Top 10 Richest People in History – Insane Wealth Across the Ages - video Dailymotion

Omnivue TV

Who were the richest people to ever walk the Earth?  This video reveals the Top 10 wealthiest individuals in history, adjusted for inflation — from ancient emperors and oil tycoons to tech giants. Their fortunes were so vast, they could shape nations and economies.  💰 Featured Names Include:  Mansa Musa of Mali  John D. Rockefeller  Augustus Caesar  Andrew Carnegie  Elon Musk & Jeff Bezos (modern comparisons)  Learn how these historic figures built and held onto unimaginable wealth across time.  🔔 Subscribe to Omnivue.TV for elite stories of power, fortune, and influence — past and present.  #RichestInHistory  #WealthThroughTime  #Top10Richest   #HistoricalWealth  #Billionaires  #OmnivueTV  #OldMoney   #LegacyWealth  #ExtremeFortunes  #RichAndFamous

Transcript

00:00Jeff Bezos is viewed by as many as the richest person to have ever walked the earth.

00:05However, there are many billionaires and even trillionaires that have come before him.

00:10That being said, it can be challenging to estimate the wealth of someone who was born in the 1400s

00:16or someone who owned a kingdom.

00:18But using the opinions of several different experts, a pretty clear list can be compiled.

00:23Today, we're going to take a look at the top 10 richest people of all time

00:27and see how they earned their wealth and what exactly they used it for.

00:31Number 10. William the Conqueror. $230 billion.

00:35When you have the word conqueror in your name, chances are you're going to have quite a few assets.

00:41William the Conqueror was born around 1028 and went on to become the first Norman King of England.

00:47His estimated fortune reached its height at around $230 billion,

00:52a little less than double Jeff Bezos' fortune.

00:55So, how did he amass such a wealth?

00:58Well, his name gives that one away.

01:01As one did in England back in the heyday, William earned his fortune by pillaging pretty much everyone.

01:07He conquered England in 1066, a conquest that saw the loss of around 100,000 lives.

01:13When he was crowned king, he did several things that shifted England.

01:16He banned slavery and made everyone in England speak Franklish because he wasn't fluent in English.

01:22During his wealthy reign, he had over 500 castles built across England and Wales,

01:29and he became one of the largest landowners in England of all time.

01:32He was known to eat well and wear fine clothes, so much so that when he passed in 1087,

01:38his clothes and jewelry were immediately stripped from his body by looters, leaving him naked.

01:43Number 9. Osman Ali Khan – $236 billion

01:48One of the most recent billionaires on our list, Osman Ali Khan was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1937 as the world's richest person.

01:58The last ruler of the princely state in Hyderabad, in India, his wealth was well known.

02:04So, how wealthy was he exactly?

02:06Modern experts estimate that his wealth hovered around $236 billion.

02:12But the Guinness Book of World Records claimed that he was worth $750 billion.

02:17Unfortunately, we'll have to go with the experts on this one.

02:20That being said, Osman Ali Khan lived a life few of us could ever imagine.

02:25The Jacob Diamond, which is the fifth biggest polished diamond in the world, was in his constant possession.

02:31One might assume he would set it on a ring, or a necklace, or a glass case.

02:35But Osman Ali Khan used the precious diamond as a paperweight in his office.

02:39But that wasn't the only jewel he owned.

02:42He owned a large collection of jewels, known as the Jewels of Nizarbs, that were passed down from ruler to ruler.

02:49This collection included 173 jewels, including 2,000 carats worth of emeralds,

02:54dozens of pearls-studded necklaces, buckles, earrings, crowns, armbands, and the Satellata, a necklace embedded with 465 pearls.

03:04Altogether, the jewels are estimated to be worth $2 billion, only a fraction of his immense wealth.

03:10Yet, despite owning such a wealth, living in a massive palace, owning 50 Rolls-Royce vehicles, and having 300 servants,

03:18Osman didn't always reflect his financial status.

03:21He was known to wear the same hat for nearly his entire life.

03:25He ate his food on a tin plate, and was known to beg his guests to bomb a cigarette.

03:30He was even known to knit his own socks.

03:33Over the course of his rule, he introduced electricity, airplanes, and railways to the district.

03:38He was also known for donating much of his wealth to educational institutions and religious institutions throughout India.

03:45Number 8. Nikolai Romanov.

03:46Russia has had its fair share of wealthy families, and the Romanovs are perhaps the most well-known.

03:55Unfortunately for them, their wealth is one of the reasons they were massacred.

03:59Nikolai Romanov, the last Tsar of Russia, was estimated to have around $300 billion to his name.

