K. Gitter

Step aside Carlos Slim and Warren Buffett. When it comes to the 20 richest people in history, these massively wealthy tycoons don't even get a look-in. From 19th-century American industrialists to the African king who once owned half the world's gold, here are the most moneyed people of all time, as guesstimated by leading economists and historians and adjusted for inflation. 30. SHELDON ADELSON (U.S.) CHAIRMAN AND CEO, LAS VEGAS SANDS - PEAK NET WORTH: $30.4 BILLION CardsChat American casino magnate, Sheldon Gary Adelson, has a net worth of $31.9 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. Currently the 8th wealthiest American and 16th wealthiest person in the world, Adelson vastly increased his net worth upon the initial public offering of Las Vegas Sands in December 2004. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center. His fortune is up $7 billion since in 2010, as his strong position in the casino-crazy Asian markets has pushed stock of Las Vegas Sands up roughly 50% to a recent $48. (Shares once traded as low as $1.50 in 2009.) Through his majority-owned subsidiary Sands China, Adelson has 3 resorts in Macau. 29. LI KA-SHING, CHAIRMAN, CK HUTCHISON HOLDINGS - PEAK NET WORTH: $31.2 BILLION BusinessInsider Currently based in Hong Kong, Li Ka-Shing is a Chinese investor, philanthropist, and business magnate with an estimated net worth of $31.7 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. Sir Ka-shing Li is currently seated as the Chairman of the Board of Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL). He is also considered as the largest operator of container chemicals in the world. In addition to that, he was named as the world’s largest retailer of health and beauty products. 28. ALICE WALTON (U.S.) WAL-MART HEIR; CHAIRMAN, CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF ART - PEAK NET WORTH: 33.8 BILLION Business Insider American heiress to the Wal-Mart fortune, Alice Louise Walton, has a net worth of $36 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. She is the daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and Helen Walton, and sister of S. Robson Walton and Jim Walton. Another brother, John T. Walton, died in a 2005 plane crash. She is building Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. While Wal-Mart’s shares are nearly flat over 2010, the 3 children of the founder collected $1.2 billion in dividends. His father, a former clerk, Sam Walton (d.1992) founded Bentonville store with brother James 1962; today Wal-Mart has sales of $405 billion, employs more than 2.1 million people. An avid horse-lover, Walton currently lives in Mineral Wells, Texas on the Rocking W Ranch. 27. SERGEY BRIN (U.S.) PRESIDENT, GOOGLE - PEAK NET WORTH: 49.5 BILLION Big Speak American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, Sergey Mikhaylovich Brin, has a net worth of $45.9 billion in May 2017, according to Bloomberg. Page is the co-founder of Google. If knowledge is power, maybe information is too. Brin met co-founder Larry Page in Stanford computer science Ph.D. program, now the brainy duo are trying to put all the world’s information at your fingertips. Yet despite professed intentions to “do no evil,” Google is blamed in some quarters for decimating traditional publishing, journalism. Brin: “Some say Google is God; others say Google is Satan.” 26. MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (U.S.), CEO, BLOOMBERG - $48.8 BILLION Static01 American businessman, politician, and philanthropist, Michael Rubens Bloomberg, has a net worth of $48.8 billion as of April 2017, according to Forbes. Bloomberg is the 10th richest man in the world. He became the mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013. He graduated from John’s Hopkins University in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966. 25. BERNARD ARNAULT, CHAIRMAN, AND CEO, LOUIS VUITTON - PEAK NET WORTH - $51.8 BILLION mediacdn French businessman, chairman, and CEO of French conglomerate LVMH, Bernard Arnault, has a net worth of $51.8 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. LVMH Moët Hennessy, Louis Vuitton S.A. is the largest luxury-products company in the world. 24. MARK ZUCKERBERG, CO-FOUNDER, AND CEO, FACEBOOK - PEAK NET WORTH: $63.5 BILLION American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg, has an estimated net worth of $63.5 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. Based on the IPO price of $42 a share for Facebook, he sold 30 million shares on the stock’s debut day in order to raise cash to pay taxes, but he still had 503 million shares at the conclusion of the IPO. Even after losing $7.2 billion, Mark Zuckerberg is still among the 25 richest people in the world. 