My main problem with this chart is that money was always tied to something of value prior to the 20th century. It was usually tied to Gold and Silver and money had an established value and was also limited by being tied to Gold and Silver. However, as we all know, August 15, 1971-the entire world's currency which was backed by the US dollar and including the US dollar in one day became a fiat currency backed by nothing but empty promises. The US government and many governments the world over have printed vast sums of money with NOTHING backing it. Thus, there is now more money "available" creating the impression of limitless and massively increased wealth, when the truth is that there is only the same actual amount of wealth available as existed prior to 1971 with the increase being any gold or silver that has been brought out of the ground since that time. That means that this chart is an apples to oranges comparison of real determined GDP wealth juxtaposed incorrectly with false Ponzi Scheme wealth of the late 20th Century and is NOT an accurate representation of the GDP of any region since 1971.