Australia's Great Barrier Reef is worth $42 billion

The world's billionaires list is getting another addition, but it's not a person... it's the great barrier reef.

Seems crazy? Well a report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation say the reef is worth an estimated $42 billion dollars, or $56 billion in Australia.

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That's more than 12 Sydney opera houses.

$29 billion of that money comes from the tourism industry and it's jobs. $24 billion is attributed economic potential in people who want to visit it but haven't yet.

Then there is $3 billion that encompasses recreational uses.

The report shows just how important the reef is and how the effects of coral bleaching could strip the reef of it's wealth.

Although a NOAA says the bleaching looks to be ending, two thirds of the reef have been affected.

It is unclear how much permanent damage has been done by the bleaching.

So while we wait and see if the reef will heal, it's kind of sad to think that someone had to convert the reef into money for some people to take notice.