the.com/riches
the pile that whispers freedom and screams responsibility in the same breath
means An abundance of money, valuable possessions, or other wealth — enough to count as plenty by anyone's reckoning.
from From Old French 'richesse,' meaning wealth or magnificence, built on 'riche' (rich), which itself traces back through Germanic roots (akin to Old English 'rice,' meaning powerful or mighty) to an ancient sense of rule and dominion — a cousin of the Latin 'rex,' king. Curiously, 'riches' looks plural but began life as a singular: English speakers heard the '-esse' ending and assumed it was already a plural, so the word quietly shed its true singular form and stayed forever many.
- word origin
- from Old French richesse, once meaning power not coins
- plural trap
- singular riche faded, leaving wealth permanently in crowds
- happiness curve
- emotional payoff flattens after basic needs are met
- old proverb
- riches have wings and fly away unannounced
- hidden cost
- more zeros, more locks, more people watching them
mansa musa's pilgrimage — mali emperor's 1324 hajj with 60,000 people and 80 camels carrying 300 pounds of gold each
saudi aramco — world's most profitable company, $161 billion in revenue in 2022
jeff bezos's net worth — $198 billion as of 2024, world's richest person
indian ocean spice trade — 15th-17th century commerce that enriched venice, portugal, and dutch traders through pepper, cloves, and nutmeg monopolies