Today, when you think of a dollar, the US dollar probably comes to mind first. But that hasn’t always been the case. In this episode of The Story of Money, Brendan Greeley, the author of The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World's Most Powerful Money, explains the origins of the world’s first dollar, the Joachimstaler, and the hapless Bohemian count who played a role in its creation. Greeley, and hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth discuss the dollar’s evolution, and whether it may even outlive the current US dollar system. 

The Almighty Dollar: 500 Years of the World's Most Powerful Money, by Brendan Greeley (2026)  

Credits: Getty Images, Brendan Greeley 

To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth

Producer: Lulu Smyth

Senior Producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight 

Executive Producer: Manuela Saragosa

Original music and sound design: Breen Turner

Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Giuompasis

Podcast Development: Laura Clarke

FT Global Head of Audio: Flo Phillips 

Video editor: Josh Divney and Kristen Kenyon at Podcast Discovery

Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.