A thought experiment from Vikram Mansharamani's "Boombustology" on what $100 invested since Cleopatra's death would be worth today — and why compounding's real power only shows up after decades.
Tejas Shah
Proprietor of Silicon One and Silicon Systems, AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor since 2004, based in Vadodara.
In "Boombustology," Harvard Business School professor Vikram Mansharamani poses a thought experiment: imagine if, upon Cleopatra's death in 30 BC, an heir to the Egyptian throne had gifted $100 to all future generations, invested to compound modestly ever since. The theoretical sum today would be almost incomprehensibly vast — and yet none of us are billionaires as a result, because no such gift was ever actually made and held for that long.
Why compounding is so hard for humans to act on
We tend to think compounding shows its impact in 3, 5 or 10 years — it doesn't. Real, visible impact from compounding typically takes more than 20 years to show up, and from there it accelerates like a rocket. That multi-decade patience requirement is exactly why so few people actually experience compounding's full power, even though the math is simple and available to everyone.
Courtesy — Amar Pandit, CFA, CFP.
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