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What an Accidental (and Temporary) Quadrillionaire Says He Would Do With Money: 'Pay the National Debt Down First
A screen tallying the US National Debt runs as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 17, 2013, on the conduct of monetary policy and the state of the economy. (Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

What an Accidental (and Temporary) Quadrillionaire Says He Would Do With Money: 'Pay the National Debt Down First

"Then I would buy the Phillies..."

A Pennsylvania man was made a quadrillionaire last week -- by accident ---  when PayPal deposited $92,233,720,368,547,800 into his account. And what do you think he said he was prepared to do with the money? If you said buy a new car or house, you'd be wrong.

Chris Reynolds was alerted to what appeared to be a mega payout when he reviewed an email statement from the money transfer company he usually used to buy and sell items on eBay, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

paypal An exterior view of eBay/PayPal offices in San Jose, Calif., is seen, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. (Photo: AP/Paul Sakuma)

As you might expect, PayPal realized very quickly that it had accidentally credited 56-year-old Chris Reynolds with $92 quadrillion.

"This was obviously an error and we appreciate that Mr. Reynolds understands this was the case," PayPal said in a statement to BBC.

But what would have Reynolds done if he were the lucky recipient of so much cash?

"I'm a very responsible guy," he told the Daily News. "I would pay the national debt down first. Then I would buy the Phillies, if I could get a great price."

national debt A screen tallying the US National Debt runs as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 17, 2013, on the conduct of monetary policy and the state of the economy. (Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Although he didn't actually have the financial ability to do that in the end, the Daily News reported that he still felt "really generous by the good fortune" at the time and donated $30 to the Democratic party for the Delaware County Council.

As for his interactions with PayPal, joking with the Daily News, he said "even though I have 90 quadrillion dollars, they still don't trust me," citing a notice that he had to renew his credit card on the account.

Watch this report about the accidental quadrillion dollar credit:

(H/T: Gawker)

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