THE RISE OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS

The Rise of Intangible Assets The Quiet Revolution — Understanding the Invisible Backbone of Modern Wealth πΉ From Factories to Frameworks: The Historical Dominance of Tangible Assets For centuries, wealth was grounded in the material. Land ownership signified power, while iron, oil, and coal drove the great industrial empires of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Massive physical infrastructure, from railroads and factories to shipyards and pipelines, was both the literal and figurative foundation of economic dominance. Companies and nations that owned the largest reserves of these tangible assets were seen as the wealthiest and most powerful. Financial statements reflected this reality—balance sheets bloated with inventories, equipment, buildings, and other depreciable but easily measurable physical components. Investors, regulators, and even governments focused on acquiring and controlling land, metals, fleets, and factories because these were regarded as the most reliable ind...