04-11-2009, 03:40 PM
Quote:I have no stake in Rockefeller being the richest man in history. If Niall Ferguson has an inflation index and wealth figures that lead him to that conclusion, I'd trust him sooner than Forbes, or wherever the heck the wiki list is from.Ferguon had access to insider Rothschild family papers, to about the end of WW I, and is a pretty astute historian and economics understanding scholar.
Quote:However, the whole thing is an edifice constructed on quicksand, due to the fundamental impossibility of finding the "right" solution to the index problem.I agree. The comparisons are, of course, only of academic/cocktail party level of interst, as "who is the richest now" is a far more useful tid bit given the influence of money in politics the world over.
Quote:That I am typing this right now and posting it here means that, in some relatively impressive ways, I am richer than either the Rockefellers or the Rothschilds of the past.Can you loan me a fiver? I could use a few pints of Guinness, Mister Moneybags!:D
Quote: Afterthought: Which Baron de Rothschild?The one in London, grandson of Mayer Amschel, (who was the original patriarch of the Rothschild family of brilliant international financiers.)
Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete