billions and trillions

[Coldicote]

Will someone please settle an argument. On the basis that a million is written in numerals as 1,000,000, how should one write in numerals a billion and a trillion? Thanks.

[chrisrob]

In our English system, a billion is a million millions: 1,000,000,000,000. However, the American notation calls a thousand million a billion: 1,000,000,000. They would call the million million written above, a trillion.
The American system appears to have overtaken our native form and whenever you see billion or trillion written nowadays it usually refers to the American notation.

[Coldicote]

Many thanks chrisrob. Trust the American and English systems to be confused. With so much talk these days about � billions and � trillions there should be no room for doubt, but it seems doubt still exists.

[factor-fiction]

It's best just to ignore the old British version. I don't believe anyone in the financial or scientific world has for many years used (or will ever use) the term billion to mean anything other than a thousand million.

[Coldicote]

Thank you both for your replies and for clarifying the meaning. Let's just hope there are no further multiples of trillion!

[GlenB]

I seem to recall that it was in the reign of Harold Wilson that Britain adopted the American version of a billion.