23. WARREN BUFFET (U.S.) CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY - PEAK NET WORTH: $77.2 BILLION Fifth Person American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist, Warren Buffett, has a net worth of $77.2 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. Unlike the other wealthy people on Forbes’ top 10 rich list, Buffett doesn’t have an oil well, retail empire, or a brain for computing to show for it – he simply have a lot of share certificates. The world’s third richest man made his fortune through companies that he believed were worth more than their market value, investing in them for the long-term. It’s certainly paid off. He joined Bill Gates’ “Giving Pledge,” aim to donate 99% of his wealth to charity. He wants the 99% spent within 10 years of his death. 22. AMANCIO ORTEGA (SPAIN) CO-FOUNDER, ZARA - PEAK NET WORTH: $80.5 BILLION Salary And Net Worth Amancio Ortega is a businessman with a personal net worth of $80.5 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. Ortega stepped down as chairman of Inditex, the $15.8 billion (sales) fashion firm, but retains 87% of his fortune from his stake in the publicly traded firm. The company, which operates under several brand names including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Stradivarius, has 5,000 stores in 77 countries. 21. (WELCOME TO THE BILLIONAIRE CLUB) JEFF BEZOS (U.S.) CEO, AMAZON - PEAK NET WORTH: $81.9 BILLION American businessman, founder, president, CEO, and chairman of Amazon.com, Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos, has a net worth of $81.9 billion in July 2017, according to Bloomberg. A Tau Beta Pi graduate of Princeton University, worked as a financial analyst for D. E. Shaw & Co. before founding Amazon in 1994. As a toddler in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Bezos tried to dismantle his crib with a screwdriver. His mechanical aptitude continued and he converted his parents’ garage into a lab for science projects. Bright enough to enter Princeton, Bezos switched from physics to a BSc degree in electrical engineering and computer science, which he earned with distinction. 20. HESHEN – PEAK NET WORTH: $132 BILLION MSN No doubt the wealthiest government official in history, Heshen, who was born in 1750, was an administrator of the Qing Dynasty and a favorite of the Emperor, which allowed him to get away with stealing tax revenues on an industrial scale. When he died in 1799, the corrupt official was found to have stockpiled a personal fortune of $132 billion in today's money. 19. BILL GATES – PEAK NET WORTH: $144 BILLION CNN Though uber-philanthropist Bill Gates is worth a relatively paltry $75 billion in 2016, although this still makes him the richest person in the world, the Microsoft founder's personal fortune hit $101 billion for a short time in 1999. Adjusted for inflation, this brings his peak net worth up to $144 billion. 18. WILLIAM DE WARENNE, 1ST EARL OF SURREY – PEAK NET WORTH: $146 BILLION My First Class Life This 11th-century Norman nobleman was England's number one real estate mogul of his time. According to the Domesday Book survey of 1086, de Warenne owned land in 13 English counties, including the prestigious Rape of Sussex, as well as manors and castles in Norfolk, Suffolk, Yorkshire and Essex, worth the modern day equivalent of $146 billion. 17. JOHN JACOB ASTOR – PEAK NET WORTH: $168 BILLION ThoughtCo America's first multimillionaire, the German-born merchant was the first prominent member of the Astor family. He made his fortune trading in furs and built a powerful monopoly in the early 19th century, controlling the trade in the US and Canada. At the time of his death in 1848, Astor was worth $20 million, around 1/107 of US GDP, which translates to $168 billion in today's money. 16. ALAN RUFUS, 1ST LORD OF RICHMOND – PEAK NET WORTH: $195 BILLION Stirile Kanal D This medieval aristocrat amassed a huge fortune during his lifetime thanks to the patronage of William the Conqueror (later King William I of England), his ridiculously rich uncle and close companion. According to historian William Rubenstein, Rufus was worth £11,000 ($15,000) when he died in 1093, around 7% of England's GDP at the time, which is the equivalent of $195 billion in 2016. 15. HENRY FORD – PEAK NET WORTH: $200+ BILLION The Henry Ford The founder of the hugely profitable Ford Motor Company revolutionized vehicle manufacturing and brought the car to the mass market, selling over one million vehicles in 1920. It's no surprise then that, upon his death in 1947, Ford was worth the equivalent of $200 billion in today's money, and then some. 14. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT – PEAK NET WORTH: $202 BILLION Famous Entrepreneurs Born in 1794 to a struggling family in Staten Island, Vanderbilt went from rags to riches during his lifetime, building up a colossal fortune in the railroad and shipping industries, and giving much of it away later on in life. At his peak, Vanderbilt is thought to have been worth $202 billion in today's money. 13. MUAMMAR GADDAFI – PEAK NET WORTH: $212 BILLION How Nigeria News In 2011, Libyan officials estimated that deposed leader Colonel Gaddafi squirreled away $200 billion in secret bank accounts, shady investments and dubious real estate deals during his dictatorship, stolen from the country's massive oil revenues. Adjusted for inflation, this is the equivalent of $212 billion in 2016. 12. