List of wealthiest historical figures
Encyclopedia
The list of the wealthiest historical figures is an attempt to gather and compare the net worths and fortunes of historical figures against one another. Inflation and other factors devalue currency over time and economies of different regions and time periods valued goods and other commodities at different prices, making it difficult to accurately compare fortunes from different decades, centuries and especially millennia. Also, because several individuals and families never had their financial records revealed publicly, nor had any contemporary estimates of their worth, several persons may be noticeably missing from the list due to a lack of written accounts of their wealth. Some of the wealth estimated includes stock in companies, the value of which is always changing.
This list includes both nominal and real wealth. The nominal value of a person's net worth reflects the price in that person's time, without adjustments for inflation or other factors. The real value of a person's net worth reflects an attempt to adjust a fortune's worth against economic factors that usually devalue a currency, and thus reflect the buying power of that wealth as a stable figure comparable across historical periods.
s who governed Hyderabad State
, India
from 1720 to 1948, the richest was the last, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was regarded as the wealthiest man on earth – his portrait graced the cover of Time magazine. As recently as 2008 he was rated fifth highest on the Forbes All-Time Wealthiest List (Bill Gates ranks 20th). He had his own mint, printing his own currency, the Hyderabadi rupee, and a vast private treasury. Its coffers were said to contain £100m in gold and silver bullion, and a further £400m of jewels. Among them was the fabulously rare Jacob Diamond
, valued at some £60m today, and used by the Nizam as a paperweight. There were pearls, too – enough to pave Piccadilly – hundreds of race horses, thousands of uniforms, tonnes of royal regalia and Rolls-Royces by the dozen.
is one of the most illustrious noble families in European history, and were the hereditary holders of the titles of Grand Duke of Tuscany, Duke of Florence and Duke of Urbino, and married into still more. Other family members held singularly prominent positions, namely Pope Clement VII
, Pope Leo X
, Ippolito Cardinale de' Medici
, Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, wife of Henri II- who had an equally famous mistress in Diane de Poitiers (who was distantly related to Catherine) and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and of Navarre
.
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici
founded the family's bank and supported the return of the papacy to Rome, which occurred in 1410. He was rewarded for his efforts with the position of personal banker to the papacy, several tax contracts and alum
mines, all of which firmly established both the family's fortune and political influence. His son Cosimo
would expand the bank, allowing the family fortune to grow to 122,669 Florin by 1457. Cosimo's influence had become so great that he acted as de facto ruler of Florence despite holding no elected office. However by 1481, city tax records show that the family fortune had plummeted to 57,930 Florin under the direction of Lorenzo
, who made for a better politician and diplomat than banker.
(German: Jakob Fugger) (6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), sometimes known as Jacob Fugger the Rich, was a German banker and a member of the Fugger banking family of Germany. His nephew was the wealthy banker, Anton Fugger
to whom he bequeathed his wealth upon his death.
One of the leading politicians of Rome
in his day, Marcus Licinius Crassus
, along with Gaius Julius Caesar
and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
, comprised the First Triumvirate
. Crassus, born into a wealthy political family, inherited a fortune of 7 million sesterces after the death of his father in 87 BC. Political rivalries eventually led to the state seizing Crassus's wealth. After several years of exile, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
regained a position of power in Rome, and Crassus as a loyal and valued supporter found himself in charge of Sulla's proscription
s. In such a position, Crassus was able to rebuild his family fortune by seizing the property of executed criminals for himself, and there is evidence that shows Crassus sometimes executed innocent individuals simply to obtain their vast estates and wealth.
Crassus also expanded his wealth by trading in slaves and by purchasing whole neighborhoods of Rome as they burned, for drastically less than market value. At the time, Rome had no formal way of battling fires and they usually were left to burn themselves out, which meant several estates and fortunes were lost in the process. Crassus employed a firefighting brigade of some five hundred men and, after he negotiated the purchase of the burning building and the surrounding estates in danger, the brigade would collapse the home that was ablaze to extinguish the fire before it could spread.
Crassus was known in Rome as Dives, meaning "The Rich." Plutarch
describes how Crassus's relationship with a Vestal Virgin
came into question at one point, for which the punishment was death. Crassus was acquitted after claiming that he merely courted the woman in an attempt to acquire her villa at below market cost and that carnal lusts never came to mind. Wishing to gain both political and military fame during the slave uprisings led by Spartacus
, Crassus offered to equip, train, and lead two new legions of soldiers into battle at his own expense in an impressive show of personal wealth. In 53 BC
, while again attempting military fame, Crassus was killed during a parley
with a Parthia
n general; Lucius Cassius Dio tells that he thereupon had molten gold poured into his mouth to satiate his unyielding thirst for wealth.
