"Australian society has always prided itself in the ease with which individuals can move from one social class to another. Settled as a penal colony, rapid social mobility was the inevitable during the early years. The richest ever Australian (measured relative to GDP) was Samuel Terry, a Manchester thief transported to Australia in 1801. At the time of his death in 1838, Terry had amassed a wealth equivalent to $24 billion in today’s dollars (Rubinstein 2004)." (Quoted from paper)