10. Genghis Khan
Lived: 1162-1227
Country: Mongolian Empire
Wealth: Lots of land, not much else
Genghis Khan is undoubtedly one of the most successful military leaders of all time. As leader of the Mongol Empire, which at its height stretched from China to Europe, he controlled the largest contiguous empire in history. However, despite his great power, scholars say Genghis never hoarded his wealth. On the contrary, the Khan’s generosity was key to his influence.
9. Bill Gates
Lived: 1955-present
Country: United States
Wealth: $78.9 billion
As the richest living person, Bill Gates’ wealth is refreshingly easy to determine. As of this year, Forbesestimates the Microsoft founder’s net worth at $78.9 billion. That’s about $8 billion more than Zara co-founder Amancio Ortega, the second-richest person in the world.
8. Alan Rufus (a.k.a. Alan the Red)
Lived: 1040–1093
Country: England
Wealth: $194 billion
The nephew of William the Conqueror, Rufus joined his uncle in the Norman conquest. He died with £11,000, according to Philip Beresford and Bill Rubinstein, authors of The Richest of the Rich, which they say amounted to 7% of England’s GDP at the time. That would amount to $194 billion in 2014 dollars.
7. John D. Rockefeller Sr.
Lived: 1839–1937
Country: United States
Wealth: $341 billion
Rockefeller began investing in the petroleum industry in 1863 and by 1880 his Standard Oil company controlled 90% of American oil production.According to his New York Timesobituary, Rockefeller was valued at about $1.5 billion based on a 1918 federal income tax return and estimates of his overall fortune—the equivalent of almost 2% of U.S. economic output that year according to data compiled by MeasuringWorth (the U.S. did not keep official records on national income until 1932).The same economic share in 2014 would be equivalent to $341 billion.
6. Andrew Carnegie
Country: United States
Wealth: $372 billion
Rockefeller gets all the press, but Andrew Carnegie may be the richest American of all time. The Scottish immigrant sold his company, U.S. Steel, to J.P. Morgan for $480 million in 1901. That sum equates to about slightly over 2.1% of U.S. GDP at the time, giving Carnegie economic power equivalent.
5. Joseph Stalin
Lived: 1878–1953
Country: USSR
Wealth: Complete control of a nation with 9.6% of global GDP
Stalin is an uncommon figure in modern economic history: a dictator with absolute power who also controlled one of the largest economies in the world. While it is virtually impossible to separate Stalin’s wealth from the wealth of the Soviet Union, his unique combination of economic might and complete control of the USSR leads multiple economists to nominate him as one of the richest people of all time.You can easily see their logic. Data from the OECD shows that in 1950, three years before Stalin’s death, the USSR made up roughly 9.5% of global economic output. As of 2014, that level of production would be equivalent to nearly $7.5 trillion dollars.lent to $372 billion in 2014.
4. The Great Akbar
Lived: 1542–1605
Country: India
Wealth: Ruled empire with 25% of global GDP
The greatest emperor of India’s Mughal dynasty, Akbar controlled an empire that accounted for about one-fourth of global economic output. Fortune’s Chris Matthews cites the late economic historian Angus Maddison, who speculates India’s GDP per capita under Akbar was comparable to Elizabethan England, but with “a ruling class whose extravagant lifestyle surpassed that of the European society.”That assertion that India’s elite class was wealthier than their counterparts to the west is backed up by data from economist Branko Milanovic, whoseresearch shows the Mughal Dynasty was one of the most effective empires of all time at extracting wealth from the population.
3. Emperor Shenzong
Lived: 1048–1085
Country: China
Wealth: Ruled empire with 25% to 30% of global GDP
China’s Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) was one of the most economically powerful empires of all time. According to Prof. Ronald A. Edwards, a Chinese economic historian of the Song Dynasty at Tamkang University, the nation accounted for between 25% and 30% of the world’s economic output during its peak.The empire’s wealth came from both its technological innovations and extreme skill at tax collection, which Edwards says was hundreds of years ahead of European governments. The professor also noted that the Song Dynasty’s government was highly centralized, meaning the emperor held enormous control over the economy.
2. Augustus Caesar
Lived: 63 BC–14 AD
Country: Rome
Wealth: $4.6 trillion
Not only was Augustus Caesar in charge of an empire that accounted for 25% to 30% of the world’s economic output, but according to Stanford history professor Ian Morris, Augustus at one point held personal wealth equivalent to one-fifth of his empire’s economy. That fortune would be the equivalent of about $4.6 trillion in 2014. “For a while,” Morris adds, Augustus “personally owned all of Egypt.” That’s hard to top.
1. Mansa Musa
Lived: 1280–1337
Country: Mali
Wealth: Richer than anyone could describe Mansa Musa, the king of Timbuktu, is often referred to as the wealthiest person in history. According to Ferrum College history professor Richard Smith, Musa’s west African kingdom was likely the largest producer of gold in the world—at a time when gold was in especially high demand. Just how rich was Musa? There’s really no way to put an accurate number on his wealth. Records are scarce, if non-existent, and contemporary sources describe the king’s riches in terms that are impossible for the time.Some tales of his famous pilgrimage to Mecca—during which Musa’s spending was so lavish that it caused a currency crisis in Egypt—mention dozens of camels each carrying hundreds of pounds of gold. (Smith says one year of Malian gold production probably generated about a ton.) Others said Musa’s army consisted of 200,000 men, including 40,000 archers—troop numbers even modern superpowers would have a difficult time bringing to the field.
No comments:
Post a Comment