New unemployment numbers were released last week. The Dow shed 200+ points. A barrel of oil hit $100 for the first time ever. The Federal Reserve is considering an interest rate cut.  I could care less. None of those numbers concern me anymore. From now on, I am only concerned with the CLEWI -- the Cost of Living Extremely Well Index -- created by Forbes magazine back in the 1970's. Like the CPI, it tracks the prices of a basket of goods; unlike the CPI, it ignores bread & milk in favor of caviar & a case of Dom Perignon.

I expect new interest in the CLEWI with the release of a new book called All the Money in the World: How the Forbes 400 Make -- and Spend -- Their Fortunes. Published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Forbes 400 -- a list of the 400 richest Americans -- the book covers everything from how various fortunes were made and sometimes lost, philanthropy, trophy wives, and which universities have churned out the most members of the 400 (spoiler alert: it's MIT). The ease with which the book can be read, and its subjects, made it an easy choice for this month's Not Oprah's Book-of-the-Month selection.

Some favorite fun-facts of mine from the book: 

• By calculating each individual's wealth at their peak and comparing it to the U.S. GDP at the time, and then converting it to 2006 dollars, Bill Gates, with a fortune of $53B, would only be the 13th richest American ever. John D. Rockfeller would be #1 with a fortune, in today's dollars, of $305 BILLION.
• In 2006, the average net worth of Forbes 400 members without a college degree exceeded the average net worth of those with a degree ...by $2.8 Billion!
• While the CPI has doubled since the Forbes 400 was started in 1982, the CLEWI has quadrupled. But the richest have no reason to worry -- the wealth of the Forbes 400 has grown by a factor of 10! In other words, as a percentage of their wealth, the richest among us are spending less than ever to enjoy John Lobb shoes, Davidoff cigars, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, and of course, a subscription to Forbes (4 of the 41 items comprising the CLEWI).
  

Just think, some of the Forbes 400 might be living even better by shopping our Winter Sale -- it shocks the conscience just to think about it.