'I am just enjoying': UK woman becomes ‘richest in the world’ after Rs 5,714 quadrillion coffee shop glitch

UK woman becomes ‘richest in the world’. (Image credit: X)

A Nottingham-based businesswoman, Sophie Downing, became the “richest woman” in the world with a staggering ₹5,714 quadrillion fortune — thanks to a coffee shop glitch. The 29-year-old had been gifted a RsRs 907 voucher for 200 Degrees Coffee at Christmas. But when she bought a matcha latte, the balance displayed an eye-watering Rs 5,714 quadrillion. The catch? The astronomical amount could only be spent at that specific café. The figure is said to be 100,000 times greater than Elon Musk’s fortune and 670 times the world’s entire economy.

"I thought it was really funny. I've never seen anything like that before," she said, as quoted by NottinghamshireLive. She further revealed that the coffee shop later clarified that an administrative error caused the gift card number to be entered instead of the value, resulting in the incorrect balance.

The coffee shop explained that the discrepancy occurred because the gift card number was mistakenly entered in place of its monetary value.

"I'm just enjoying being the richest woman in the world on paper while it lasts," she told the BBC. "You don't ever see anything like that happening, so I sent it to my partner, and he thought it was really funny as well."

She, however, assured that she used the gift card appropriately and did not attempt to exploit the error.

"Due to a technical administrative error, the gift card number, rather than the gift card value, was entered into the wrong part of the till," a spokesperson for 200 Degrees said.

"As a result, the customer was generated a receipt which suggested they had a rather higher amount of money left on their gift card than they actually did."

"The customer was only charged exactly what they should have been, and after they had completed their purchase, their gift card had exactly the right amount left on it. They just had a receipt which showed a very different amount, which the barista gave them as a souvenir."

"They were then given a correct receipt which showed the true value of the gift card."