20 Richest People Of All Time (Guess Bill Gates’ Position) ~ Information Guide Africa

In this article, we'd be seeing the list of the top 20 richest people of all time, while many of them are dead, their legacies are still living on.
We compiled the list after comparing the equivalence of their wealth with the present dollar rates, so you won't have to do a lot of calculations..lol. One fact worth knowing is that many of them did something unique before reaching the position, so after reading, you might want to think about what to invent.
So let's get going:

20. Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (also officially Genghis Emperor) was the founder and first Great Khan and Emperor of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death.
MSN.com stated Genghis Khan's peak net worth at $100s trillions (£100s of trillions). One special thing that made him stand out from the others in the list was that he never hoarded his wealth, but rather gave them out generously.

19. Bill Gates (108.3 billion USD)

If you're reading this post with a Microsoft Windows computer, you probably owe Bill Gates a big thanks. Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend, Paul Gardner Allen.
He was the richest man in the world until July 2017 when Amazon's Jeff Bezos briefly overtook him. Since then, they've been in a kind of competition, but it appears Jeff Bezos has given him a wide margin.

18. Heshen ($132 billion)

Heshen was an official of the Qing dynasty favoured by the Qianlong Emperor. In 1772, he began work in the Imperial Palace, assigned as an imperial bodyguard and was stationed at the gates to the Forbidden City.

He was a member of the Plain Red Banner, and known as the most corrupt official in Chinese history. After his death, it was discovered that he stockpiled a personal fortune of $132 billion (£94bn) in today's money.

17. Jeff Bezos (147.2 billion USD)

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is the founder, CEO, and president of the multinational technology company Amazon. Bezos is not only the richest person on Earth, but also the first centi-billionaire in modern history.
He has been the world's richest person since 2017, and might also become the world's first trillionaire, looking at the level of his growth.

16. Alan Rufus (£11,000, worth $194 billion in 2014 dollars)

Alan Rufus 1st Lord of Richmond, was a Breton nobleman and companion of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England. He was the second son of Eozen Penteur by Orguen Kernev.

According to Philip Beresford and Bill Rubinstein, Rufus died with £11,000(approximately $194 billion in 2014 dollars).

16. Cornelius Vanderbilt ($185 billion)

Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. He was a self-made multi-millionaire who became one of the wealthiest Americans of the 19th century.
Vanderbilt invested his profits in steamboats, he lent his money to other businessmen, he bought real estate, and he purchased stock in private corporations.
He is also the founder of Vanderbilt University, and his family name still carries much clout today.

14. Henry Ford ($199 billion)

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production.
As the owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism": mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers.

13. Muammar Gaddafi ($200 billion)

Muammar Gaddafi was a Libyan revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He ruled Libya from 1st September 1969 till 20th October 2011 when he was assassinated in Sirte, Libya.
In 2011, Gaddafi had an estimated net worth of $200 billion, making him the richest person of his time. What do you expect from someone who ruled an oil-rich country like Libya for over 42 years?

12. William I ($209 billion to $229 billion)

William I (usually known as William the Conqueror) was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. He was a descendant of Rollo and was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward.
William the Conqueror’s wealth has been estimated to be between $209 billion and $229 billion.

11. Jakob Fugger ($221 billion)

Jakob Fugger was a German merchant, mining entrepreneur and banker. He was a descendant of the Fugger merchant family located in the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, where he was born and later also elevated through marriage to Grand Burgher of Augsburg.
The foundation of the family's wealth was created mainly by the textile trade with Italy. The family was also into mining of silver and gold in Hungary and Bohemia.

10. Mir Osman Ali Khan ($230 billion)

Mir Osman Ali Khan was the last Nizam of the princely state of Hyderabad, the largest princely state in British India. He ascended the throne on 11th August, 1911, at the age of 25 and ruled Hyderabad between 1911 and 1948, until it was annexed by India.
He was a benevolent ruler who patronised education, science and development. He was also a philanthropist, donating millions of rupees to various educational and religious institutions all over India.

9. Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov ($300 billion)

Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov was the last Emperor of All Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign, the Russian Empire fell from one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse.
The Romanov family were eventually executed by communist revolutionaries under Yakov Yurovsky in Yekaterinburg on the night of 16–17 July 1918.

8. Andrew Carnegie ($310 billion)

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. He came to prominence during the mid-1800s by way of the steel industry, having led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century.
He also became one of the richest Americans in history, with a net worth of $310 billion. During the last 18 years of his life, Carnegie gave out almost 90 percent of his fortune to charities, foundations, and universities.

7. John Davison Rockefeller ($340 billion)

John D. Rockefeller was n American business magnate and philanthropist. He is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time, and the richest person in modern history.
He grew to prominence over his lifetime as the co-founder of Standard Oil. He is also widely known for his philanthropy and founded two colleges during his lifetime, the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University. John Davison Rockefeller had a net worth of $340 billion.

6. Mansa Musa ($400 billion)

Mansa Musa has been described as the wealthiest individual of the Middle Ages. He was the tenth Mansa of the Mali Empire, an Islamic West African state.

During Musa's reign, Mali may have been the largest producer of gold in the world, hence he is being considered one of the richest people in history. He conquered over 24 cities, along with their surrounding districts.

5. King Solomon of Israel

King Solomon ruled the United Kingdom of Israel from 970 BC to 931 BC and acquired great wealth during his reign. According to the Bible, he received 25 tons of gold for each of the 39 years of his reign, which would be worth billions of dollars in 2020.
In addition to the riches he must have amassed from taxation and trade, Solomon would have definitely worth trillions of dollars in the modern world.

4. Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin

Joseph Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until 1953. He controlled USSR's wealth which had 9.6% of global GDP. Multiple economists nominated him as one of the richest people of all times because separating his wealth from that of the Soviet Union wasn't easy.

3. Akbar I

Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expand and consolidate Mughal domains in India. He ruled India's Mughal Dynasty, which had 25% of global GDP and had so much power and influence over the entire subcontinent.

2. Emperor Shenzong

Emperor Shenzong of Song was the sixth emperor of the Song dynasty in China from 1067 until his death in 1085. Having ruled an empire with over 25% - 30% of the global GDP, Emperor Shenzong is obviously one of the richest men of all times.

1. Augustus Caesar

Augustus Caesar was a Roman statesman, military leader and the first emperor of the Roman Empire. He reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14 and boasted a personal fortune equivalent to 20% of the entire empire's economy, worth $4.63 trillion nowadays.
Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia. Augustus died in 19 August AD 14 and was succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius.

Who did we miss? Who's your favourite? Don't forget to drop us a comment and share with your friends. Before you leave, also check out our next post on the biography and net worth of Nairabet founder and CEO, Akin Alabi.

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