>> In other words, true wealth in my opinion is the ability to generate value if your brain/soul were dropped in a random homeless person's body in a random era. Something tells me Paris Hilton wouldn't fare as well as Leonardo DaVinci.
If that random era is in the _past_, that's far from being true. Knowledge doesn't mean much if that random homeless person's body belongs to an identifiable group that is discriminated against by that era's society.
I meant more along the lines of: "what if you had to start over with a new identity with nothing but your knowledge? How far could you get?" I'm guessing a lot of currently rich people wouldn't fare well because they inherited the money and have very little knowledge or skills.
Pretty high chance everyone is poor then because you'll be born poor in India, China, or sub-Saharan Africa half of the time and just not get the chance.
If that random era is in the _past_, that's far from being true. Knowledge doesn't mean much if that random homeless person's body belongs to an identifiable group that is discriminated against by that era's society.