Who were the wealthiest people EVER?
Our list of the twenty richest, based on scholarly estimates and adjusted for inflation, includes entrepreneurs, warriors, and robber barons. We did not include monarchs, whose vast wealth is considered public.
Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Carlos Slim are the only living men who crack the list -- and that's only counting their net worth at bubble peaks in 1999 and 2007.
You'll notice much of the list come from England and America. Partly this happens because that's where estimates were available. But it's also true that extreme private wealth occurred only several times in history, such as: The great lords of England, the Gilded Age, and today's credit bubble.
#20 Carlos Slim
Source of wealth: Many. He is most famous, however, for having
big holdings in major telecom companies, especially America Movil
#19 Warren Buffett
#18 Sam Walton
#17 Marshall Field
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: He started the retail store chain Marshall Field
and Co. in Chicago during the Civil War.
Estimate from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for
#16 Stephen Van Rensselaer
Source of wealth: Major of the US Militia and member of the New
York State Assembly, Rensselaer was also heir to one of the
most well-endowed estates in the US. He founded the Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute with a portion of his wealth.
#15 Jay Gould
Source of wealth: Railroad baron and gold speculator, Jay Gould
masterminded the 19th century transportation boom in America.
He and financier James Fisk also bought up a dominating share
of the gold market at the time - enough to directly affect market
movements during Gould's lifetime.
#14 Henry Duke of Lancaster
Source of wealth: English diplomat, noble, soldier, and founding
member of the Order of the Garter.. He is remembered today for
his peace talks with France and for being a patron of Corpus
Christi College, Cambridge
Estimate from historian William Rubenstein via The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since
'07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#13 Frederick Weyerhaeuser
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: He founded Weyerhaeuser Company, one of
the biggest timber company in the United States, after he arrived
to America from Germany in the 19th century.
Estimate from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for
#12 A.T. Stewart
#11 John of Gaunt
Source of wealth: Richard II's regent during much of the latter's
rule and the father of Henry Bolingbroke (who would eventually
come back from exile to depose Richard and take the English
throne into his hands). One of Shakespeare's meekest characters.
Estimate from historian William Rubenstein via The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since
'07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#10 Stephen Girard
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: Successful in the shipping trade, he was a
French-born American merchant that went into the banking
business later in his life, owning a bank that was called "Girard's
Bank".
Estimate from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted
for inflation.
#9 Richard Fitzalan 10th Earl of Arundel
Source of wealth: The Earl of Arundel and quite the military
leader. He fought in the Scottish Independence wars and in the
Hundred Years' War. Subsequent Earls of Arundel -- his sons --
would make this list, but we're only counting that money once.
Estimate from historian William Rubenstein via The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since
'07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#8 John Jacob Astor
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: A successful fur trader, he established a near
monopoly within the U.S. by around 1800. He subsequently
switched trades and went on to investing in real estate, focusing on
New York City.
Estimate from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted
for inflation.
#7 William de Warenne
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: Originally from Normandy, William I de
Warenne participated in the battle of Hastings and was rewarded
with properties in Sussex, Northfolk and Yorkshire. He became
the first Earl of Surrey.
Estimate from historian William Rubenstein via The Times,
converted to dollars at average rate since '07 (1:1.7) and adjusted
for inflation.
#6 Bill Gates
Source of wealth: Founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975.
He held onto shares as Microsoft dominated the age of computers,
peaking in personal wealth at the top of the Dot Com Bubble.
Estimate from wide-spread reports of a $101 billion net worth for a
period in 1999, adjusted for inflation.
#5 Alan Rufus
Image: Daily Mail
Source of wealth: A Norman who joined William The Conqueror
in the invasion of Britain in the 11th century, Alan "The Red" had
250,000 acres of land from Yorkshire to London. He also owned
Richmond Castle in North Yorkshire, which, for the time, was
considered very comfortable.
Estimate from historian William Rubenstein via The Times,
converted to dollars at average rate since '07 (1:1.7) and adjusted
for inflation.
#4 Cornelius Vanderbilt
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: In 1862, he began to buy railroad lines.
Although already 70 years old, his wealth mostly comes from
this business of the 19th century. Prior to that, he was known as
a cold-blooded steam-boat entrepreneur.
Estimate comes from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes,
adjusted for inflation.
#3 William The Conqueror
Source of wealth: Was called 0William the Bastard until he led
the last successful foreign invasion of England in 1066. Although
he became a monarch, we're counting the spoils of war before he
took the throne, based on what he gave out to his sons Odo and
Robert.
Estimate from historian William Rubenstein via The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since
'07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#2 Andrew Carnegie
#1 John D. Rockefeller
Image: wikipedia
Source of wealth: He founded Standard Oil in 1870, at the age
of 31, and bought up most of the oil refineries in the United States,
eventually controlling about 90% of the American oil business.
Estimate comes from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes,
adjusted for inflation.
Bonus: Some people who didn't make the list
Image: wikipedia
a more accurate conversion of sesterce would put his modern figure between $200 million and $20 billion.
Great discussion here.
The Rothschilds: Scholars put the Rothschild fortune during the 19th century at £400,000,000 in 1961
money. Converted to dollars and adjusted for inflation, they don't make the list. (Portrait Of A Dynasty,
page 57)
Genghis Khan: Owned most of Asia, but we couldn't find an estimate.
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