I overheard someone claim:
If an 18 year old person works a full-time job at minimum wage, and gets only a 2% raise every year, he will have earned more than one and a quarter million dollars by the time he retires at age 67.
I was skeptical, did the math, and it turns out this is entirely correct:
And yes, the earning power of the dollar decreases over time - but I find it an interesting fact nonetheless.