How much money would each person receive if all cash money in the world were distributed equally?

How much money is there in the world? This question seems simple, but the answer may surprise you. According to the latest data from CEIC, the global money supply M2 (all funds that can be relatively quickly converted into cash) amounts to $123.313 trillion. If this sum were divided equally among all 8.16 billion people on Earth, each person would receive exactly $15,108 — enough to buy a Dacia Sandero car or cover a household’s expenses for two years.

What is the M2 money supply and why is it important

It’s important to understand that the M2 money supply is not all the wealth in the world. It specifically includes the money in circulation and on bank accounts with high liquidity. According to UBS, the total private wealth worldwide is $487.9 trillion, nearly four times more. The difference is that the rest of the wealth is tied up in real estate, securities, businesses, and other assets that cannot simply be exchanged for cash.

M2 includes coins and banknotes in circulation, time deposits up to two years, savings accounts, and notice deposits of up to three months. Essentially, these are all the funds you could relatively quickly access if needed.

$15,108 per person: global cash distribution

Let’s break down the calculations. Taking the M2 money supply of $123.313 trillion and dividing it by the current world population (8.161 billion people), we get $15,108 per capita. This is roughly equivalent to €13,944 at the current exchange rate.

For clarity: this amount covers two years of average household expenses in developed countries, allows you to buy an inexpensive used car, or, as mentioned earlier, a new Dacia Sandero without additional options. A farmer from Wisconsin, a potter from New Delhi, a goat herder from Namibia, and a dentist from Sydney would all receive exactly the same amount.

Spain shows a different picture

Applying the same method to Spain, the results differ. According to CEIC data for December 2024, Spain’s M2 money supply was $1.648 trillion. With a population of 49.08 million (as of January 2025, according to INE), each Spaniard would receive $33,571 or about €30,968.

This is more than twice the global average. Spaniards, like other residents of developed countries, have access to a significantly larger volume of money in circulation relative to their population. This difference reflects the maturity of the financial system, the level of banking penetration, and the degree of monetization in developed economies compared to developing regions.

This analysis shows how unevenly global financial resources are distributed and how the total amount of money in the world is not just an abstract number but also a reflection of deep economic disparities between regions.