Magnitude of Credit Default Swaps

Imagine being able to turn a single dollar into $7 million. If you handle it wisely, you could retire and live very comfortably indefinitely. $7 million represents more than a lifetime of earnings for most people.

Now, imagine turning each of those 7 million dollars into $7 million. That's a mindboggling amount of money, but it would still be less than the amount of money involved in credit default swaps.