It is believed that Crassus expanded his personal fortune to a remarkable 170 million sesterces, while Pliny the Elder
surmised his fortune to be valued even higher, at 200 million sesterces. This would place Crassus's net worth equal to the total annual budget of the Roman treasury. He has been considered the wealthiest man in history, though this claim has been disputed. Most modern experts believe his wealth to be far less than historians centuries before had presumed thanks to the increasing knowledge of Ancient Roman monetary values.
Musa I, Mansa of Mali, more commonly referred to simply as Mansa Musa, ascended to the throne of the wealthy Mali Empire
in 1312. The emperors were fairly obscure figures outside of Western Africa, but Musa's religious Hajj
in 1324 would bring great attention to the wealth and extravagance of his lands. The retinue that Musa traveled with included 60,000 men, in addition to 12,000 slaves, 500 of which marched before the mansa dressed in silken robes and golden staffs. There were 80 camels in the train that are said to have carried anywhere from 50 to 300 pounds
each of gold dust. This entire entourage could be evaluated in terms of today, more than US$
400 billion. Musa spent so much gold, particularly in Egypt, that the price of the rare metal was devalued and caused the economy of that nation to be devastated for years. Mansa Musa was reportedly quite pious and very generous to the common people upon his Hajj, such that the citizens of Cairo, Mecca and Baghdad told tales of his visit for generations.
, born in 1868 as Nikolai Alexandrovich into the House of Romanov, was the emperor of the Russian Empire
from 1894 until the February Revolution
of 1917. Around age 48 (in 1916) his wealth was valued at up to US$ 881 million, which equals US$290.7 billion in today's money. He is seen as the wealthiest monarch and head of state in history and further as the wealthiest saint
as the Russian Orthodox Church
declared him, his wife and his children martyrs after being murdered in 1918 by the Bolshevik
s.
at its height during the mid-19th century has been estimated in today's terms in the hundreds of billions, or even in the trillions, of dollars.
was on the top ten World's Richest Men before 1956.
His assets are said to have included 55 percent of the nation's arable land, 51 cattle ranches, 46 coffee plantations, extensive real estate in Managua
, including luxury villas in United States
and The Bahamas
, and interests in various business ventures. By the time of his assassination, the senior Somoza's wealth was an estimated $400 million. The Somoza fortune grew as other family members succeeded each other in power. In 1978, their wealth was calculated at some $2 billion to $6 billion.
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
contributed a million dollars to the Nixon campaign in 1972, according to a Central America foreign minister who traveled to Washington, DC with Somoza's mother; Salvadora DeBayle de Somoza. She had asked the minister what his country was contributing to the campaign. When the foreign minister said "nothing", Salvadora rebuked him "You people are so hopeless, we are giving a million and, as head of the family, I'm taking it up to him".
was a king of Lydia in the sixth century BC. His name in Greek and Persian cultures became a synonym for a wealthy man. In English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" are used to indicate great wealth. Croesus himself is often credited with the invention of the first formalized currency systems and coinage.
was more romantic legend than fact. The misconception of his wealth centred around the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, a great tomb constructed by the king for himself and his wife that was considered a “Wonder of the World” by Greek historians and writers. It survived into the fifteenth century until it was finally destroyed by earthquakes. Afterward, the carved stones and sculptures strewn across the landscape caused writers of the Renaissance to tell tales of the wealth of a king who could afford such beautiful artistry in such great numbers. Much of the remains of the tomb were either plundered for their sculpture or used as an artificial quarry from which castles and fortifications were built over the succeeding centuries.
Yet, discoveries during excavations of the region show that the tomb's construction either directly bankrupted the treasury, or indirectly led to the downfall of the kingdom, as high taxation and strain on resources led to political instability, which eventually emboldened neighboring states to invade the weakened kingdom. Many of the artisans and craftsman that were initially hired to construct the tomb continued to work without pay after the kingdom had been bankrupted, working solely for the glory and renown of their efforts.
