Money may not buy you happiness but everyone has dreamed of being rich at some point in their lives. Many points in their lives if we’re being honest. The ability to buy anything you ever wanted whenever you wanted is an alluring idea that only the elite 1% in the world can do. Various lists from different sources come out each year ranking the wealthiest individuals in the world. But who were the richest people in human history? Here is a list of 15 people considered to the richest in all of human history!
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT
Cornelius Vanderbilt was one of the most famous and wealthiest industrialists in American history as well as the fourth richest American ever. His wealth multiplied and increased so much that at the time of his death his estate was worth $185 billion in today’s money.
HENRY FORD
While Vanderbilt was the fourth richest American ever, Ford motor company founder Henry Ford just edges him out. When adjusted for inflation his net worth was $188 billion at the time of his death.
MUAMMAR GADDAFI
Muammar Gaddafi controlled Libya with an iron fist. He was an infamous revolutionary who ruled over the country for forty years after seizing power in a coup d’etat in 1969. Altogether, he steadily increased his net worth over those 40 years to $200 billion at the time of his death when adjusted for inflation.
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR
As you might guess from his name, he built his wealth from conquering weaker kingdoms and building an Empire which he ruled for 20 years. By that time his estimated net worth was about $230 billion in today’s dollars which was then divided amongst his sons when he passed away.
MIR OSMAN ALI KHAN, ASAFF JAH VII
Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur ruler of the Princely State of Hyderabad and Berar in India from 1948 to 1967. He was the last ruler of the state before it became part of India as the country gained its independence from the British Empire. When adjusted for inflation his net worth was an estimated $240 billion at the time of his death.
NIKOLAI ALEXANDROVICH ROMANOV
Number 5 on our list is Russian leader Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, also known as Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, who ruled from 1894 to 1917. His $900 million at the time of his death would have been worth $300 billion today.
ANDREW CARNEGIE
Born in 1835 in Scotland, he moved to America as a child and created his own fortune starting with investments in railroads, bridges, and oil derricks and eventually let to building Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Steel Company. He sold that company to J.P. Morgan in 1901 for $480 million which would be $310 billion in today’s dollars.
ROTHSCHILD FAMILY
This family of bankers hails from Frankfurt, Germany and are the richest people alive today. Their net worth is fairly difficult to pin down due to their vast holdings but the best estimates peg their wealth at about $350 billion.
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
John D. Rockefeller is the single richest American who has ever lived and the country’s first billionaire. Rockefeller’s net worth was $400 billion when adjusted for inflation.
MANSA MUSA I
The richest man on earth in all of human history was Mansa Musa I, ruler of the African country of Mali from 1312 to 1337. Adjusted for inflation, his net worth would have been $410 billion in today’s dollars.
feature image courtesy of Image by Steve Bidmead from Pixabay
