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> Rockefeller was the first man in history to ever accumulate more than $1 billion (nominal dollars) in total wealth. The first person to reach $1 billion USD
by freddie_mercury 8y ago
> Rockefeller was the first man in history to ever accumulate more than $1 billion (nominal dollars) in total wealth.
The first person to reach $1 billion USD isn't that impressive, since USD has only been around for a short period of time.
Other people before Rockefeller were richer, including a large number of monarchs, emperors, etc.
Augustus Caesar, for instance, was once estimated to have a personal net worth of $4.7 trillion, substantially more than Rockefeller.
- Cthulhu_ 8y agoWhen comparing people like that, there's an important differentiation - was it Augustus' personal wealth, or was his wealth and the country's wealth considered the same? A lot of monarchs from the times before the monarchy and state were separate entities like they usually are nowadays have a whole country's wealth. But I hope an economist or historian can answer that.