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What Compound Interest Is, and Why It's Called the Eighth Wonder of the World

Money Basics • Beginner Investing • 7 min

You've probably heard that Einstein called compound interest "the eighth wonder of the world" — it's one of the most repeated quotes in all of personal finance, even though historians have never found a single letter, speech, or document where Einstein actually said it. Whoever coined it, the math behind the quote is completely real. Compound interest means earning interest not just on your original amount (the…

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