On 29 September 1916, John D. Rockefeller
became the first man to ever reach a nominal personal fortune of US$1 billion. Rockefeller amassed his fortune from the Standard Oil
company, of which he was a founder, chairman and major shareholder. By the time of his death in 1937, estimates place his net worth in the range of US$392 billion to US$663.4 billion in adjusted dollars for the late 2000s, and it is estimated that his personal fortune was equal to 1.53% of the total U.S. annual GDP in his day. When considering the real value of his wealth, Rockefeller is widely held to be the wealthiest American in the history of the United States.
gained his fortune from shipping and railroad. His net worth of US$105 million in 1877 was equal to 1.15% of the U.S. annual GDP in his day. With a real value estimated somewhere between US$143 billion and US$178.4 billion adjusted for the late 2000s, Vanderbilt is one of the wealthiest Americans in the history of the country.
was an American automotive engineer, entrepreneur, and founder of the Ford Motor Company
. Through his designing of the Model T Ford and the assembly line means of rapid production, he was able to lower the base price of his product in order to be reach a wider market. His highest earnings are recorded at age 57 and he died at the age of 83 in 1947 at a net worth of US$
188.1 billion (Inflated value in 2008)
was born in Dunfermline, Scotland before emigrating to the US. Founder of the Carnegie Steel Company
, which was the most extensive integrated iron and steel operations in the United States, Carnegie merged his company into U.S. Steel
and sold his share for US$492 million in 1901. Capitalized at US$1.4 billion at the time, U.S. Steel was the first billion dollar company in the world. In his final years, Carnegie's net worth was US$475 million, but by the time of his death in 1919 he had donated most of his wealth to charities and other philanthropic endeavors and had only US$30 million left to his personal fortune. Carnegie's hundreds of millions accounted for about 0.60% of the U.S. annual GDP and has a real value estimated at anywhere from US$75 billion to US$297.8 billion adjusted for the late 2000s.
began trading in furs and later in real estate and opium. By 1800 his nominal wealth was some US$250,000, and by the time of his death in 1848 his fortune had grown to US$20 million. Equal to 0.93% of the national GDP, Astor has a real wealth estimated at some US$116 billion when adjusted for the late 2000s.
has singularly amassed the largest nominal fortune in all of history through his computer technology corporation Microsoft
, peaking at US$101 billion in 1999. By 2007, his net worth had dropped to US$82 billion, and by 2011 his worth was valued at US$56 billion. Gates donates the majority of his wealth to charity. In terms of real value, Gates is likely one of the ten wealthiest Americans in history. He has been placed in the top 10 wealthiest people of all time.
This list includes both nominal and real wealth. The nominal value of a person's net worth reflects the price in that person's time, without adjustments for inflation or other factors. The real value of a person's net worth reflects an attempt to adjust a fortune's worth against economic factors that usually devalue a currency, and thus reflect the buying power of that wealth as a stable figure comparable across historical periods.
Historical figures and their wealth
Historical figures often attested to be of great riches, presented in alphabetical order.Alan Rufus
A companion of William the Conqueror during the Norman invasion of Britain, Alan Rufus, who is also known as Alain le Roux or Alan the Red, received some 250000 acres (1,011.7 km²) in land grants as a reward for his allegiance. His property stretched throughout Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and London, totaling some £11,000 by the time of his death in 1093. This would make Alan Rufus the wealthiest Briton in all the history of the British Isles. His fortune was estimated to be equivalent to £81.33 billion, or roughly US$162.74 billion, in 2007.Mir Osman Ali Khan
Of the seven NizamNizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
s who governed Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
from 1720 to 1948, the richest was the last, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was regarded as the wealthiest man on earth – his portrait graced the cover of Time magazine. As recently as 2008 he was rated fifth highest on the Forbes All-Time Wealthiest List (Bill Gates ranks 20th). He had his own mint, printing his own currency, the Hyderabadi rupee, and a vast private treasury. Its coffers were said to contain £100m in gold and silver bullion, and a further £400m of jewels. Among them was the fabulously rare Jacob Diamond
Jacob Diamond
The Jacob Diamond is a large diamond, ranked seventh in the world, known earlier as the Imperial or Great White Diamond. It is believed to be the Victoria Diamond, owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad and currently owned by the Government of India....
, valued at some £60m today, and used by the Nizam as a paperweight. There were pearls, too – enough to pave Piccadilly – hundreds of race horses, thousands of uniforms, tonnes of royal regalia and Rolls-Royces by the dozen.
