For many the sums of $1 billion and $100 billion dollars fall into the same general category of gobs and gobs of money; however, the distinction is immensely important among those who actually deal in such amounts.

For many the sums of $1 billion and $100 billion fall into the same general category of gobs and gobs of money; however, the distinction is immensely important among those who actually deal in such amounts.  Like, for example, the president of the United States.  President Trump on Wednesday tweeted that the nation is seeking an annual $1 billion in trade deficit cuts from China when the U.S. is reportedly requesting $100 billion.  The error could be chalked up to accidentally missing a couple of zeroes while pounding out a message on a tiny phone keyboard, except for the fact that Trump spelled it out.  "China has been asked to develop a plan for the year of a One Billion Dollar reduction in their massive Trade Deficit with the United States," he wrote. Many were quick to point out that the stated amount accounted for under 0.3% of the imbalance. A $100 billion reduction would offset the disparity by just under 27%.