Name: Who Were The Richest People In History?
Uploaded: 2017-11-21T00:03:59.000Z
Duration: 4 min 9 s
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Over the past ten years, the number of billionaires
worldwide has skyrocketed.

During the mid-1990s, the total share of wealth
among billionaires was about $1 trillion dollars.

But as of 2017, that number has grown by 800%.

Today, just 8 people control as much money
as the bottom 3.6 billion people on the planet.

But in spite of their incredible wealth, not
one of those eight comes anywhere close to

So, who holds the title, and how much money
did they have?

Well, it’s important to note that the value
of currency over time is incredibly difficult

to calculate, and all the figures we present
are rough estimations of modern day currency.

Nonetheless, these historical figures were
almost undoubtedly the richest of their era,

and we can start, most recently, with former
dictator, Muammar Qaddafi.

As of the start of the 21st century, Ghaddafi
had ruled over Libya for four decades, and

spent that time consolidating power and wealth.

During the Libyan Civil War, which eventually
led to his death, Qaddafi was in total control

of Libya’s economy, and spent it lavishly
on himself.

When the United Nations voted to freeze his
personal assets, an estimated $130 billion

dollars in real estate and financial holdings
around the world were seized.

Further investigation found that the dictator’s
total stashed wealth, all embezzled from the

Libyan economy, was closer to $200 billion
dollars, making him the richest man in the

world at the start of the Libyan Civil War
in 2011.

This sort of wealth by world leaders is certainly
not new.

Going back more than 2000 years to Ancient
Rome, one of the most commonly referenced

richest people ever was Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Crassus was a Roman politician who was alleged
to have made his fortune through slave trade,

Most notably, Crassus was known to have formed
the first fire fighting brigade.

But instead of arriving at an ongoing fire,
and putting it out, Crassus would negotiate

for the sale of the property from the homeowner,
as it burned to the ground.

Only then would he direct his brigade to put
out the fire.

He was also known to enslave architects and
builders to reconstruct these burnt out homes,

which contributed to his massive real estate
fortune.

Crassus was estimated to control 200 million
sesterces, which does not have a direct dollar

value, but was roughly the same as the entire
Roman treasury’s annual budget.

However, modern historical accounts heavily
dispute that Crassus was not nearly as rich

as his contemporary, Emperor Augustus Caesar.

According to Time Magazine and Stanford professor
Ian Morris, Augustus’s Roman empire was

alleged to control as much as a third of the
entire world’s economic output.

His personal fortune was believed to be about
a fifth of that amount.

That’s roughly $4.6 trillion dollars, and
included personal ownership over the entire

But neither Qaddafi nor Crassus nor Augustus
hold a candle to the richest man who has ever

Mansa Musa of Mali has been described as so
inconceivably rich that no accurate figure

He ruled Mali during the 14th century, spanning
what is today Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia,

Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad,
and of course Mali.

His extraordinary fortune came from enormous
gold reserves on his territory, which he distributed

In particular, one massive pilgrimage he undertook
from Mali to Mecca spread his legendary status

Masa’s entourage included hundreds of thousands
of soldiers, civilians, and slaves, all carrying

Allegedly, his generous distribution of gold
created financial crises and mass inflation

along his pilgrimage, and he singlehandedly
urbanized entire cities, building schools

Simply put, Mansa Musa was so indescribably
rich that there is no frame of reference to

estimate his wealth, and he ranks historically
as the wealthiest person in history, hands

But while these individuals were known for
their fortunes, today, incredible wealth is

more often distributed among entire families
than singular people.

One of the most commonly named wealthiest
families in the world is the Rothschild family.

Find out just how much money they have, and
who they are, by watching this video to the

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