4 ms·
> pretty much the only thing that matters is how you compare purchasing power and adjust for inflation Or just compare it to the average salary at the time Is
by asjw 7y ago
> pretty much the only thing that matters is how you compare purchasing power and adjust for inflation
Or just compare it to the average salary at the time
Is there an athlete today that could pay for the entire Roman army (80 thousand people more or less, their salary, food, houses, equipment) for a year?
The 1,000$/year expenses on staple food is entirely made up, Roman food supply wasn't based on agriculture, at the dawn of Rome it was vegetables, catch of the day and the occasional meat bought at the market
When Rome became an empire the food started coming from all over the place as a tribute to the empire, so to establish how much it costs you have to factor in military expenditure and the cost of the political structure to sustain the logistic
Romans in fact rarely ate at home, they usually went to tabernas where they could buy their meals
Supplies were taken from the provinces and brought to Rome, that's why they also built roadways, harbours and other facilities to improve moving armies and good throughout the empire ("all roads lead to Rome" was born from that)
Now you have a better idea how much 5 times a local governor means. It means 5 times the amount of goods and troops a local governor could control.
It's like saying that an athlete today earned 5 times the GDP of an US State.
- zozbot234 7y ago"Average salary at the time" was of course far lower than today's. It's like what we hear about folks in Sub-Saharan Africa that still have to subsist on $2 per day - the reality for most folks back then wasn't far from that.
- asjw 7y agoLower doesn't mean anything, when compared relatively You have to compare the wealth of the rich guy with the average wealth at the time not with today's standards... And even today, 2$ a day seem low but it's about how much the US government is giving away as aid too poor people to eat (it's about 3.4$ a day) It doesn't mean anything if it's not compared with something that has the same base (hence my whole comment about Roman food cost that should include expenses for keeping the military state running)
- zozbot234 7y ago> You have to compare the wealth of the rich guy with the average wealth at the time not with today's standards... Well, maybe. It depends what question you're asking. If the question is a social one about "what would it have looked like, broadly speaking, to have someone so relatively wealthy back then?" then maybe that's a reasonable comparison. If you're trying to get at "what would the rich guy really have been able to buy, subsidize, control etc. with that kind of wealth?", comparing by consumption basket gives an interesting perspective that tries to reflect absolute differences in the standard of living.
- asjw 7y agoThe answer to the question is "he would be as rich as a modern billionaire in the tens of billions range"
- sergeykish 7y agoMarcus Licinius Crassus, "The richest man in Rome" [1], net worth c. 170 million sesterces (five times athletes net worth), "joined Caesar and Pompey in the unofficial political alliance known as the First Triumvirate". Together they got end of Republic. That worth a lot. Lets return to "the richest man in Rome". Jeff Bezos, richest in USA, net worth $114 billion [2]. Is it enough to join triumvirate, influence senate? Donald Trump net worth estimated $3.1 billion, but he is party representative. How much is party supporters net worth? [4] lists $143 billion, $82 billion - families controlling Walmart (about $150 billion net), Johnson & Johnson (about $100 billion)... About same Gaius Appuleius Diocles, net worth 35,863,120 sesterces. About fifth of Crassus. Assuming Rome had same inequality as in USA: 35,863,120 / 170 million * $114 billion = $24.05 billion Original posters estimate $400m * 5 = $2 billion Assuming [8] New Yorkers grocery expenses should be $10-20/month. They would revolt. Or city should be about Tallahassee and that's not the power they compare with [9]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Licinius_Crassus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Licinius_Crassus [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Americans_by_net_worth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Americans_by_net_worth [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_of_Donald_Trump https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_of_Donald_Trump [4] https://budgetandthebees.com/who-is-richer-democrats-or-republicans/ https://budgetandthebees.com/who-is-richer-democrats-or-repu... [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_%26_Johnson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_%26_Johnson [8] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22777782 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22777782 [9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_b...