[thefaux]

> By that logic are we unfathomably wealthy because there are billions of planets out there teaming with resources?

No, because we don't have access to those resources.

> Do you think people 1000 years ago felt wealthy because of their natural resources and would feel that modern times are comparatively impoverished?

I have no idea what people 1000 years ago felt like. I do know what it feels like to live in 2022.

> What are the wealthiest countries in the world?

I don't know.

> I don't think the usage you're proposing matches any real usage of the word.

I am being very literal with the dictionary definition. With every gallon of oil that we burn, we are destroying wealth. We are taking a material resource that has value, extracting that value and preventing it from ever being used again. You can argue that the byproduct of that extraction is more valuable than the oil, but I find that very unlikely given that technology is likely to improve over time. In other words, we should try to conserve as many natural resources as we can today because they will be even more valuable in the future when we can use them more efficiently.