De' Medici
The de' Medici family of FlorenceRepublic of Florence
The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...
is one of the most illustrious noble families in European history, and were the hereditary holders of the titles of Grand Duke of Tuscany, Duke of Florence and Duke of Urbino, and married into still more. Other family members held singularly prominent positions, namely Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII
Clement VII , born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was a cardinal from 1513 to 1523 and was Pope from 1523 to 1534.-Early life:...
, Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
, Ippolito Cardinale de' Medici
Ippolito de' Medici
Ippolito de' Medici was the illegitimate only son of Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici.Ippolito was born in Urbino. His father died when he was only five , and he was subsequently raised by his uncle Pope Leo X and his cousin Giulio.When Giulio de' Medici was elected pope as Clement VII, Ippolito...
, Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, wife of Henri II- who had an equally famous mistress in Diane de Poitiers (who was distantly related to Catherine) and Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and of Navarre
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
.
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici
Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici was an Italian banker, the first historically relevant member of Medici family of Florence, and the founder of the Medici bank...
founded the family's bank and supported the return of the papacy to Rome, which occurred in 1410. He was rewarded for his efforts with the position of personal banker to the papacy, several tax contracts and alum
Alum
Alum is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The specific compound is the hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate with the formula KAl2.12H2O. The wider class of compounds known as alums have the related empirical formula, AB2.12H2O.-Chemical properties:Alums are...
mines, all of which firmly established both the family's fortune and political influence. His son Cosimo
Cosimo de' Medici
Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" .-Biography:Born in Florence, Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in...
would expand the bank, allowing the family fortune to grow to 122,669 Florin by 1457. Cosimo's influence had become so great that he acted as de facto ruler of Florence despite holding no elected office. However by 1481, city tax records show that the family fortune had plummeted to 57,930 Florin under the direction of Lorenzo
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
, who made for a better politician and diplomat than banker.
Jacob Fugger
Jacob FuggerJacob Fugger
Jacob Fugger , sometimes known as Jacob Fugger the Rich, was a German banker and a member of the Fugger family.- Biography :...
(German: Jakob Fugger) (6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), sometimes known as Jacob Fugger the Rich, was a German banker and a member of the Fugger banking family of Germany. His nephew was the wealthy banker, Anton Fugger
Anton Fugger
Anton Fugger was a German merchant and member of the Fugger family. He was a nephew of Jacob Fugger.-Biography:...
to whom he bequeathed his wealth upon his death.
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
in his day, Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded the right wing of Sulla's army at the Battle of the Colline Gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus, provided political and financial support to Julius Caesar and entered into the political alliance known as the...
, along with Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, comprised the First Triumvirate
First Triumvirate
The First Triumvirate was the political alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Licinius Crassus, and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Unlike the Second Triumvirate, the First Triumvirate had no official status whatsoever; its overwhelming power in the Roman Republic was strictly unofficial influence, and...
. Crassus, born into a wealthy political family, inherited a fortune of 7 million sesterces after the death of his father in 87 BC. Political rivalries eventually led to the state seizing Crassus's wealth. After several years of exile, Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
regained a position of power in Rome, and Crassus as a loyal and valued supporter found himself in charge of Sulla's proscription
Proscription
Proscription is a term used for the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "decree of condemnation to death or banishment" and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved...
s. In such a position, Crassus was able to rebuild his family fortune by seizing the property of executed criminals for himself, and there is evidence that shows Crassus sometimes executed innocent individuals simply to obtain their vast estates and wealth.
Crassus also expanded his wealth by trading in slaves and by purchasing whole neighborhoods of Rome as they burned, for drastically less than market value. At the time, Rome had no formal way of battling fires and they usually were left to burn themselves out, which meant several estates and fortunes were lost in the process. Crassus employed a firefighting brigade of some five hundred men and, after he negotiated the purchase of the burning building and the surrounding estates in danger, the brigade would collapse the home that was ablaze to extinguish the fire before it could spread.
Crassus was known in Rome as Dives, meaning "The Rich." Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
describes how Crassus's relationship with a Vestal Virgin
Vestal Virgin
In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
came into question at one point, for which the punishment was death. Crassus was acquitted after claiming that he merely courted the woman in an attempt to acquire her villa at below market cost and that carnal lusts never came to mind. Wishing to gain both political and military fame during the slave uprisings led by Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
, Crassus offered to equip, train, and lead two new legions of soldiers into battle at his own expense in an impressive show of personal wealth. In 53 BC
53 BC
Year 53 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Calvinus...
