$500 billion is roughly 25% of the entire GDP of all of sub-saharan Africa. It is more than the entire GDP of the countries mentioned here.

Of course it is bogus. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence...

I must say I am quite surprised to see a poorly written propaganda hoax article make the frontpage of HN. It is linked to the general decline in quality of HN? Is it a voting ring? Or is it because the headline pulls all the right triggers in the minds of bay area tech people?

I see a lot of accounts created in the last couple hours posting in this thread, so it might well be a voting ring situation.