Ever since Elon Musk became the first trillionaire, people have been fascinated by the sheer magnitude of his wealth.

A stack of $100 bills totaling $1 trillion would reach 679 miles high. Economist Steven Durlauf has pointed out that John D. Rockefeller’s wealth was once about 1.5 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. Musk’s fortune now surpasses that, equating to more than 3 percent. For perspective, New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson, with a $39 million annual salary, would need over 25,000 seasons to match Musk’s wealth.

Out of all the daunting statistics, one stood out: The Times calculated that Musk’s net worth is five million times that of the average American family.

As a historian of political thought, I thought of Plato, the first Western philosopher to tackle economic inequality. In his work “Laws,” Plato, through the character of the Athenian Stranger, argued that in a flourishing republic, no one should have more than four times the wealth of the poorest citizens. Any excess should be given to the city. Now, contrast that with a wealth figure five million times greater than an average family’s.

Envisioning a modern economy with Plato’s wealth restrictions is challenging, but understanding his reasons is not. Plato grew up in Athens, which nearly collapsed due to the sharp divide between rich and poor, highlighted by Plutarch. Salvation came through Solon, a courageous lawgiver who annulled the debts of the poor, angering the wealthy. Plato witnessed significant class turmoil, including three civil wars in Athens, sparked by the Peloponnesian War. These conflicts ranged from oligarchic revolutions by the rich against the poor, to democratic revolutions by the poor against the rich, and back to oligarchic upheavals.