If Bill Gates spent $1 million a day, he would blow his fortune in 218 years

If Bill Gates spent $1 million a day, he would blow his fortune in 218 years
(Image credit: Ramin Talaie/Getty Images)

I'm fairly certain it would take just one particularly vigorous shopping spree to spend away my "fortune." But it would take Bill Gates a lot more than that.

According to new research from Oxfam, Gates would have to spend $1 million a day for 218 years in order to get rid of every last penny of his wealth (approximately $79 billion). It would take Carlos Slim, the world's richest man, even longer: 220 years if he spent at the same rate.

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.