system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How can the US have debts and still be considered as the richest country in the world?

Currently we have over $16 trillion national debts. At the same time, we are also the richest country in the world based on GDP.
gpt
GDP doesn't take account of government debt. It is solely related to output. For instance, a car company buys steel and adds value to that steel by shaping it into a car. That steel is now worth more per kilo than it was before (value has been added) because it's been turned into something more than just the raw material. That *added value* is what constitutes GDP. Not overall sales, but the amount of stuff the country *produces*.

The USA has the biggest economy in the world and the largest GDP.

However, not everyone would call the country with the highest GDP the "richest" country. That is very much more subjective and depends on what you value as an indicator of "rich".

After America, China has the next largest GDP, but few would consider China to be "a rich country" when you look at GDP *per capita*. BY GDP per capita, the USA comes between 9th and 14th depending on who's measure of GDP you use.

That list is topped by countries like Luxembourg and Monaco where a lot of companies are based for tax purposes but which have a relatively small population. As a result these countries tend to have a lot of money to spend per capita and enjoy a good quality of life - despite not having the largest GDP, by some measures you would say *they* were the richest.