Money is not wealth.

The money did't disappear; it didn't exist in the first place. Stock market gaming plus loose accounting is involved. About five years ago, at a conference, I chanced to chat with a government worker who tried to explain government accounting to me. It consisted of calling "debt" an asset. I could not understand how the government could function like that and I suppose the financial institutions, banks, funds, etc., were doing the same thing. If the investment banks could not only slice and dice bad mortgages--but also somehow sold mortgages that didn't even exist--it's no wonder this house of cards is falling down.