04:06He's viewed by many modern historians as a weak, incompetent leader, and historians weren't the only ones who felt that way.

04:13Nikolai was even credited himself saying,

04:16I am not prepared to be a Tsar.

04:18I never wanted to be one.

04:19I know nothing of the business of ruling.

04:21However, his incompetence and reluctance to be a ruler doesn't mean he didn't enjoy his spoils.

04:27He had an annual salary of 200,000 rubles, with an additional 20,000 rubles to spend on clothes and miscellaneous items.

04:35However, he constantly overshot that $20,000 limit, often spending an additional 150,000 rubles.

04:42For reference, factory workers only earned 500 rubles per year, and high-ranking generals only made 5,000 rubles.

04:51His spending money was 40 times that of the annual salary of an average worker.

04:56So, what exactly did he spend all that money on?

04:59Pretty much anything he wanted.

05:01He regularly spent 20,000 rubles to have clothes and military uniforms custom-made for himself.

05:07His wife also joined in on these shopping sprees.

05:09She was known to spend 40,000 rubles on extravagant jewelry.

05:14Then there are the events that Nikolai spent his money on.

05:16His coronation was the most expensive coronation in Russia's history.

05:2124 tons of silver and gold tableware were brought to the event.

05:25A choir of 1,200 people were hired to serenade the couple.

05:29He loved to throw parties for his country and himself.

05:32On the 300th anniversary of the dynasty, he celebrated by pardoning all civil debts and had over 1.5 million gold, silver, and bronze medals made to commemorate the event.

05:44In addition, he mass-produced postal stamps, handkerchiefs, and mugs and celebrated the event.

05:50Basically, he sent everyone away with really expensive goodie bags.

05:53He was also known for eating extravagant meals and going on lavish trips.

05:58His kitchen was manned by 55 people and offered three levels of meals.

06:03The most simple still included a four-course breakfast, five-course lunch, and a four-course dinner.

06:09The food was so upscale that the leftovers were served as delicacies at local restaurants.

06:14His trips were most often hunting trips.

06:17Fifty crew members were brought to make the experience as luxury as possible, and that included painters who would paint scenes from the hunt.

06:24His annual hunting budget was equivalent to the yearly salary of 100 schoolteachers.

06:30If that's not extravagant wealth, well, I don't know what is.

06:33Number 7. Andrew Carnegie.

06:35$309 billion.

06:37When you think of wealthy American families, chances are the Carnegies come to mind.

06:42Andrew Carnegie was a steel magnate who went from working in a factory changing spools of thread to having a net worth of $309 billion.

06:51He started his early career working as a telegraph messenger.

06:54His success, hard work, and attention to detail led him becoming the superintendent of the Western Division of Pennsylvania Railroad.

07:02By the time he was 24, his superiors at his jobs taught him about business and influenced his investing,

07:08which led him to investing a lot of money in the railroad industry, right as it began to boom.

07:13After the Civil War, Carnegie left the railroad business and went on to develop several ironworks companies,

07:19namely Keystone Bridgeworks and the Union Ironworks.

07:23He also launched the Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan for an astounding $13 billion.

07:30His wealth was immense and well-known, but he took a rather modern approach to using it.

07:35He wrote a book, The Gospel of Wealth, which discusses the wealthy's social responsibility.

07:40His most famous quote,

07:42The man who dies rich, dies disgraced, was also practiced by him.

07:46He donated the equivalent of $4.8 billion to charities and upon his death gave most of it away.

07:53He left his family with a small sum of his wealth and also left sizable amounts to his housekeeper, nurse, main servant, and his butler.

08:01Number 6. Jacob Fugger – $400 billion

08:04Jacob Fugger was one rich Fugger.

08:07Jokes aside, Jacob Fugger was actually known as Jacob the Rich, and for good reason.

08:13He's estimated to have had a fortune of around $400 billion.

08:17Back in the good old 1400s, Jacob's parents earned their fortune trading textiles with Italy.

08:23When Jacob came of age, he started mining operations for silver, quicksilver, copper, and cinnabar.

08:29He had a talent for investing, and he often spread his wealth across many different industries, and it worked out pretty well for him.

08:36By the time he had truly made it, he was learning money out to the Vatican.

08:40His money helped build many of the Vatican's buildings, including the Sistine Chapel.

08:44He was known to spend his money on some rather lavish things from time to time, and in a period of extreme wealth in Italy that often meant building homes, art, and fine clothing.

08:54His wife greatly benefited from this.

08:57At one point in his life, he bought his wife 40,000 guilders' worth of jewelry.

09:01His own home was four stories tall and was, at the time, a modern Renaissance building.

