Wednesday
Mostly summarized from Gregory Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, 5th Ed. PART 9 The Real Economy in the Long Run Chapter 25 of 36 Production and Growth Section 4 of 23 … The all-time richest American was John D. Rockefeller, the oil entrepreneur who lived from 1839 to 1937. Calculations show his wealth today would be equivalent of $200 billion, more than twice Warren Buffett, who is today's (in 2006) richest American. But Rockefeller did not enjoy many of the conveniences we now take for granted. He couldn't watch TV, use a cell phone, surf the Internet, or send e-mail. During the summer heat, he didn’t have air conditioning to cool his home. For much of his life he didn’t have electricity and couldn't travel by car or plane. If he became ill, there weren’t medicines such as antibiotics doctors today commonly use to enhance and prolong life. How much money would you have to be paid to for the rest of your life do without all the modern conveniences unavailable to Rockef...