ATG-THE RICHEST MAN THAT EVER LIVED?

[D.HATGISTAVROU]

After winning Issus, capturing Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana. Did all these riches make him the richest man ever?

[nick]

Hi Companions -Alexander was certainly the richest man at that time.Simple reasoning would indicate, however, that when Alexander started the conquest of Persia, the Macedonian royal house was almost bankrupt. So all the richness Alexander gained must have been in the hands of Persian kings (Darius III) before. Alexander brought virtually no assets of himself. Also, Alexander was a big spender, while Persian kings had been careful money savers. I would argue that at the end of his reign Alexander could never have been as rich as some Persian kings before him.If we look into the future, inflation and changing economic systems make it impossible to compare Alexander's wealth with - e.g. - Bill Gates. If we try to make a comparison, probably the amount of gold or the conversion of money into gold is our best standard. Even then, the world gold prices in 2001 were something like just 33% of the world gold prices in 1980. Again you see that it is virtually impossible to convert the gold standard of Alexander's time into modern currency.There is even some confusion about how much gold a "talent" really was. The Achaemenid gold treasure is estimated to have been something in the order of 5,000 tons of gold. In 1980 this represented 165 billion US dollars, in 2001 a mere 53 billion US dollars. (I think Bill Gates' fortune is estimated at 58 or 63 billion US - am I correct?) See: http://www.gaugamela.com and select "Gold" in the biography.Regards -
Nick

[Thalestris-Alexandros]

What amazes me the most is that Alexander, at such a young age as he was, boldly set out on a mega- expedition penniless. He completely defied logic and acted on pure impulse. I know from resources that he possessed extraordinary courage, but he either must have had total faith in himself and in his army, or he simply, in reality, "took a chance and hoped for the best". Was that a personality trait of his?

[D.HATGISTAVROU]

Yes he was very sure of himself. But the word that we are looking for is FEARLESS! YASOU THALESTRIS!
Regards, DIMITRIOS