09:07There were water fountains and fireplaces in every single room.

09:11He was also quite a giver.

09:12He funded Fugare, which became the first low-income housing program in the world.

09:18There are 52 homes on the property that housed families in difficult situations.

09:22The yearly rent was one symbolic gilder, though the residences did have to pray for the Fugger family three times per day.

09:30Fuggeray is still standing with residents to this day, and they still only have to pay one gilder per year, which equals about 88 cents.

09:39There's no word on if they still have to pray for the family, however.

09:41Good old Jeff may be the most wealthy American right now, but he's got a long way to go to beat the wealthiest American of all time.

09:54John D. Rockefeller.

09:55That name should sound familiar to you.

09:57The oil tycoon had a fortune of around $400 billion.

10:01He founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870, which began to skyrocket in value shortly after.

10:08At one point in time, Standard Oil Company controlled 90% of the oil in the United States.

10:13His personal wealth became so enormous that his fortune was 2% of the national economy.

10:19With all his money, Rockefeller lived an incredibly comfortable life.

10:22He owned houses across the United States.

10:25Most notably, he owned Kaikuit, a 40-home room with views of New York City.

10:29The home took six years to complete and featured collections of Chinese ceramics and 20th-century art.

10:36But the Kaikuit home was just the beginning.

10:38The home was set on an estate that would come to be known as the Pocantico Estate.

10:43The estate covered 3,510 acres and included 75 houses, 70 roads, and 9-hole reversible golf course,

10:52outdoor swimming pools, several tennis courts, a full-sized bowling alley, billiard halls, and its own farm and gardens.

10:59Rockefeller wasn't well-liked by much of the public, but as he aged, he really stepped his philanthropy game up.

11:06He donated 10% of his income yearly to charity.

11:09Number 4.

11:10Akbar won.

11:11Akbar I owned a massive empire in the 1500s, and he had quite a fortune too.

11:16Estimated to have been around $500 billion, though some estimates say he was worth even more.

11:23As a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, he had ruling and conquering in his blood.

11:28He worked hard from the moment he took the throne to conquer as much territory as possible,

11:33tripling it in the size by the end of his rule.

11:35Known as the Magal Empire, his reign stretched across India all the way into northern Afghanistan.

11:42He was most known for his religious tolerance, which was most unheard of in the time.

11:46Although he was Muslim, many of his closest advisors and the city leaders were Hindu.

11:51He took an active role in uniting the two religions and allowing individuals the freedom to choose.

11:57He was known for helping translate Hindu literature, and he even took an active role in Hindu festivals.

12:02Little is known about how his wealth was spent, but it is known that he had a lot of it.

12:08His empire controlled 25% of the world's GDP for years.

12:13His palace was said to have exquisite carvings, wall paintings, and extremely rare furniture.

12:19Number 3.

12:19Augustus Caesar

12:20Julius Caesar may be more well-known, but his heir, Augustus Caesar, was the rich one.

12:26He is the only confirmed trillionaire in history, owning a fifth of the wealth of the Roman Empire,

12:33which accounted for 30% of the world's GDP at the time.

12:37Most experts agree his fortune hovered around $4.3 trillion.

12:42On top of the wealth his position as emperor brought, much of his fortune came from inheritance.

12:47He inherited 75% of Julius Caesar's wealth, and while no one knows exactly how much that is,

12:54Julius was known to have left 300 sestases to every Roman citizen upon his death.

13:00At the time, 300 sestases was worth four months' wages, and that barely put a dent in his finances.

13:06But it wasn't just Julius who gave Augustus money.

13:09Several wealthy families were known to leave part of their estate to the emperor,

13:13hoping it would bring political safety to their own children.

13:16During his 40-year affluent reign, he doubles the size of the Roman Empire.

13:21He founded a standing army, police and fire services, a courier system, and roads,

13:26effectively bringing Rome into the modern age.

13:29During his life, he lived in a palace now known as the House of Augustus.

13:33The House of Augustus featured entire rooms dedicated to art and weapons.

13:37Mosaics were said to cover every floor, and frescoes were said to cover every wall.

13:42Upon his death, one of the last recorded things he said was,

13:46I found Rome of Clay, I leave it to you of marble.

13:49Indeed, his rule ushered in a 200-year era of peace and prosperity in the empire.

13:55Number 2.

13:56Shazong of Song

13:57The runner-up for the most wealthy person in history is also one of the most mysterious on our list.

14:03Emperor Shazong of Song reigned from 1067 to 1085.

14:08Lucky for him, this was during an extremely affluent and prosperous era of China.

14:13They were the top makers of bronzeware in the world, and farmers were granted the rights to own their own property.

