Nathan Rothschild was the richest man in the world when he
died in 1836. A list compiled by Forbes magazine, ranks him as the second
richest man who ever lived – ahead of John D Rockefeller, and way ahead of
Mexican telecoms mogul Carlos Slim and Bill Gates of Microsoft. The richest was
a Roman general who was the power behind Julius Caesar’s throne. The figures
used by Forbes are, of course, adjusted for inflation.
But what does “adjusted for inflation” mean? Rothschild died
of septicaemia following an abscess, and in spite of buying the best medical
attention available in Europe at the time.
He never travelled by
car, train or aircraft, nor visited the Taj Mahal, heard recorded music, saw a
film, made a phone call or used electric light. And he was dead at the age of
58 from an illness that can today be cured by an antibiotic costing few dollars.
Was Rothschild really the second richest man in history? Was
he, in fact, richer than me? True, he could hire a fleet of carriages and eat
off gold plate; but I would happily trade both for still being alive.
