Wealth like time is relative; a rich man from Nakuru is equivalent to pauper living in Davos. A Kenyan millionaire is nothing but a middle class employee working in New York. To fully grasp my point, check out the Forbes Rich list, out of a thousand five hundred billionaires, 1553 to be exact, no not one is a Kenyan. So much for the high and mighty.
That being said, once in a while society spits out an entrepreneur extraordinaire who accumulates a Solomonic level of wealth that even billionaires look like normal folks compared to him.
The list of the ten richest compiled by businessinsider, is 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.
#10 Stephen Girard
Peak fortune: $105 billion
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
Peak fortune: $108 billion
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 Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#8 John Jacob Astor
Peak fortune: $121 billion
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
Peak fortune: $134 billion
Source of wealth: Originally from Normandy, William I de Warenneparticipated 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 Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#6 Bill Gates
Peak fortune: $136 billion
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
Fortune: $149 billion
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 Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#4 Cornelius Vanderbilt
Fortune: $185 billion
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
Peak fortune: $209 billion
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 Rubensteinvia The Times, converted to dollars at average rate since ’07 (1:1.7) and adjusted for inflation.
#2 Andrew Carnegie
Fortune: $309 billion
Source of wealth: Carnegie invested in the steel business when the market was booming, eventually ending up at the head of the U.S. Steel empire.
Estimate comes from economist Peter Bernstein via Forbes, adjusted for inflation.
#1 John D. Rockefeller
Fortune: $336 billion
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.