The 10 Richest People in History

#10 – J.P. Morgan John Pierpoint

Morgan made quite a fortune with corporate finance and industrial consolidation. He merged two electricity giants to form General Electric and two steel giants to form U.S. Steel Corporation. He passed away in 1913 and his inflation-adjusted net worth is around US $41.5 billion.

#9 – Sam Walton

The founder of world’s largest retailer, Walmart, Sam Walton died in 1992. While Walmart continues to do vigorous business, when he died, he left a fortune of US$65 billion. Adjusted for inflation, this roughly equals around US$108 billion in 2013.

#8 – John Jacob Astor Johann

Jakob Astor, the German-born American businessman and fur trader was the first multi-millionaire in the United States. He traded in furs, opium and real estate and amassed a fortune of US$20 million by the time of his death. When adjusted for inflation, his net worth in the first decade of the 21st century is around US$110.1 billion.

#7 – Henry Ford

The American automotive engineer and entrepreneur, Henry Ford, used the assembly line to increase production and reduce prices.

#6 – Asaf Jah VII Mir Osman

Ali Khan Bahadur was the last of the seven Nizams of the State of Hyderabad in India, who ruled it from 1720 to 1948. This Hyderabadi ruler, who made it to the cover of Time magazine in 1937 as the richest man in the world, printed his own currency and had a vast private treasury. This benevolent ruler who promoted education, science and development has an inflation-adjusted net worth of US$225.1 billion.

#5 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Vanderbilt gained his fortune from shipping and railroads and is one of the richest Americans in the history of the country. His net worth of US$105 million at the time of his death is equivalent to approximately US$232.54 in today’s dollars.

#4 – Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov

Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia. He was 26 years old when he became a ruler and remained in power for more than 20 years. Considered to be the wealthiest ruler, his inflation-adjusted net worth comes to around US$300 billion.

#3 – Andrew Carnegie

This Scottish-American industrialist and founder of Carnegie Steel Company sold his company to J.P. Morgan for US$480 million to form U.S. Steel in 1901. When adjusted for inflation his net worth is estimated at US$310 billion in 2014. He donated most of his wealth to his philanthropic activities and had US$30 million left at the time of this death.

#2 – Musa I Mansa

Musa became the ruler of the Mali Empire of Western Africa in 1312. Apparently, Musa’s pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca in 1324 is what drew attention of the world to his wealth. He traveled with 60,000 men, 12,000 servants dressed in silken robes and golden staves, and 80 camels each carrying 50 to 300 pounds of gold dust. Considered to be the richest man ever in history, Mansa Musa’s net worth has been valued at US$400 billion.

#1 – John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller became one of the richest people in history by dominating the oil industry. He was the co-founder of the Standard Oil Company and was the first person to ever reach the US$1 billion mark. His net worth, when adjusted for the first decade of the 21st century comes to a staggering US$663.4 billion.

Courtesy of http://www.uncoverdiscover.com