[jldugger]

10x matters quite a bit in generational wealth terms. If every generation doubles the number of plausible claimants to the wealth, thats about what is needed to balance out.

On the other hand:

> If I was alive in 1922 and stashed away $8 million in cash it would only be worth about $140 million today.

Why would it not be worth $8 million?

[recuter]

From peasants shoes to peasants shoes all in three generations, signore Medici.

> Why would it not be worth $8 million?

https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1923

[lkbm]

You've got it backwards. In 1923, your 8 million 1923-dollars was worth what $138 million 2023-dollars is today. You started with $138 million 2023-dollars, but denominated in 1923-dollars that's $8 million.

If you just hold on to it your 1923-dollars have become 2023-dollars, but there's still exactly $8 million of them. You've lost nearly 95% of the value.

[ByersReason]

however, given that your 1923 dollars were likely silver dollars which currently trade for $32 (for junk grade) and up ... I made that 8m * 32 = 256m :) - and better if you were sensible and stored un-circulated dollars

[kgwgk]

>> If I was alive in 1923 and stashed away $8 million

> your 1923 dollars were likely silver dollars

It's unlikely that you had 200 metric tons of silver coins stashed away.

[tristor]

> It's unlikely that you had 200 metric tons of silver coins stashed away.

I think the grandparent was imagining they were silver certificate dollars[1], not actual silver dollar coins. That said, silver certificate dollars needed to be converted at some point in the past, in 2023 they can't be converted and only have collector value, and $8 million worth would dilute their collector value substantially.

[1]:https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets-economy/090116...

[kgwgk]

I’m surprised that the certificates can be worth more. I guess they are rare - it may be hard to sell them all for much more than a dollar on average.

In any case eight millions are several metric tons.

[roflyear]

Well, you'd have to have a safe place to literally store that cash. If that save place was a bank, then you'd not have silver dollars, unless you paid for storage.

Also banks weren't really safe that entire time!

[quickthrowman]

It should read “If I was alive in 1923 and invested $8M in 100y bonds that return the exact rate of inflation, I’d have $140M today”

Plugging it into a USD inflation calculator checks out.

[jldugger]

Unfortunately we don't have such a thing. Especially in 1922, we didn't even have TIPS, or 100 year bonds. The best case scenario you're looking at something like 10 year treasuries at 4.3 percent[1] in 1922. Shorter durations will help match dramatic inflation moves things get weird in the great depression -- a bout of 10 percent deflation happened in 1933.

    [1]: https://www.multpl.com/10-year-treasury-rate/table/by-year

[bobleeswagger]

$8 million in cash will always be $8 million in cash. "Stashed it away" is pretty vague but cash is cash.

[tarboreus]

Only if you literally mean physical cash. Banks offered pretty significant interest rates historically.

[kgwgk]

Why say “stash away” if not to suggest the literal “hiding the money somewhere” meaning rather than “opening a savings account”?

[jldugger]

With the slight caveat that the FDIC wouldnt exist until a decade after you put your money in and in no case would it protect all 8 million dollars.

[knodi123]

> Why would it not be worth $8 million?

mice ate some.

[psychlops]

Meaning trust fund children.