Midlands Woman Becomes World's Richest Person on Coffee Shop Voucher
Sophie Downing, a woman from Nottingham in the Midlands, has theoretically become the wealthiest person in the history of the world, but there is a significant catch: her immense fortune can only be spent on two specific items.
The Surprising Discovery
Downing received what she believed was a £10 voucher for 200 Degrees Coffee as a Christmas gift. However, when she used it to purchase a matcha latte last week, she was stunned to find the balance was not £10 but over £63 quadrillion. This amount is equivalent to 63 followed by 15 zeros, or a thousand trillion pounds.
To put this into perspective, the balance is approximately 670 times the total value of the global economy. In comparison, Elon Musk, often cited as one of the world's richest individuals, is now 100,000 times less wealthy than Downing in theory. Despite this astronomical figure, the funds are restricted solely to buying coffee and croissants from the 200 Degrees chain.
The Moment of Realization
The 29-year-old entrepreneur, who runs the Secret Sugar Club hair removal service, first used the gift card at the 200 Degrees coffee shop in Flying Horse Walk, Nottingham, during her lunch break on February 12. She recalled the cashier's confusion when the massive number appeared on the till.
"The guy at the till was really confused. His face was just like 'what?'" Downing said. "This massive number came up on the till. He said 'I've never seen it before but it's fine for you to keep it'. I didn't clock it until he gave me the receipt. I thought 'surely not, that's actually crazy'."
Humor and Caution
Downing has taken the situation in stride, finding it amusing rather than exploitative. She used the card a second time on Tuesday and noticed the balance remained in the tens of quadrillions. However, she has decided not to continue using it, even though 200 Degrees has not addressed the issue with her.
She joked about the possibility of clearing out the entire shop but expressed reluctance to take advantage. "Maybe they have scanned the wrong thing. It looks as though they have scanned the barcode which has turned into the balance," she speculated. "I could go in and clear everything off the shelf but I don't want to take the mick. It would be better if it was a different gift card."
Despite the theoretical wealth, Downing remains grounded, emphasizing the humorous aspect of the situation. "I thought it was really funny. I've never seen anything like that before," she told local media.
