This has been the case long ago and for a long time. The American colonies led Great Britain in purchasing power per capita from 1700, and possibly from 1650,

This has been the case long ago and for a long time. The American colonies led Great Britain in purchasing power per capita from 1700, and possibly from 1650, until 1774, even counting slaves in the population. That is, average purchasing power in America led Britain early, when Americans were British. The common view that American per capita income did not overtake that of Britain until the start of the 20th century appears to be off the mark by two centuries or longer. https://www.nber.org/papers/w19861 https://www.nber.org/papers/w19861 IMHO America enjoys many advantages that predestine it for wealth.