Assessing who was the richest person who has ever lived on Earth is a difficult task. In some cases, the exact amount of wealth that a person has accumulated is unknown. In addition, it is difficult to find the correct exchange rate or inflation rate at the time a person died or was at the peak of their wealth. Most of these numbers are based on the percentage of the national gross domestic product (GDP) of the rich man's country. Well, also as an option!
The richest man living today is Bill Gates. At the time of this writing, his fortune is estimated at $ 89.8 billion.
And what happened before? Who was the most in history?
10. Cornelius Vanderbilt - $ 185 billion
Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island in May 1794. At the age of 11, he was forced to leave school to help his impoverished family. As a child, he worked for his father, who was a farmer and boatman.
When Vanderbilt was 16, he took out a small loan from his parents, bought a sailing ship with two masts, and began ferrying passengers down the Hudson River.
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During the war of 1812, using a small fleet of boats, Vanderbilt provided supplies to government outposts. In the end, he sold all his boats and went to work as a steamer's mate, where he learned all about these ships. He started his own steamship business, and then began to buy up railways.
Vanderbilt was a ruthless businessman and shrewd marketer who focused on eliminating competitors. His business tactics made him one of the richest people to ever live on Earth. At the height of his wealth, his fortune was estimated at approximately $ 185 billion.
9. Henry Ford - $ 200 billion
Henry Ford, the man who revolutionized the automobile industry and mass production, was born in July 1863 to a prosperous family of farm owners in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. At the age of 16, he moved to neighboring Detroit and went to study as a machinist. He worked in several factories and on his family's farm before joining the Edison Illuminating Company. In just two years, he became chief engineer.
In 1896, Ford created the Quadricycle, a horseless carriage. In 1899, he founded the Henry Ford Detroit Automobile Company, which was later renamed the Henry Ford Company. However, he left the business in 1902 after partners refused to support his desire to constantly change for the better design. They just wanted a finished product. Henry Ford Company then became the Cadillac Motor Car Company.
In 1903, Ford created the Ford Motor Company. The first car, called Model A, was assembled a month later.
In October 1908, the Model T was introduced and changed the world. To quickly assemble cars, Ford used mass production methods that are still popular today, such as large factories, interchangeable parts, and a moving assembly line.
The car was a resounding success and was the beginning of Ford's path to great wealth. At the height of his wealth, Ford's fortune was estimated at about $ 200 billion.
8. William the Conqueror - $ 229 billion
Wilhelm was the illegitimate son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy. His father died in 1035, making William, then eight years old, Duke of Normandy. Surprisingly, despite several assassination attempts, Wilhelm managed to live to adulthood. In 1064 he conquered the neighboring areas: Brittany and Maine.
In 1066 the King of England, Edward the Confessor, died. Before his death, Edward promised several people at once that they would become heirs to his throne. One of them was William and the other was Harold Godwinson. On his deathbed, Edward gave his throne to Godwinson, who was crowned the very next day. This angered William, and he decided to invade England.
The Norman invasion of 1066 was one of the main events in English history, and it also made William the Conqueror a very wealthy man. Wilhelm's fortune was estimated at $ 229 billion, according to one website.
7. Osman Ali Khan - $ 230 billion
Osman Ali Khan was the nizam (ruler) of the Principality of Hyderabad. His reign lasted from 1911 to 1948, when the principality was annexed to India. Khan made his fortune from royalties from diamond mining in Hyderabad. In the 18th century, it was the only principality supplying diamonds.
Khan had 50 Rolls Royces and used a 185-carat diamond as a paperweight. In 1937, he appeared on the cover of Time magazine, which declared him the richest man in the world. His net worth, according to various estimates, was approximately $ 230 billion.
In the last years of his life, Khan led a reclusive lifestyle. He died on February 24, 1967 at the age of 81.
6. Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov - $ 300 billion
Born in May 1868 in Pushkin, Russia, Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov became Emperor Nicholas II following his father's death in May 1894. Nicholas II was ill-prepared to occupy the throne, and the prospect of ruling an entire country did not appeal to him. But Nikolai was sure that such a fate was prepared for him by God. Despite a strong belief in autocracy, he founded an elected legislature.
Nicholas' reign as tsar has been overshadowed since his coronation. On the day of the coronation festival, a stampede took place, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. Nicholas II and his wife did not know about this and walked around with a smile on their faces throughout the day.
