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Apocalypse 2012

Quiz: CNBC QUIZ: Financial Doomsday

Question 2 of 10

In November 2008, Zimbabwe capped bank withdrawals at $500,000, or how much in U.S. currency?

  1. 2.5 cents
  2. 25 cents
  3. $2.50
  4. $25
Correct!

In the early 1990s, food prices in Zimbabwe skyrocketed when government agricultural programs adversely affected the nation’s farms. The economy never recovered, and by the 2000s, the nation began to print mass quantities of currency to pay the salaries of its policemen and soldiers. However, by late 2007 that stopgap measure became unsustainable, and the government froze wages for six months.

The chronic printing of money came to an end in July 2008, when the nation ran out of paper on which to print its currency. In November 2008, the money had become so worthless that when the Reserve Bank capped personal withdrawals at $500,000, they were worth a grand total of 25 cents in U.S. currency.

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