Wanna Buy a Country?

Imagine being so rich that you could buy your own country. Many American billionaires (members of The Forbes 400) have amassed enough money to buy some of the world’s economies. It’s hard to imagine that one individual’s wealth could be that large, but it’s true. For example, Bill Gates has a net worth of $50 billion. That’s larger than the GDP of 140 countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Uruguay. Impressive, huh?

How about Warren Buffett? His $40 billion fortune is equal to North Korea’s economy. NYC Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has a balance sheet that is equal to the value of all the goods and services produced in Zambia.

Haiti and the Bahamas could be bought by land developer Donald Bren or Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul. And don’t forget one of the most famous Hollywood billionaires, George Lucas. Worth $3 billion, his fortune is equal to the GDP of Guyana.

According to Forbes, even the poorer members of the club — those with less than one billion — still have enough money to operate economies of significant countries across the globe.

Even though my goal is to secretly amass a small fortune by the time I retire, I doubt I’ll ever reach the billionaire’s club…unless someone I know wins the lottery and has pity on me, which is doubtful. Still, if I had enough to buy a country, I’d pick a little island country like the Bahamas or Vanuatu where the scenery is beautiful and you can enjoy the ocean every single day. Too bad Italy is so expensive, or I’d go for it too!

How about you? If you could buy a country, what would it be?