How rich was Hitler, really? How did he get his money and who was giving it to him? What kind of
tricks did he use to amass an enormous fortune? And what happened to his wealth after he died?
Welcome back to Nutty History. Today, we’ll be following the money back in time to Hitler’s life
and death, and investigating just how wealthy he really was. Let’s dig in! It’s a tale as old
as time: the poor orphan who pulls himself up by his bootstraps and then does a holocaust. Adolf
Hitler’s life had a humble beginning. He grew up in a small Austrian village, and his father was
an unsuccessful farmer. Three of his siblings died in infancy from disease. Hitler’s father died when
he was 14 years old, and his mother died when he was 18. Young Adolf then moved to Vienna to pursue
his dream of being an artist. Unfortunately for Hitler and the entire rest of the world, but maybe
good for the art scene, he was repeatedly denied entrance to art school. Once his tiny inheritance
ran out, he found himself living in a men’s shelter, picking up labour jobs where he could,
and selling his paintings to tourists. Hitler enlisted and fought in the First World War, which
may have been the first time he was particularly appreciated for anything. But all World Wars must
come to an end. After the war, the German Military wanted to investigate the newly formed far-right
German Workers Party, which was a precursor to the Nazi Party. In the worst decision of all time,
they sent Hitler to join the party as a spy and then report back to them. To say that their plan
backfired would be the understatement of the century. Rather than betray the German Workers
Party, Hitler became seduced by its rhetoric, especially the anti-Semitism. Hitler subscribed
to the conspiracy theory that the Germans hadn’t lost the war in battle, but had been betrayed
by the Jewish community at home. Hitler came to the party’s attention as well. He was noted as an
excellent apologist and debater, and they made him their official spokesman. Within a year of
joining, he was named Chief of Propaganda. It was Hitler who would eventually design the Nazi flag.
Take that, art school rejection notice! Despite the economic depression in Germany,
sympathizers to the party began to make donations, and soon Hitler was finally making a comfortable
living. He splurged on a Mercedes and a chauffeur, which was exceedingly expensive at the time. But
the real turning point for Hitler’s wealth came with the publication of his book.
In 1925, Hitler published Mein Kampf, following his release from prison after a failed Coup
D’Etat by the Nazi Party, which he led. Hitler hoped that the book would help to win the Nazi
Party more supporters. The book describes Hitler’s progression into anti-Semitism and nationalism,
arguing that there are two evils in the world: Communism and Judaism.
Clearly he had forgotten about pineapple on pizza… As the German economy deteriorated throughout the
1920’s and early 1930’s, and the message of the Nazi part gained support, the book became more
and more popular. When Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, the book was basically considered an
official state publication. Between 1925 and 1933, Mein Kampf would make the equivalent of
5.6 million dollars in royalties. It even got to the point where, when a couple was married,
their community would buy a copy of Mein Kampf and present it to them on their wedding day. What a
start to the honeymoon. Mein Kampf continued to sell exceedingly well, with 5.2 million copies,
in 11 languages, sold by the time war broke out in 1939. The book earned him millions in
royalties by the end of the war, having sold nearly 10 million copies in Germany alone.
The book remained in print after Hitler died, with the German Bavarian government holding
the copyright. But the Bavarian government soon refused to allow the book to be printed,
banning its sale in Germany. In 1941, after Hitler declared war on the United States, the
States seized control of the royalties of copies sold in the US. This amounted to about $225,000,
which the government donated to charities serving war refugees. In 1945, a US publisher purchased
the rights from the government for $37,000. For 20 years, the book was sold, amassing $700,000
in US royalties. After expressions of concern by the public, the publishing house also donated this
money to charity. Long after Hitler’s death, Mein Kampf still performed well. In 2016, it entered
the public domain, and was immediately reprinted in Germany. Overnight, it was catapulted onto the
bestseller list, and sold out on Amazon’s German site within hours. Over 85,000 copies of this new
edition were sold in Germany by 2017. Ultimately, the book made Hitler over 40 million dollars.
Perhaps the biggest factor in Hitler’s incredible fortune was the donations he received.
Once in power, corporations and businessmen saw a great deal of advantage in donating to Hitler’s
slush funds. Funding Hitler seemed to be the same thing as funding the economic rise of Germany,
and an end to the depression. Besides, a lot of businessmen were highly sympathetic
to Hitler’s politics. Besides the economic and political reasons for supporting Hitler,
there were probably also perks to being on Hitler’s nice list - apparently he checks twice,
and the Gestapo definitely sees you when you’re sleeping. These donations didn’t
just come from within the country. Ever heard of Ford Motors? Yep, their founder, Henry Ford,
was an anti-Semite who sent big sums of money to support the Fuhrer. All in all,
these corporate and personal payments amounted to over 5 billion, that’s with a B, billion dollars.
But Hitler’s relationship with German businessmen and politicians wasn’t all take and no give.
He would spend lavishly on gifts and bribery to buy loyalty from whoever he needed to.
The one place he never thought he should spend money, however, was on taxes. Hitler had sold
240,000 copies of Mein Kampf by the time he took office, and hadn’t paid a penny in income
tax. Once Hitler became Chancellor, a tax bill arrived, to the tune of 1.6 million dollars.
A lesser criminal, like Al Capone, might’ve been undone by the years of tax evasion. But Hitler had
an advantage: he was Chancellor. He applied the necessary pressures on the Ministry of Finance
to have the bill dismissed, and have himself officially declared exempt from ever paying taxes.
For a Chancellor he really didn’t believe in taking any chances. Considering the success
of this bold move, Hitler seemed free to live the rest of his life with financial impunity.
His considerable donations were all kept in slush funds with no accountability. He also
named himself President, and drew that salary on top of his Chancellor salary. While double-dipping
into the payroll, Hitler freely used party money, and even state finances, to fund his
own personal projects, such as property, personal estates, and art. Much of the art, by the way, was
illegal. Hitler was a man who really bridged the gap between “steal like an artist” and “steal from
an artist”. Perhaps due to his poor upbringing, Hitler was embarrassed by poverty. While his
propaganda depicted him as a man of the people, in his personal life he lived lavishly, owned
several properties, and had facial hair that only an incredibly powerful man could get away with.
Hitler’s face was also a big money maker. I mean, what a fashion icon! I mean, can anyone even pull
off the Hitler look anymore? No. No, you can’t. Please don’t try. A clever tactic of Hitler’s for
accruing yet more wealth was in the use of his own image. His official portraits were copyrighted,
and he charged a royalty for their use. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? Who would even want
a picture of Hitler? Well, it became a pretty big deal once Hitler’s face was on the German stamp.
He received a small royalty on every stamp sold in Germany, earning millions. That’s right;
if you lived in Germany, every time you got a letter you’d have to see Hitler glowering
at you as you opened it. That must have really put a damper on love letters. Between that and
the copies of Mein Kampf on your wedding day, Hitler was really harshing the nation’s romantic
buzz. Once again using his political power for financial gain, when Hitler’s copyright of the
image had legally expired, he extended the life of the copyright from the usual 10 years to 25.
Imagine having that face and wanting more people to see it. All in all, there’s a lot of money
to be made in the lucrative dictator business. Follow us for more financial tips! Although Hitler
may have become the richest man in Europe, it’s true what they say: you can’t take it with you.
Upon his death, Hitler’s fortune was given to Bavaria. Did anything shock you about
Hitler’s wealth? Let us know in the comments below. We hope you enjoyed this investigation
into the Fuhrer’s fortune, and we’ll see you next time for another Nutty History video!