Another major negative event was Bloody Sunday, January 22, 1905. Thousands of workers were killed by the troops of Nicholas II during a peaceful protest. This led to more protests and more suppression.
During the First World War, Russia suffered heavy military losses, experienced food shortages and rising inflation. Many people blamed Nicholas II for this. As a result, he renounced the throne in March 1917 and was placed under house arrest.
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, shot Nicholas II, his wife and five children at the hands of a handful of loyalists on the night of July 16-17, 1918.
The death of Nicholas II marked the end of the Romanov dynasty, which ruled Russia for 300 years. At the time of his death, the net worth of Nicholas II was estimated at approximately $ 300 billion.
5. John Davison Rockefeller - $ 371 billion
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was born in New York in 1839. At 24, he began investing in oil while co-founding Standard Oil, which by 1880 had become not only a leading oil company, but one of the largest companies in the world. At its peak, Standard Oil controlled 90% of America's oil production.
When Rockefeller died in 1937, The New York Times reported that his net worth, according to his 1918 tax return, was $ 1.5 billion. If we take into account inflation, then it turns out to be more than $ 32 billion, which is actually not so much compared to the same Bill Gates. Thus, in order to truly understand how much money Rockefeller had, it is important to compare his personal wealth with the economy of the time. Rockefeller's assets accounted for 2% of US GDP, today it is estimated at about $ 371 billion.
4. Andrew Carnegie - $ 389 billion
Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland in 1835. His family immigrated to the United States when he was still a child and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His family was poor and Carnegie worked hard throughout his life.
In 1892, he founded Carnegie Steel, which became one of the largest steel producers in the world. Carnegie sold the company to banker and financier J. P. Morgan in 1901. Under the agreement, Carnegie received $ 480 million. At the time, it accounted for approximately 2.1% of America's GDP. This means that today this amount is equivalent to approximately $ 210 billion.
After Morgan's purchase, the company became the United States Steel Corporation and is still in business today. Carnegie donated most of his wealth to charity, making him one of the greatest philanthropists in history. He died in August 1911.
3. Jacob Fugger - $ 400 billion
Jacob was born in Augsburg, Germany, in March 1459, to Jacob Fugger, who ran a successful textile business. Fugger's childhood was rich. As an adult, he provided some fairly lucrative loans to people like Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and financially supported Charles V on his way to the throne of King of Spain. Since he supported the "right" people, Fugger was given lucrative mining contracts. He flooded the markets with his metals and thus cracked down on many business competitors, becoming the dominant metal supplier in the world at the time.
Fugger eventually became so wealthy that he was called Jacob the Rich. As for an accurate estimate of Fugger's wealth, he owned 2% of Europe's GDP at the time, which is now approximately $ 400 billion.
2. Musa Keita - $ 428 billion
Musa Keita was the Mansa (sultan) of the African country of Mali from 1312 to 1337, and the attempts to determine how wealthy he was are overwhelming.
It is known that his kingdom was the largest producer of gold in the world precisely when this metal was in high demand. Rudolph Weer, associate professor of history at the University of Michigan, says that “there are paintings in which he holds a golden scepter, sitting on a gold throne with a golden cup in his hands and a golden crown on his head. Imagine as much gold as a person can have, and multiply that by two."
With his gold, Musa supported an army of 200,000 strong men. When he traveled, he spent money lavishly. There is a story that he went to Mecca and his expenses led to a currency crisis in Egypt.
The best estimate of his wealth is about $ 426 billion.
1. August Caesar - $ 4.75 Trillion
Guy Octavius was the great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar. When Caesar was assassinated in 43 BC, Octavius was named his heir. After defeating Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, he became the ruler of Rome. He replaced the republic with a monarchy and took the name Augustus.
Augustus was the first Emperor of Rome and he was one of their greatest leaders. He brought the country to prosperity, which in turn brought immense wealth to Augustus. His empire was one of the richest in history, and his personal wealth was approximately one-fifth of the entire empire. There was a time when he personally owned Egypt - a pretty impressive real estate portfolio. At the height of his wealth, Augustus was worth an estimated $ 4.75 trillion, making him arguably the richest person to ever live on Earth. He died in August 14 AD at the age of 75.