He (Jefferson) was also in insane amounts of debt, so i'm not sure that's true.
One can be obscenely wealthy and cash poor. If I own 5 hotels but only have $1,000 to my name, I’m still rich even though I can’t go out and buy a nice car or new vacation home. If I need something that costs $2,000 tomorrow, I have to get a loan to purchase. I could sell a hotel, sure, but that cuts off a revenue stream, is disadvantogous in the long term, and also takes time if cash is needed quickly.
Jefferson’s wealth was the land he owned, the properties he built, and the people he owned. He could sell all of it, or just parts of it, but that costs money to replace if he needs to, and doesn’t tackle the issue if inflation that Jefferson rountinely faced when he did try to sell off certain assets. I guess I should also explain that luxury agriculture (what Jefferson did) doesn’t replace money very quickly, due to many unpredictable factors. My memory was Jefferson’s debts were pretty quickly paid for when his assets were liquidated. He had an adjusted net worth of like $212 mil and an adjusted debt of $2mil roughly. Hell, Jefferson would’ve repayed it had it not been for inflation, his frequent time away in government, and his time away in France.