Not to be flippant, but, it's a good thing Ben Franklin wasn't born in Zimbabwe!

Houshalter · on March 22, 2016

Back then money was based on precious metals, not monopoly money. Although Early America did have problems with hyperinflation from war debts. Anyway the point is the money is invested, so it's not literally just cash sitting in a vault, but is earning itself interest.

justincormack · on March 22, 2016

The point is that interest does not always cover inflation. The fact that money was gold or paper back then makes no difference. Invested money can be lost.

Houshalter · on March 23, 2016

With a currency backed on gold there is no such thing as inflation. And in fact money tends to increase value over time, as the economy grows.

Of course invested money can be lost, but on average it grows. The expected value of investing is almost always positive.