What was King Solomon's estimated worth?

Answer 1

The defining story of Solomon was his great wisdom, gifted to him by God. If there ever was a King Solomon, The Bible says that he was the wisest of kings.

Solomon was certainly not wise when he first succeeded David. At 1Kings 1:52, he said that he would not harm Adonijah as long as he showed himself a worthy man. However, in chapter 2, he ordered the death of Adonijah merely because he sought Solomon's approval to marry a woman. He punished the priest Abiathar, who had previously helped Adonijah, and Joab who did not, although he later befriended him. Then he ordered Shimei, who had not been allied with Adonijah, never to leave Jerusalem. Afterwards, Shimei briefly left Jerusalem to recapture and bring back his slaves, so Solomon had him killed.

Solomon has demonstrated his lack of good judgement, as a foil for the qualities he would soon display. Shortly after this, Solomon, in a dream, asked God for wisdom.

Soon after God granted Solomon wisdom, two women asked for judgement over the ownership of a small baby. In this episode, Solomon gave his most famous judgement, the only documented example of his great wisdom. Solomon, with his profound wisdom, just knew that only one woman would be willing to give up her claim to the child rather than have it killed.

The wisdom spell was not entirely effective. Solomon went on to lead a lavish lifestyle, requiring swingeing taxes to support him. This was particularly unwise, as it was blamed for the breakup of the United Kingdom shortly after his death.

So, tradition holds that Solomon was very wise. The Bible says that his wisdom came from God, but in the detail, describes only one example where could arguably have been showing any sort of wisdom, and overall, a king who was never really very smart.

Answer 2

History Channel stated on the 2008 show "Searching for Solomon" that in today's market, King Solomon would EASILY be the richest man alive since he would be worth in upwards of $850 billion USD.

Answer 3

There is no biblical estimate of the wealth of King Solomon, although according to the Bible he would have been incredibly rich. He ruled a huge empire that stretched from Egypt to Mesopotamia. His concubines must have included every woman of marriageable age in Jerusalem and he had a magnificent palace and Temple. No wonder the Queen of Sheba was infatuated with him.

Scholars say otherwise. Israel Finkelstein says that there was no glorious United Monarchy - Judah and Israel were always separate and were, at the relevant time, sparsely populated, too weak to impose themselves on thir neighbours and too poor to support magnificent palaces. If Solomon indeed existed, he would have been no more than a local warlord with few personal possessions.

Answer 4

Apparently not very - there are no remains of his supposed palaces - folk story.