 6 (1,000,000) and a billion is 1 times ten to the 9 (1,000,000,000).

Thats the engineering way these days.

Re: Bill Gates
 

Yes :naughty: Since I was just a squib in the 70's I had very little hair anyway, bit like now really :rofl:

Re: Bill Gates
 

Thing is having just seen him on this programme I swear he's got the same specs and hairdo :shrug:

Re: Bill Gates
 

Technically it is a million million in Britain - but most people now think of it as 1,000 million.

I think in accounting it is always 1,000 million (i.e. when the chancellor talks about two billion pounds, he means 2,000 million pounds).

Re: Bill Gates
 

think he is better as a borg

Re: Bill Gates
 

No, technically it is 1,000 million. I don't recall learning anything else ever. You Brits are just strange. :p

Re: Bill Gates
 

It's because yanks find things like one hundred thousand million dollars too complicated so they call it one hundred billion dollars (little finger in corner of mouth).
I mean this is the country where they can't even cope with a gear stick and clutch :rofl:
You can't expect them to be good at maths.

Re: Bill Gates
 

I don't think we find things such as one hundred thousand million dollars to complicated. Look at our deficit... :D