, while again attempting military fame, Crassus was killed during a parley
Parley
Parley is a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce or other matters. The root of the word parley is parler, which is the French verb "to speak"; specifically the conjugation parlez "you speak", whether as imperative or indicative.Beginning in the High Middle...
with a Parthia
Parthia
Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n general; Lucius Cassius Dio tells that he thereupon had molten gold poured into his mouth to satiate his unyielding thirst for wealth.
It is believed that Crassus expanded his personal fortune to a remarkable 170 million sesterces, while Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
surmised his fortune to be valued even higher, at 200 million sesterces. This would place Crassus's net worth equal to the total annual budget of the Roman treasury. He has been considered the wealthiest man in history, though this claim has been disputed. Most modern experts believe his wealth to be far less than historians centuries before had presumed thanks to the increasing knowledge of Ancient Roman monetary values.
Musa I
Mali Empire
The Mali Empire or Mandingo Empire or Manden Kurufa was a West African empire of the Mandinka from c. 1230 to c. 1600. The empire was founded by Sundiata Keita and became renowned for the wealth of its rulers, especially Mansa Musa I...
in 1312. The emperors were fairly obscure figures outside of Western Africa, but Musa's religious Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
in 1324 would bring great attention to the wealth and extravagance of his lands. The retinue that Musa traveled with included 60,000 men, in addition to 12,000 slaves, 500 of which marched before the mansa dressed in silken robes and golden staffs. There were 80 camels in the train that are said to have carried anywhere from 50 to 300 pounds
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
each of gold dust. This entire entourage could be evaluated in terms of today, more than US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
400 billion. Musa spent so much gold, particularly in Egypt, that the price of the rare metal was devalued and caused the economy of that nation to be devastated for years. Mansa Musa was reportedly quite pious and very generous to the common people upon his Hajj, such that the citizens of Cairo, Mecca and Baghdad told tales of his visit for generations.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov
Tsar Nicholas II of RussiaNicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, born in 1868 as Nikolai Alexandrovich into the House of Romanov, was the emperor of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
from 1894 until the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
of 1917. Around age 48 (in 1916) his wealth was valued at up to US$ 881 million, which equals US$290.7 billion in today's money. He is seen as the wealthiest monarch and head of state in history and further as the wealthiest saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
as the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
declared him, his wife and his children martyrs after being murdered in 1918 by the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s.
Rothschilds
The wealth of the Rothschild familyRothschild family
The Rothschild family , known as The House of Rothschild, or more simply as the Rothschilds, is a Jewish-German family that established European banking and finance houses starting in the late 18th century...
at its height during the mid-19th century has been estimated in today's terms in the hundreds of billions, or even in the trillions, of dollars.
Somozas
The wealth of the Somoza family (the political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua), was the largest in Latin America for decades. According to the Cuban magazine: Bohemia, Anastasio Somoza GarcíaAnastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García was officially the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.-Biography:Somoza was born in San Marcos, Carazo Department in Nicaragua, the son of...
was on the top ten World's Richest Men before 1956.
His assets are said to have included 55 percent of the nation's arable land, 51 cattle ranches, 46 coffee plantations, extensive real estate in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, including luxury villas in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and The Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, and interests in various business ventures. By the time of his assassination, the senior Somoza's wealth was an estimated $400 million. The Somoza fortune grew as other family members succeeded each other in power. In 1978, their wealth was calculated at some $2 billion to $6 billion.
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
contributed a million dollars to the Nixon campaign in 1972, according to a Central America foreign minister who traveled to Washington, DC with Somoza's mother; Salvadora DeBayle de Somoza. She had asked the minister what his country was contributing to the campaign. When the foreign minister said "nothing", Salvadora rebuked him "You people are so hopeless, we are giving a million and, as head of the family, I'm taking it up to him".
Legendary wealth
As records are lost and fortunes often never fully tallied, sometimes only vague stories and grandiose legends are left as witnesses to the treasures held by individuals past. These tales are often believed to be fanciful or exaggerated, and some have even been discredited with new discoveries and evidence. Nevertheless, the fortunes were surely impressive to have remained in the popular conscious through the ages, even if only as legend.Croesus
CroesusCroesus
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
was a king of Lydia in the sixth century BC. His name in Greek and Persian cultures became a synonym for a wealthy man. In English, expressions such as "rich as Croesus" or "richer than Croesus" are used to indicate great wealth. Croesus himself is often credited with the invention of the first formalized currency systems and coinage.
