FACT: The RICHEST people and families in the 1930's, wouldn't make the Top 100 Today!

[Up2Late]

Did you know that, the RICHEST people and families in the 1930's, in today's Dollars, wouldn't even make the "Top 100" today! I doubt they would even make the top 500, but since I don't know how low that goes, I can't say for sure.

Here's how I know: I've been working on filling in my Family tree at Ancestry.com for the last few weeks, and even though my close family is lower Middle class, some of my Great Grand-father's uncles and cousins (think Guggenheim, New York Rothschild's, Straus, etc.) were some of the "richest people in America" up to that point.

And as I've been doing the research, I've run across some of their "Last Will and Testament's," some of which were even printed in the New York Times.

Take Daniel Guggenheim's, his total estate was, in 1930 Dollars, $20,686,292.93, (that's 20.6 million Dollars to you and me), or $13,677,133.00 after "deductions."

But in "Today's Dollars," 20.6 million Dollars is only $248,306,610.26 ($248 Million Dollars)

And, according to the New York Times (October 4, 1930), that made him the 2nd Richest man in America!

Here's a calculator:

http://www.westegg.com/inflation /

And what does Bill Gates have Today? Last time I head it was sometime like $58,000,000,000.00 ($58 BILLION) Dollars!?!

So my question is: What, realistically, can be done to Tax these bastards enough to restore some balance to our economy?

Something that will not send us all into another "Great Depression?"

Btw, the "Inheritance Tax" on that in 1930 was only $1,655,581.40 (or less than 8%).

[ORDagnabbit]

1. so in 1933 bill gates would be worth 872,854,202,934.76 (872 billion)

What cost $58000000000 in 1933 would cost $872854202934.76 in 2007.

[Up2Late]

4. Wow! I wasn't sure that calculator would even go that high, so I didn't try it...

...it's mind boggling, isn't it?

[index555]

9. math error

Gates would be worth 4.8 billion in 1933.
you ran the calc backwards

[angstlessk]

12. no, he is correct...if Bill Gates could take all his assets back to the

1930's he would be worth TONS MORE IN INFLATION ADJUSTED DOLLARS NOT LESS!!!

[LondonReign2]

13. No, that is backwards

To understand the buying power of his current wealth, you have to DEFLATE the numbers. Prices inflate over time, so take them backwards you must deflate.

Gates and Buffett are self-made men, I think it is important to remember. They didn't inherit their welath, and neither is a proponent of the Republicon "death tax is unfair" bullshit.

[angstlessk]

14. he is saying if Gates took WHAT HIS WORTH NOW BACK THEN

his actual worth would increase..I understand that you have to deflate if you want to compare, but if Gates could go back to the 1930's with what he NOW has..he's a gazillionair!!!

[Dora]

2. K&R

It's important that people understand exactly HOW WIDE THE GAP.

[Selatius]

3. I dunno, a 60 percent estate tax on every dollar of an estate over 3 million?

So you get the first 3 million free, minus what the state government wants, and then everything else after that is taxed at 60 percent.

That should break any emergence of an aristocracy of the wealthy in America.

[Vincardog]

6. How about the first 3M free then 60% of the next 3M then 70% of the next 3M then 80% of then next

3M then 90% of the next 3M then 99% of anything left?

3M
+ 1.2M
+ 0.9M
+ 0.6M
+ 0.1M
The poor babies would start with only 5.8 million in the bank.

[Hannah Bell]

5. kick

[Up2Late]

7. I have another question, does the New York Times still publish the Will's of the rich?

And if not, what not? I wonder if that helped keep things a little more fair and if it would help today.

[BlooInBloo]

8. Really?? If they were able to accrue the benefits of compounding and investments for 80 yrs? Really?

Does anybody have an idea of what an exponential curve looks like?

[kegler14]

10. I remember hearing that one of the Vanderbilts

from the late 1800s would have been worth $98 billion in today's dollars. And that's back when there were no income taxes. I think he was worth well over $100 or $200 million at the time.

[Up2Late]

11. Probably CNN's Anderson Cooper's Great-Grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt II...?

...because his Great-g-g-Grand-father Cornelius Vanderbilt would be worth $167.4 Billion in today's Dollars, according to the Forbes magazine list, but he died in 1877, but according to the Forbes list William Henry Vanderbilt was worth a lot more than that at when he died in 1885, but a good chunk of what he had was an inheritance from Cornelius Vanderbilt.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealthy_historical_figures... >