14:19The production of rice skyrocketed and became a staple of the economy, making them a commercial superpower.

14:25In addition to this, gunpowder, printing, and magnetic compasses were invented during this time.

14:30The Song dynasty was able to create the world's first paper money.

14:34It also formed the world's first navy.

14:36The navy allowed them to defend their trade routes, which protected their products.

14:40With all this innovation, Emperor Shazong controlled 30% of the global GDP.

14:45And with a highly centralized economy, Shazong had immense control over the money.

14:50His wealth has been called immeasurable.

14:52Experts know it is trillions of dollars, but it's hard to pin down an exact amount.

14:57Much of his financial status is attributed to the fact that he formed an increased tax collection,

15:02hundreds of years ahead of European governments.

15:04But even with his wealth, Shazong was known for being fairly giving.

15:08He is viewed as a forerunner of the modern welfare system.

15:11His policies actively improve the situations of the unemployed, the homeless, and the peasants.

15:16Number 1.

15:17The most wealthy person in the history of the world may be someone you've never heard of.

15:22But after this, you won't forget him.

15:24Mansa Musa controlled a fortune so vast, so extravagant, that modern historians cannot even fathom how much he truly had.

15:33He rode across Africa on zebras carrying thousands of pounds of gold.

15:38And that was the equivalent of spare change to him.

15:41He became the ruler of the Mali Empire in the early 1300s, when his predecessor went missing, trying to find the end of the Atlantic Ocean.

15:50It's too bad his predecessor couldn't just stick to land, because he would have had a pretty incredible life.

15:55During Mansa Musa's rule, Europe was struggling immensely.

16:00Things like the Great Famine, Civil War, and a fun little thing called Black Death brought all the kingdoms of Europe to its knees.

16:07But Mali… Mali was doing fantastic.

16:10It was the world's largest producers of gold and salt, which were the two most important products at the time.

16:17Mansa Musa conquered 24 cities and the surrounding districts within the first few years of his rule.

16:23Yet he remained distant from the rest of the world.

16:25Even in Egypt and the Middle East, little was known about him.

16:29But that all changed when Mansa Musa began his journey to Mecca.

16:33As a Muslim, the pilgrimage was an important part of his religion.

16:36But when you have that kind of money, you don't exactly have to rough it.

16:40His voyage to Mecca covered 4000 miles, and he didn't go at it alone.

16:44He brought tens of thousands of soldiers, slaves, and heralds.

16:48Every single person wore Persian silk and carried gold staffs.

16:53The camels and horses carried hundreds of pounds of gold.

16:56There were at least 80 camels that carried between 50 to 300 pounds each.

17:01As he journeyed through Africa, he was a spectacle for all to see.

17:05He often spent frivolously in cities and even gave gold as gifts.

17:09Upon hearing he was approaching Cairo, Al-Nasir, the sultan, ordered him to visit his palace.

17:14Mansa Musa refused, but finally agreed to go.

17:17Upon Al-Nasir's constant insistence, there was a moment of tension with Mansa Musa refused to kiss Al-Nasir's feet,

17:24which was a common gesture of respect at the time.

17:27He eventually conceded, and Al-Nasir offered him lodging for the night.

17:30His time in Cairo was one few could forget.

17:33But by the time he left, the streets were covered in gold,

17:36and the people were basking in the fortune he had given them.

17:39But unfortunately, giving the fortune became a problem.

17:41His gifts depreciated the value of metal, and it would take 12 years for the city of Cairo, Medina, and Mecca to financially recover.

17:49It is said on his long journey to Mecca that he funded a mosque being built every single Friday.

17:54Upon arriving in Mecca, he turned himself to his religion and studies for days at a time.

18:00When he returned home, he got to working on building palaces, mosques, and universities throughout his empire.

18:06He created Sankor Madrasa, a leading center and university.

18:10The university housed one million manuscripts, rivaling even that of the Library of Alexandria.

18:15Unfortunately, soon after Mansa Musa's death, the Empire of Mali began to fall.

18:21Constant civil war began to weaken the country, and its ability to trade began to diminish.

18:26By the 1600s, Mali was being invaded by European cities to exploit its resources, and the rest is history.

18:32So, there you have it, the 10 wealthiest people in history.

18:36Do you think Jeff Bezos will pass them?

18:38Let me know in the comment section down below.

18:40If you enjoyed the video, make sure to leave a like and subscribe.

18:43Oh, and turn on post notifications.

18:45As always, I'm Mr. Luxury, Pip-Pip to doodly-doo.

Top 10 Richest People in History – Insane Wealth Across the Ages

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