Mausolus
The wealth that was for a long time attributed to MausolusMausolus
Mausolus was ruler of Caria . He took part in the revolt against Artaxerxes Mnemon , conquered a great part of Lycia, Ionia and several Greek islands and cooperated with the Rhodians in the Social War against Athens...
was more romantic legend than fact. The misconception of his wealth centred around the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, a great tomb constructed by the king for himself and his wife that was considered a “Wonder of the World” by Greek historians and writers. It survived into the fifteenth century until it was finally destroyed by earthquakes. Afterward, the carved stones and sculptures strewn across the landscape caused writers of the Renaissance to tell tales of the wealth of a king who could afford such beautiful artistry in such great numbers. Much of the remains of the tomb were either plundered for their sculpture or used as an artificial quarry from which castles and fortifications were built over the succeeding centuries.
Yet, discoveries during excavations of the region show that the tomb's construction either directly bankrupted the treasury, or indirectly led to the downfall of the kingdom, as high taxation and strain on resources led to political instability, which eventually emboldened neighboring states to invade the weakened kingdom. Many of the artisans and craftsman that were initially hired to construct the tomb continued to work without pay after the kingdom had been bankrupted, working solely for the glory and renown of their efforts.
American entrepreneurs
American entrepreneurs have often amassed the largest nominal fortunes in history. However, due to the effect of inflation, many of these fortunes have actually accumulated smaller real value than some historical figures.John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
became the first man to ever reach a nominal personal fortune of US$1 billion. Rockefeller amassed his fortune from the Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
company, of which he was a founder, chairman and major shareholder. By the time of his death in 1937, estimates place his net worth in the range of US$392 billion to US$663.4 billion in adjusted dollars for the late 2000s, and it is estimated that his personal fortune was equal to 1.53% of the total U.S. annual GDP in his day. When considering the real value of his wealth, Rockefeller is widely held to be the wealthiest American in the history of the United States.
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius VanderbiltCornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
gained his fortune from shipping and railroad. His net worth of US$105 million in 1877 was equal to 1.15% of the U.S. annual GDP in his day. With a real value estimated somewhere between US$143 billion and US$178.4 billion adjusted for the late 2000s, Vanderbilt is one of the wealthiest Americans in the history of the country.
Henry Ford
Henry FordHenry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
was an American automotive engineer, entrepreneur, and founder of the Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
. Through his designing of the Model T Ford and the assembly line means of rapid production, he was able to lower the base price of his product in order to be reach a wider market. His highest earnings are recorded at age 57 and he died at the age of 83 in 1947 at a net worth of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
188.1 billion (Inflated value in 2008)
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
was born in Dunfermline, Scotland before emigrating to the US. Founder of the Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
, which was the most extensive integrated iron and steel operations in the United States, Carnegie merged his company into U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
and sold his share for US$492 million in 1901. Capitalized at US$1.4 billion at the time, U.S. Steel was the first billion dollar company in the world. In his final years, Carnegie's net worth was US$475 million, but by the time of his death in 1919 he had donated most of his wealth to charities and other philanthropic endeavors and had only US$30 million left to his personal fortune. Carnegie's hundreds of millions accounted for about 0.60% of the U.S. annual GDP and has a real value estimated at anywhere from US$75 billion to US$297.8 billion adjusted for the late 2000s.
John Jacob Astor
After immigrating to the United States, John Jacob AstorJohn Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
began trading in furs and later in real estate and opium. By 1800 his nominal wealth was some US$250,000, and by the time of his death in 1848 his fortune had grown to US$20 million. Equal to 0.93% of the national GDP, Astor has a real wealth estimated at some US$116 billion when adjusted for the late 2000s.
Bill Gates
Bill GatesBill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
has singularly amassed the largest nominal fortune in all of history through his computer technology corporation Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, peaking at US$101 billion in 1999. By 2007, his net worth had dropped to US$82 billion, and by 2011 his worth was valued at US$56 billion. Gates donates the majority of his wealth to charity. In terms of real value, Gates is likely one of the ten wealthiest Americans in history. He has been placed in the top 10 wealthiest people of all time.