From wealthy tech giants to ancient rulers, today we look at some of the Richest People
That Ever Lived.
#12 Bill Gates As synonymous with intelligence as he is with
wealth, Bill Gates is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the home computer era.
Gates formed Microsoft in the mid 1970s with partner Paul Allen in Albuquerque as a company
focused on developing and distributing high-quality software.
What began as a partnership with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry [tel-em-et-tree] Systems, a
company that created electronic calculators and personal computers, swiftly moved to independence
as Gates took on big responsibilities while still writing and editing code.
From there, Microsoft would only expand, first with the introduction of the MS-DOS operating
system, then the famous Microsoft Windows series, and the development of other products
like the Xbox.
Reeling from antitrust legislation and dodging accusations of corrupt monopolization, Gates
was able to maintain his wealth even after leaving the company.
His current net worth is up to 99 billion dollars.
#11 Jeff Bezos Currently the world’s wealthiest person,
Jeff Bezos began his career on Wall Street after graduating from Princeton University
where he earned degrees in computer science and electrical engineering.
Having founded the web service Amazon, Bezos has not only changed the world but also accumulated
a whole lot of money in the process.
Aside from the online bookstore-turned-shopping mall, Bezos has also invested in major projects
like the Blue Origin space program and the Washington Post, having revitalized the latter
with his own ideas on digital media.
He is currently worth approximately 150 billion dollars, although it’s possible his pending
divorce may cut that substantially.
#10 Henry Ford Sometimes it’s more important to develop
and improve something that already exists, and that’s exactly how Henry Ford made his
money.
Building on the concepts of the assembly line and the automobile, Ford set out to develop
the first vehicle that could be labeled moderately affordable.
The Model T, along with the Ford Motor Company, made him a globally recognized powerhouse
of industry.
But despite the fame, Ford continued to focus on lowering costs, recognizing the need to
make products usable and affordable by most Americans.
He was also a key component in the installation of car dealerships across the United States.
But no one is without fault, and this captain of industry worth nearly 200 billion dollars
was notorious for hateful rhetoric towards the Jewish community.
#9 The Vanderbilts The only father-son team to make the list,
the Vanderbilts were some of the richest men in American history.
Known as “The Commodore”, Cornelius Vanderbilt owned the New York Central Railroad, but not
before experimenting with other travel and shipping industries.
For the early years of his life, Cornelius worked with steamboats as a business manager
and later an owner.
In the height of the California Gold Rush, he began transporting people via the Panama
Canal.
Then came the great struggle between the northern and southern United States.
Cornelius donated his steamboats to the Union Navy and was awarded a Congressional Gold
Medal for his contributions.
After these events, he began to invest in the railroad business with a sharper focus,
and decided to bring a son on board the project to help him.
Though Cornelius didn’t have much faith in his son to begin with, Billy began to catch
on quick and ended up impressing Cornelius with his business acumen.
The two worked together until The Commodore’s passing in 1877.
His son Billy, or William Henry as he’s known historically, took over the family business
and in only 9 years had doubled the riches his father had left him.
By the time the junior Vanderbilt passed away, the Vanderbilt estate had reached a peak worth
of 202 billion dollars.
#8 Tsar Nicholas II Perhaps the only Saint on the list, Nicholas
II was the last Emperor of Russia as well.
A controversial figure, Nicholas was responsible or at least in charge during a number of violent
and tragic events that still haunt Russia to this day.
While serving as Tsar, Nicholas commanded his people during various combative struggles
across Europe and Asia with little success.
Russia was on the verge of economic and military collapse.
Eventually his subjects turned against him and in the early 20th century, Nicholas abdicated
the crown and his heir to the throne at the behest of revolutionaries.
Not long after, he and his family were subjected to capital punishment by the public.
They’re now viewed as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church, with Nicholas being viewed
as Saint Nicholas.
His fortune was mainly bolstered by the vast Russian Empire, giving him a peak net worth
of nearly 300 billion dollars, though much of it came from the state, labeled as “Property
of the Crown”.
#7 Andrew Carnegie The Scottish-American industrialist Andrew
Carnegie was a complex millionaire.
Having eventually made his fortune in the steel industry, Carnegie began his career
as a telegrapher [teh-leg-ruh-fer] before moving into railroads, then into government
bonds, and finally steel.
Always a competitive spirit, Carnegie found himself at odds with other major businessmen
of the era like John Rockefeller.
His tenacity and mind for the needs of the American public fueled his success as he even
passed Rockefeller’s fortune for a short while when he decided to sell his steel company,
his riches now equating to a modern value of 337 billion dollars . But this served to
be more of a means to an end as Carnegie is known for championing charity, as he did with
his article “The Gospel of Wealth” which spelled out the benefits of the wealthy investing
in society through philanthropy.