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR – PEAK NET WORTH: $228 BILLION ThoughtCo The first Norman ruler of England who famously invaded the kingdom in 1066, William the Conqueror seized lands and plundered treasures from Sussex to Yorkshire that would be worth $228 billion in today's money. He spent his lavish riches on everything from tapestries to castles, including the iconic White Tower at the Tower of London. 11. JAKOB FUGGER – PEAK NET WORTH: $277 BILLION The Gospel Herald Fittingly dubbed 'Jakob the Rich', this banker, merchant, and mining pioneer was Europe's richest man during the early 16th century. His enormous wealth enabled him to influence the politics of the time, funding the rise of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, as well as bankrolling the Spanish King Charles V. 10. OSMAN ALI KHAN, ASAF JAH VII– PEAK NET WORTH: $230 BILLION Alchetron The last ruler of Hyderabad in India, Khan was absolute leader of the princely state from 1911 and 1948, and for a good part of the 20th century, he was known as the richest man in the world with an estimated fortune of $2 billion by the early 40s. This is the equivalent of 2% of the US economy or around $230 billion today. 9. TSAR NICHOLAS II OF RUSSIA – PEAK NET WORTH: $300 BILLION Ill-fated Nicholas Romanov ruled over the Russian Empire from 1894 to 1917, during which time he had full access to the nation's coffers, making him one of the richest monarchs in history. Not one to redistribute his wealth, a 1916 estimate of the Tsar's personal fortune equates to $300 billion in today's money. 8. ANDREW CARNEGIE – PEAK NET WORTH: $337 BILLION Blogspot From humble beginnings in Scotland, Andrew Carnegie led the massive expansion of the US steel industry in the late 19th century, amassing a personal fortune economists estimate would be worth $337 billion nowadays. A full-on philanthropist, Carnegie gave away 90% of his fortune to various charities and educational establishments during the last years of his life. 7. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER – PEAK NET WORTH: $367 BILLION history.com Widely regarded as the richest American who ever lived, John D. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil company in 1870 and ended up controlling around 90% of the US oil business. Economist Peter Bernstein estimates that the industrialist-turned-philanthropist had a personal fortune of $367 billion in today's money. 6. MANSA MUSA I OF MALI – PEAK NET WORTH: $415 BILLION Musa I is easily one of the richest people in history, amassing the equivalent of $415 billion during his 25-year reign from 1312-1327. The King of Timbuktu and Malian emperor, who controlled a huge empire which covered much of modern-day Mali and Ghana, had half of the world's supply of gold at his disposal, which was traded with merchants from as far away as Venice, Genoa and Egypt. 5. KING SOLOMON OF ISRAEL – PEAK NET WORTH: $2.2 TRILLION IDS According to the Bible, King Solomon ruled from 970 BC to 931 BC, and during this time he is said to have received 25 tons of gold for each of the 39 years of his reign, which would be worth billions of dollars in 2016. Along with impossible riches amassed from taxation and trade, the biblical ruler's personal fortune could have surpassed $2 trillion in today's money. 4. AUGUSTUS CAESAR – PEAK NET WORTH: $4.63 TRILLION French-Engraving.com The first Roman emperor, who ruled the vast empire from 27 BC until his death in AD 14, boasted a personal fortune equivalent to 20% of the entire empire's economy, worth $4.63 trillion nowadays. At one point Augustus even owned Egypt. It wasn't to last however. Poor economic performance and a succession of military failures plagued his final years. 3. AKBAR I – PEAK NET WORTH: $21 TRILLION Cultural India Renowned for his lavish lifestyle and patronage of the arts, this emperor conquered hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory and ruled over much of the Indian subcontinent, known as the Mughal Empire from 1556 until 1605. He controlled around 25% of the world's GDP at the time, which would translate to a staggering $21 trillion today. 2. EMPEROR SHENZONG OF SONG – PEAK NET WORTH: $30+ TRILLION Shenzong ruled China from 1067-1085 during the 'Peaceful Prosperity' and 'Primary Abundance' eras when he controlled around 30% of global GDP, the equivalent of $30+ trillion today. Adept at collecting taxes, the emperor's administration wasn't all take, take, take however. Its famous New Policies, which helped improve the lives of the poor, are seen as a forerunner of the modern welfare state. 1. GENGHIS KHAN – PEAK NET WORTH: $100 TRILLION Wikimedia The fearsome Mongol leader conquered a mind-blowing 12 million square miles of land between 1206 and his death in 1227, more than anyone else in history. But while his hordes pillaged their way through huge swathes of Eurasia (the combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia) – territory that is now worth trillions of dollars – Khan didn't actually hoard his spoils, choosing to redistribute the stolen loot and territory among his subjects instead. SOURCE: (The Richest, CBS News)