It’s Good Friday and Wall Street is closed so I’m also going to be taking the day off.
Kind of.
Ever since my article on Forbes list of richest people was published I started wondering who the richest people in history were. You might think Bill Gates wins that honor, but if you adjust for inflation the titans of yore have him trumped. When you look at the list of the wealthiest people at their peak, Gates breaks the $100 billion barrier. Behind him are Carlos Slim and the IKEA guy who each at their peaks were worth $70 billion. Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison fall in place behind them along with a number of other guys from various countries.
$100 billion sounds like a lot of dough. But Bill is literally not even on the same scale as the wealthiest people in history. And we aren’t talking about royalty here. But let’s start at the relative “bottom”. Alan Rufus was a good buddy of William the Conqueror back in the 1000s. When he died his net worth was worth 7% of the English economy which today translates to about $178 billion.
But what about Americans? Surely Gates is the richest American. Nope. Andrew Carnegie’s (steel tycoon) wealth was estimated to be somewhere between $75 billion and almost $300 billion. The Vanderbilt Family made their fortune in shipping and railroads, Cornelius Vanderbilt was worth $150 billion in today’s money. Father of the everyman’s car, Henry Ford, was worth $200 billion. And John D Rockefeller was worth over $600 billion in today’s money and was the first billionaire in history (in nominal money).
But no one beats the Rothschilds. They are a powerhouse family that have dominated Europe for so long conspiracy theorists think they secretly run the world. Worth at their peak is unknown, but historians and experts agree it would be measured in the trillions in today’s money. Sorry Bill. Richest alive sure, but not of all time.
Now if he hadn’t had a Department of Justice to keep him from his monopoly we might be having a different conversation. You can read more about the richest people in history or just the richest people alive.
See you kids on the flip-side of the weekend.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
