Top 11 Richest Men In History

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index and Forbes billionaires’ list, the richest people in the world we know of are the people such as Jeff Bezos the founder and the CEO of Amazon and Bill Gates and others such as Warren Buffet. These are the wealthiest men in modern history and we feel they are today’s obscenely rich and they could never be topped.

Today’s billionaires and their fortunes are just pale in comparison to some of the past and to shock you by a very wide margin. Jeff Bezos and the others who can be classified as the modern-day richest men are no means the richest man of all time not even close. Throughout history, there have been more richer men though no richer women.

In history individuals built massive amounts of wealth in so many different ways, some through blood, others crown, others through having vast businesses and others through savvy investing.

Today the world’s wealthiest have built their fortune through business ventures and inheritances however the billionaires of history built there in a more violent way. With much said why don’t you join me in class and learn some history of the top richest man in history as I also introduce you to the top richest people of all time.

Here is the list of the wealthiest men in the history of mankind.

1. Mansa Musa (1280-1337, king of the Mali empire): Wealth indescribable

Ever heard of the Golden King? Probably not but he is the richest person that ever lived .his wealth was indescribable and some try to put it in figures of more than a trillion but he has much more than it could have been accounted.

The man is Mansa Musa of Mali. He was born in 1280 and became a ruler of the Malian empire. The 14th-century West African ruler who is described as the most generous ruler who wreaked havoc to his entire country economy and had implications in the Middle East and Europe as well .his wealth was so enormous that no one really knew how much of it he had and it’s just impossible to pin down a number.

Mansa Musa inherited the kingdom which was built by his brother and grew the kingdom of mali stretching to modern-day Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Senegal The Gambia and Mali itself. With such a great kingdom, it came with great resources such as salt and gold. Everything that was in this kingdom belonged to the king and its believed the empire of Mali accounted for half of the world’s gold at the time. This is how he became very rich since all gold that was traded in his territory was his, and also traded salt.

Though he is not celebrated as much since it’s said he dished out his wealth to other people out there rather than developing his own kingdom, the schools, libraries and mosques he built still stand to date. He is the person credited for kick-starting the tradition of education in West Africa.

2. Genghis Khan: Peak net worth: $100s trillions

He is the Genghis Emperor and the founder of the Mongol Empire. The fearsome Mongol king conquered 12 million square kilometers of land and his empire became the largest contiguous empire in history.

He united many Asians conquering nearly all of Eurasia. He is one of the leaders who massacred civilian populations during campaigns. It’s noted that he had over $100 trillion making him one of the richest man in history.

3. Emperor Shenzong of Song: Net worth $30 trillion

Emperor shenzong of song who goes by the name Zhao Xu is one of the richest people who ever lived in our list of the richest man in history.

He was the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty in China and ruled between 1067-1085.its said the emperor controlled 30% of the global GDPits said he was in the business of selling bronze which made him very rich.

4. Akbar: Net worth: $21 trillion

The renowned ruler of Mughal Empire who reigned from 1556- 1605 is one of the richest people who has ever lived. He conquered hundreds of thousands of square miles into what today is known as the Indian subcontinent.

His power and influence which was aided by his political, culture and economic dominance saw him control nearly 25% of the world’s GDP which is equivalent today to $21 trillion.

5. Augustus Caesar (63 BC-14 AD, Roman emperor): Net worth $4.6 trillion

The first emperor of the Roman Empire who was a military leader and a statesman was one of the richest individuals that have ever lived. His reign was from 27BC to 14 AD.

During his reign, he enlarged the empire conquering Dalmatia, Egypt, Raetia, Noricum, Pannonia, Africa and completing his quest in Hispania. It’s in records that his personal fortune was 20% of the entire empire economy which was worth around $4.63 trillion.

6. John D Rockefeller (1839-1937) American business magnate): Net worth $1.4 trillion

Did you know who the wealthiest American of all time is? Well, John D. Rockefeller is the richest American in history. He was born in 1839 and died in 1937. John D. Rockefeller was a business magnate and philanthropist.

He made his money by controlling 90% of oil sales in the United States. He also made lots of wealth from the railroad industry .in 1911 he became the first American billionaire and in 1913 his net worth was estimated to be around $418 billion. By 1937 Rockefeller fortune was estimated to be around $1.4 trillion.

Today the Rockefeller family which is an American political, industrial and banking family owns one of the world’s largest fortunes and it’s considered one of the world’s most powerful families with a net worth of more than $10 billion.

7. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919, Scottish-American industrialist): net worth $372bn

Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 and died in 1919. He was a Scottish American industrialist who oversaw the expansion of America’s steel industry in the late 19th century.

He is remembered not just for his wealth but as a leading philanthropist of his time donating all his fortune a $350 million which today would be equivalent to $60 billion dollars to the British and United States Empire. It’s estimated Andrew Carnegie’s net worth to have been $372 billion.

8. Nicholas II of Russia: Net worth $300bn

One of the richest people who ever lived on the face of the earth is Nicholas II of Russia who is popularly known as Nicholas the Bloody, or Saint Nicholas the Passion Bearer. He was the last emperor of Russia who ruled between 1894 to 1917 when he was forced to abdication.

During his reign, Russia suffered economically and its military power was dwindled .most historians paint a picture of a weak and incompetent ruler whose decisions led to the death of millions of his subjects and military defeats. Though much has been said about his tenure his resources were virtually incalculable but it’s reported Nicholas II of Russia’s net worth was around $300 billion.

9. Mir Osman Ali Khan (1886-1967, Indian royal): Net worth $230bn

Among the richest people in history is the ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad which was the largest state in British India. He was the last Nizam of Hyderabad and ruled between 1911 to 1948.its reported that apart from being a good leader he was one of the wealthiest people of all time.

Time magazine labeled him as the richest person at the time and the richest Indian ever. Many people remember him as a man who introduced airways, railways, roads and established numerous public institutions. He is also remembered for having donated millions of his rupees to help the vulnerable in the society, build education and religious institutions in India.

10. William The Conqueror (1028-1087): Net worth $229.5bn

Back then people knew him as William the Bastard or William the Conqueror. They called him the bastard as they thought he was a descendant of Viking invaders which explains why he got his knack for invasion.

He was the first king of England who ruled between 1066 and 1087 when he died. He was the Norman king of England and history records him as one of the richest man of all time. William the Conqueror had $229.5 billion.

11. Muammar Gaddafi (1942-2011, the long-time ruler of Libya): Net worth $200bn

Our last billionaire in our list of the top richest man in history is Muammar Gaddafi popularly known as Colonel Gaddafi. He was a Libyan politician who governed Libya from 1969 to 2011 when was killed. To many, he was a dictator who violated human rights and financed global terrorism but to some, he was a patriot. It’s recorded that Gaddafi had a fortune of more than $200 billion which he amassed during the four decades he ruled Libya.

If you thought the richest man in history is Jeff Bezos well you can he is no match to my list. Here we have the richest men in history and even though we cannot be able to account for all their wealth, we could say the figures above are true considering the vast empire some of the controlled. We do hope we have given you a good list of the richest man in history although we have not highlighted some such as the Egyptian pharaohs, King Solomon, and popes.