Permanent link for article #0152:
01-09-2011

Permalink



mint.com
Subject: Celebrating American Wealth

On the financial management website, mint.com, there is an article titled, The Wealthiest Americans of All Time, which looks at the richest Americans since the founding of the country, converting their net worth at the times of their death (if applicable) into 2010 dollars. The information is then presented in the interactive chart displayed below. You can roll your mouse over the various bars to see the 25 richest Americans of all time. When comparing apples-to-apples in this way, it is interesting to see that Bill Gates ($53 billion) and Warren Buffet ($47 billion) currently rank at #13 and #16 respectively — quite far below John D. Rockefeller who amassed a 2010 net worth of $192 billion.

But what really impressed me about this chart was the comment which reads:

"What follows is a snapshot of those proud entrepreneurs and business savvy capitalists who struck it big, and also contributed to making the U.S. the great nation it is today."

Well said! Spread the word that wealth creation is an honorable and virtuous achievement and not something for which one should feel a need to apologize.

For the most recent articles, see the Home page.