Instant quadrillionaire: The richest man in the world

In July 2013, an American discovered his PayPal account had been credited with a staggering $92 quadrillion, making him the richest person in history for a brief moment. This status momentarily made him the world's first and only quadrillionaire.

This lucky individual from Delaware County was about 14 times richer than the world's largest economy, the United States of America itself. The US budget for the fiscal year 2021 was around $6.8 trillion, showcasing an incomparably vast difference.

The incredible incident quickly spread across various news outlets. While discussing the event with CNN, he remarked it was "something interesting," suggesting he thought someone was playing a joke. According to the man, the largest income he had previously received from PayPal was just over a thousand dollars, earned from selling vintage BMW tires on eBay.

However, as all good things must come to an end, PayPal corrected the mistake and apologized for the inconvenience, concluding this extraordinary adventure. In response to this significant error, PayPal issued a statement acknowledging the mistake and thanked the man for understanding the situation. Additionally, the online payment service offered to donate to a charity of the man's choice to make amends for the mishap.

Speaking to the Philadelphia Daily News, the man shared that seeing such an immense amount in his account made him feel "like a million bucks." Initially thinking the money implied a debt, he later realized it wasn't real. Had he been able to keep the funds, he said he would have paid off the national debt and considered buying the Phillies baseball team if the price was right.