The 10 Wealthiest People in History

Most people in today's generation often think that the richest people in history are the ones who own a big business or who shine on television screens. When it comes to the 10 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, we will show you the most moneyed people of all time, as guesstimated by leading economists and historians and adjusted for inflation. You may feel that today’s obscenely rich people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffetts of the world have fortunes so vast that they could never be topped. But there have been countless fortunes won and lost throughout history, both modern and ancient. People have built massive amounts of wealth a variety of ways: through blood, through the crown, savvy investing, or building incredibly powerful businesses.