That number has changed because the second time they fucked with the economy, the setup was to find a really hostile planet, find an activated indium deposit, find a strong magnetic field, and set up a farm. I had one that was making me $12b a day. I had another farm where I cooked circuit boards. Took a little longer but made like $60b a day. Which was a much more cheese-dick way to make money than salvaging busted ships, because you used to be able to look around for ships, swap them and sell them, basically shade-tree-mechanicing your way to success. The problem is? They crashed both of these options abruptly rather than tapering them off or whatever so you get the impression that whatever you're doing in one moment won't last until the next one. My wife stopped playing when she couldn't salvage ships any longer. As far as Farmville goes, Surviving Mars is more fun. No Man's Sky has a real pointlessness problem.
That was probably the best gameplay loop in the whole game. If I could play a game where I could just capture and salvage ships forever till I finally got so powerful I took over the galaxy that would be all I do. If they got rid of that gameplay I don’t think I would go back that was the most fun part of the game. Honestly wish you could fight enemies and then salvage ships that would be even better. The only games that really scratch that itch for me are endless sky and escape velocity nova. X3 had ok salvaging but it really needed mods to make it a more viable gameplay loop.