[Wow] 100 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars = $5

Question

Wow - amazing hyper inflation. Article in Today's WSJ. 100,000,000,000,000 = $5. I think this is the record in terms of overprinting money. Not even something Dr. Evil could imagine. https://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 90360.html 100,000,000,000,000 Bill https://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqMOKj0E2LEv3gfJBNyqn!w1Dg~~0_3.JPG Here is a guy going shopping for groceries: https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-BA632_ZIMDLR_DV_20110510183741.jpg

Schawjibb · Answer

Surely, the bundles carried by the gentleman here are not even worth US$ 1. Am I right?
:-O

akhileshgupta05 · Answer

Yea, true that.

Zimbabwe has a very volatile economy. And exchange variations are astronomical!

gurpreetsingh · Answer

they should create new denomination.

eg 1 trillion = 1 t lol

akhileshgupta05 · Answer

lol <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lol.gif" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing" />

champagnemandy · Answer

Zimbabwe switched to the US Dollar in April 2009, so these notes are no longer in use.

The picture may be funny, but it was not funny to the poor and middle class of Zimbabwe that quickly saw the value of their earnings disappear and, yet, had no access to foreign currency.

To this day, even with the use of the USD, Zimbabwe struggles with a shortage of small notes. ATMs only give out USD 50 and USD 100. With 68% of the population living on less than $1 a day, do you think they can afford to take out USD 50 at a time? Further, since Zimbabwe doesn't receive direct currency shipments from the US Federal Reserve, there are no coins in circulation and $1, $5, and $10 bills are hard to come by. Thus everything costs a multiple of $1 or $5. If you want to buy a soda that should cost 0.50 cents, you will need to buy two at a time. If you are a shop owner and a customer gave you a $20 bill for a order costing $18, you are likely to give $5 of change because you have no $1 bills.

For those living on less than $1 a day this means that their livelihood depends on bartering rather than currency.

And I haven't even begun to mention the ruined economy that has turned from one of Africa's strongest to one that can't even feed its population. An estimated 95% of the Zim population is unemployed.

ivorytowers · Answer

good info. one of my friends went to zimbabwe for an assignment in oil & gas sector. he couldnt live there for more than 3 months.

e1s · Answer

was there once! has some nice beaches but overall, I prefer south africa

thisiszico2006 · Answer

Another dictator f*****g his own country.....

champagnemandy · Answer

@e1s: Zimbabwe is a landlocked country, so the only beaches you may have seen would be those on Lake Kariba, which cannot be compared to the three beautiful oceans by which South Africa is surrounded.

@ivorytowers: Why couldn't your friend live there? Though Zimbabwe has its economic and racial problems, the Zimbabwe people are welcoming and warm people who look after friends and colleagues. Additionally, the country-side of the country is beautiful, with amazing wildlife and rolling hills. There are few things I love more than spending the weekend with good friends camping under the beautiful African stars.

As a Westerner, who has plenty of access to money and has been spared from politically-motivated government harassment, I don't see any reason why your friend should have an issue living in Zimbabwe so long as he has an open mind, an open heart, and a conscience for helping those that are less fortunate.

@thisiszico2006: There are few things I hate more than people who use strong language to describe a problem about which they know little about. It sounds too much like an excuse for knowing and doing precisely nothing about the situation.

If you have nothing helpful to say, please say nothing at all.

[Wow] 100 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars = $5

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards