This post doesn't have anything to do with anything...it's just a random observation.
On page 129 of the Guinness Book of World Records 2008, John D. Rockefeller is listed as the "richest person ever" with $900 million in 1913. The book states that this is the "equivalent to $189.6 billion today." If this conversion is accurate, then we've seen 20,000% inflation since 1913. That would make $1 in 1913 the equivalent of $200 today!
Since these numbers just didn't seem reasonable, I looked up inflation rates and the consumer price index online. Apparently the book is off by a factor of 10. Inflation since 1913 is about 2000% rather than 20,000%. You can check this on the U. S. Department of Labor statistics website. Scroll down to the section entitled "Get Detailed CPI Statistics" and click the top link, "Inflation Calculator."
Thus, Rockefeller's wealth was actually about $19 billion. I think this means that Rockefeller is not the "richest person ever," since Bill Gates is listed at $50.1 billion.
I tried to contact Guinness, but I didn't see their email address on their website. (Granted, I didn't look very hard or for very long.)
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