Looking to meet his words with action, he would go on to donate nearly 90 percent of
his fortune to public projects during the last couple decades of his life.
Still, bouts of anti-union actions and violent strikes at his factories permanently tarnished
his reputation, and so the opinions on this classic American entrepreneur are mixed to
say the least.
#6 John D. Rockefeller The son of a snake oil salesman, John Rockefeller
grew up to reject the vagabond lifestyle his father swore by, but kept the business sensibilities
his father had given to him.
Working hard, vigilant, and with a well-mannered approach, Rockefeller went into bookkeeping
first as it was a sturdy, reliable profession.
After some time, he switched to selling produce with a business partner where they were able
to make a huge profit during the Civil War.
Not long after getting into the food industry, Rockefeller and his partner took a sharp turn
once again as they began to work in the oil industry, proving to be much more efficient
than their competitors.
Most refineries were wasting about 40% of the oil they struck, dumping the excess into
nearby rivers and creeks.
Rockefeller, always looking for a leg up, found a way to use the extra oil for lubricating
oil, paraffin wax, petroleum jelly, and other oil-based by-products.
What began as a venture would quickly become a monopoly as Rockefeller established Standard
Oil, a petroleum empire with 20,000 domestic oil wells, 4,000 miles of pipeline, and more
than 100,000 employees.
This mammoth corporation hidden under the guise of a trust would soon be under the crosshairs
of newly-elected President Theodore Roosevelt.
But it was through these trusts that he attained the status of the richest man in American
history with a net worth of 340 billion dollars.
#5 Mansa Musa A leader of the Mali Empire, Musa was given
the title Mansa, which roughly translated means sultan or emperor.
During the time of his rise, the Empire had control of a territory that used to be part
of the Ghana Empire.
Throughout his reign, Musa led his people to conquer 24 cities and their nearby regions.
Mali became the largest producer of gold in the world, just as demands for the material
reached an exceptional high.
It is said he was able to mine so much gold, and receive so much wealth in goods and lands
as an exchange for it, that his monetary worth eclipsed 400 billion dollars!
#4 King Solomon What would 25 tons of gold every year for
39 years straight look like?
Well, according to the Bible, King Solomon learned the answer from experience.
Reigning over Israel from 970 BC to 931 BC, Solomon also employed taxes as trading progressed,
leading the nation to the highest level of wealth its ever known.
Certainly living more lavishly than his predecessors, King Solomon reached an adjusted net worth
of 2.2 trillion dollars throughout his rule.
#3 Augustus Caesar As Julius Caesar’s nephew and adopted son
and heir, Octavian formed a second triumvirate with Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus [luh-pee-duhs]
to exact revenge on his uncle’s betrayers.
Together, the three retook the Roman Republic and split its rule into three parts, one sect
for each of them.
Tensions grew over time as Octavian, now known as Augustus, began to force out the competition
and the Triumvirate was disbanded.
Augustus began steering the government to more easily answer to his commands alone,
establishing the Roman Senate and other bodies of governance as little more than a facade
of authority.
As the military dictator, he continued the illusion of a republic as he annexed a number
of nations during the supposed time of peace called Pax Romana.
This led the Roman Empire to reach new heights as it grew larger than ever before under his
rule.
Augustus passed on from what historians believe are natural causes, all with an amassed net
worth of 4.63 trillion dollars!
#2 The Great Akbar Known for a luxurious lifestyle and love for
the arts, Emperor Akbar of the Mughal [moo-guhl] Empire was renowned among his subjects as
he led them to conquer hundreds of thousands of square miles, ruling most of India and
its surrounding countries.
He was a warrior, general, leader, and even animal trainer, having supposedly kept thousands
of hunting cheetahs within his palace courts.
During his time as emperor, the Empire of Mughal [moo-guhl] increased its wealth and
size three-fold.
He also was fully accepting of other cultures, taking part in festivals and learning new
languages along the way.
This helped open the rest of the empire up to the idea of a multicultural nation.
Akbar passed the title of emperor on to his son and ended his reign with an approximate
net worth of almost 19 trillion dollars.
#1 Genghis Khan The man, the myth, the legend himself, Genghis
Khan has a notorious reputation as a conqueror.
But what is rarely mentioned when recanting his legacy is the fact that he was able to
build the greatest fortune of all time.
With a legion composed of the united nomadic tribes across Northeast Asia, Genghis Khan
commanded the Mongol Empire that, at its peak, stretched from Europe to China.
That’s more than 12 million square miles of land.
What’s more, Khan may have been cruel to his enemies, but he was just with his allies
as he never kept the spoils of combat for himself, instead opting to have it split among
his men.
Many say this charitable perspective is what led to such success as an empire.
As a result, it’s incredibly difficult to predict Genghis Khan’s net worth, but historians
suspect it to be well over 100 trillion dollars!