As of the close of business on May 25, the US Treasury had just $38.8 billion in cash, significantly lower than the $316 billion held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this month.
The Treasury's cash balance is falling to dangerously low levels as Washington waits until the last minute for Congress to approve a deal to raise the debt ceiling, which stands at $31.4 trillion.
The $38.8 billion figure is equal to the gross domestic product of Bahrain and Paraguay, and less than the net worth of more than 20 of the world’s richest people. Of course, the bulk of these billionaires’ wealth is tied up in stocks, rather than liquid assets.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, there are currently 31 billionaires whose net worth is higher than the cash value held by the US Treasury.
List of the world's 10 richest billionaires on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index as of May 30, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg
French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods giant LVMH, has an estimated net worth of $193 billion. Tesla billionaire Elon Musk is worth $185 billion and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is worth $144 billion.
The list also includes familiar names such as legendary investor Warren Buffett ($112 billion), Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg ($95.5 billion), or the world's richest female billionaire Francoise Bettencourt Meyers ($88.1 billion).
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached a bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling (currently at $31.4 trillion) until January 1, 2025. The bill is still awaiting a vote in the US Congress.
If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling by June 5, the United States will run out of cash to pay its bills and default on its debt, plunging the world's largest economy into recession and sending shockwaves through the global economy, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned .
Nguyen Tuyet (According to CNN, NY Times, Bloomberg)
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