Wealth really is a relative concept. Some treat millionaire status as passé (after all, there are about three million millionaires in the United States alone), and these days it takes billionaire status to get much attention. On the other hand, there are over two billion people getting by on less than $1,000 per year.
John D. Rockefeller is held to be the world's first official billionaire, achieving that status in 1916 largely through his ownership of Standard Oil. From that point nearly a century ago, wealth has multiplied to the point where the richest men in the world top out at around $50 billion (by comparison, Rockefeller's wealth in modern inflation-adjusted terms would amount to about $400 billion). The question then, is how long it will be before the world sees its first trillionaire. (More than 70 years after his death, this man remains one of the great figures of Wall Street. See J.D. Rockefeller: From Oil Baron To Billionaire.)
One trillion dollars is a phenomenal sum of money. In present day terms, $1 trillion is roughly the nominal GDP of Mexico or South Korea. One trillion dollars is also enough money to buy Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), with enough left over to buy Google (Nasdaq:GOOG), and Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Agilent (NYSE:A) - and still have enough left over to be a billionaire with the money in the bank.
Please read the full column at:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0211/The-First-Trillionaire.aspx
1 comment:
It will interesting to see the Worlds first trillionaire as the race to reach this Everest is on.. However it may require a complete change for the one's who are striving to become trillionaire's.
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