A Billion Doesn’t Go Very Far

When John D. Rockefeller was alive, and worth $1.4 billion, his wealth was equivalent to one sixty-fifth of the nation’s gross national product.

But the richest man in the United States today, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, has only one four-hundred-twenty-fifth of the GNP even though he’s worth $15 billion.

That observation is contained in “The Wealthy 100,” a book by Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther that looks at the 100 richest Americans.

The booming U.S. economy has meant a billionaire’s share of the pie has shrunk.