The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates - A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present

New York: Citadel Press Books - Carol Publishing Group, 1996. First printing. Scarce. Large 7.25" x 10.25" design. Lt. green speckled boards, blue stamped spine titles, lt. shelf wear. Pages fine, no writing. Dj fine; unclipped 25.95, protected in new, clear sleeve. Very attractive. From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates, this ranking of the one hundred richest Americans, past and present, offers surprising portraits of these individuals and how they amassed their fortunes. The Vanderbilts, the Astors, Howard Hughes, John D. Rockefeller, Warren Buffett - their fascainting stories are here, great reading for anyone, regardless of financial stature. Each profiled individual's accumulated wealth (at death, or if still living, at latest date) is compared as a ratio to the contemporaneous gross domestic product of the USA to offer a fairly accurate estimate. Of course, foundations and other manner of hiding wealth are generally occluded. Nonetheless, this is populist, public, fairly invaluable evaluation of some very wealthy Americans. Each brief biography of these magnates is endowed w/a portrait, picture, or illustration. For whatever unscrupulous activities these individuals may or may not have been involved in, this collection is a wealth of biographical insights. 362 pages.. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Book.