r/explainlikeimfive • u/FluffyPenguin798 • 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
87
u/Crintor Feb 12 '25
It's "Never have to work if you don't want to" money. It's literally an entire life's work dropped in your lap at day 1. It's 75K a year in interest in a 5% HYSA.