"the sum total of wealth accumulated in human history"

Do You Owe $23 Quadrillion?

Excerpt:

An unidentified computer glitch has led Visa to overcharge several of its cardholders for routine purchases at drug stores, gas stations, and restaurants, to the tune of $23,148,855,308,184,500.00 each. These charges, as far as we can tell, exceed the sum total of wealth accumulated in human history. Affected cardholders were assessed a $15 overdraft fee. Count this as a cautionary tale for advocates of all-digital currency. The charges have reportedly been reversed, but we’d love to hear from anyone who, through this snafu, accumulated a black hole of debt.

Comment: I was discussing this with my wife, who is a technology manager at a major bank. She hypothesizes that a negative number somehow got into the database. By the way - our bank not hit by this glitch.