r/ShittyLifeProTips • u/Traditional_Blood799 • Apr 03 '26

SLPT I had an idea

hey guys

I was thinking about a really crazy idea. I was thinking to myself, what if you borrowed 1 billion from the bank? Okay, you owe all that money to the bank. But what if you bought the company from the bank for that amount? You wouldn't owe the owner or the bank anymore because you would be the owner and the bank would be yours too

Hey, I'm new here

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u/noodlesvonsoup Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

First off, no bank is going to lend you a billion dollars unless you have a net worth far beyond that. Secondly, banks tend to have tens to hundreds of billions in assets, so you're not buying a bank with 1 billion. The bank wouldnt view you as having 1 billion dollars, they would view you as being 1 billion dollars in debt. Even if you did manage to buy the bank, you would still be on the hook for that billion. The shareholders you bought the bank off would still be entitled to that loan being paid back to them, and it would be calculated into the price that the bank sells for.

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u/Randalroche Apr 04 '26

Ok but what if you asked for 2 billion dollars? No way someone would just lie about not having THAT much money.