Forty-four years of the same list, treated as a dataset rather than as an annual news event. What the price of admission actually was, how fast the names turn over, and where the money sits.
The lowest net worth on the list each year, shown both as reported and converted to constant dollars. The nominal line flatters the change; the real line is the one that means something.
Of the people listed in a given year, the share still listed 5, 10, 20 and 30 years later. This is the measurement the “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” folklore gestures at and never actually provides.
Share of the list resident in each of the four states that dominate it. Florida and Texas rise; New York gives ground it never recovers.
Residence as recorded by Forbes at the time of listing, normalised across sources. Roughly 9% of rows carry no usable state and are excluded from this chart only.