If you put a cent at compound interest from the time of Christ...

I am working through some 19th century material and came across an innovative solution to financial problems. Some wise-acre proposed the theory that if you had put one cent into compound interest at the time of Christ, you would be so wealthy by now you could own everything on the planet. The next step is to argue that if you put away some money today you would then be able to borrow against the anticipated interest in 100, 200 or maybe 500 years' time. Now this wasn't some theory that stayed i