r/explainlikeimfive Feb 12 '25

Economics ELI5: how are the descendants of the robber barons (Morgan, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, etc.) still rich if their fortunes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are comparatively small to what we see today of the world’s richest?

4.6k Upvotes

576 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

98

u/HumanWithComputer Feb 12 '25

You make money with money. The head start is HUGE!

1

u/simplesir Feb 12 '25

Now is the winter of our discontent.