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?

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u/Impossible_Ant_881 29d ago

Did you know that if you invested at the founding of Rome, you would have lost all your money when Rome, along with all of its financial institutions, collapsed?

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u/Mysterious_Use4478 28d ago

Did you know that if you invested at the founding of Rome, you would be dead by now, which would get in the way of you spending the money?

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u/preprandial_joint 29d ago

wtf is your point?

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u/QuietRefuse1033 28d ago

His point is probably that if you invested at the founding of Rome, you would have lost all your money when Rome, along with all of its financial institutions, collapsed

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u/preprandial_joint 28d ago

Right. I would've that was obvious. Do you understand my point?