The Australian stock exchange saw saw values of shares fall 4.19 percent yesterday.
This bought total losses from November 1 2007 to 50.9 percent.
What happened to the money? Who no longer is wealthy?
Add the fall in the price of oil, not much above one third of its peek value, who lost money there?
Add the trillions lost in Americas sub prime crisis and the massive firms that are gone , who has that money now?
Maybe its all in China as it gathers IOUs from the western world some one has it, or do they.

Ah Belly that is easy. The magic money fairy comes along
and voila, now you see it, - poooff, now its gone :)

Yabby and I thought it was like musical chairs,

someone takes a chair away and when the music stops,

the slow one is left with nothing.... :-)

Dear Belly,

I'm not a financial wizard, but it seems to me
that it's the same money going around ...

Someone is sitting on it, until they can make a
killing.

As Col pointed out ... musical chairs.

It never existed belly. All the value was hypothetical, it's only when everyone needs to cash in at the same time do you find out what the real value of a paper asset is.

"Value" is not "money" until you can cash it in.

The money never existed. It's amazing that economics professors didn't see the crash coming. Kinda makes a joke of the academic community.