I live in Germany where there are a lot or Baroque and Rococco Palaces. Think of how many people were employed to create and maintain such a place. Most palaces were owned by royalty or the church and employed nearly the whole surrounding area - from servant, gardener, builder right through to civil servant and judge. Now compare it to Mercedes - the CEO sits in his glass palace earning millions while the average worker busts his balls and tries to earn enough to feed his family - not really that much progress in two hundred years.