The richest men of the last 1000 years

Celebrity Networth have calculated the wealthiest people of the last 1000 years adjusted for inflation. Presumably these are people whose wealth is known from history. While gold can be compared by weight, I am not certain how accurate property assessments are. I guess that various monarchs held substantial land holdings that may reach this level of wealth.

Figures are in 2012 $US.

1. Mansa Musa I – Net Worth $400 Billion
2. The Rothschild Family – $350 Billion
3. John D. Rockefeller – Net Worth $340 Billion
4. Andrew Carnegie – Net Worth $310 Billion
5. Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov – Net Worth $300 Billion
6. Mir Osman Ali Khan – Net Worth $230 billion
7. William The Conqueror – Net Worth $229.5 Billion
8. Muammar Gaddafi – Net Worth $200 Billion
9. Henry Ford – Net Worth $199 Billion
10. Cornelius Vanderbilt – Net Worth $185 Billion
11. Alan Rufus – Net Worth $178.65 billion
12. Bill Gates – Net Worth $136 Billion
13. William de Warenne – Net Worth $147.13 Billion
14. John Jacob Astor – Net Worth $121 Billion
15. Richard Fitzalan 10th Earl of Arundel – Net Worth $118.6 Billion
16. John of Gaunt – Net Worth $110 Billion
17. Stephen Girard – Net Worth $105 Billion
18. A.T. Stewart – Net Worth $90 Billion
19. Henry Duke of Lancaster – Net Worth $85.1 Billion
20. Friedrich Weyerhauser – Net Worth $80 Billion
21. Jay Gould – Net Worth $71 Billion
22. Carlos Slim Helu – Net Worth $68 Billion
23. Stephen Van Rensselaer – Net Worth $68 Billion
24. Marshall Field – Net Worth $66 Billion
25. Sam Walton – Net Worth $65 Billion
26. Warren Buffett – Net Worth $64 Billion

It is interesting to compare the wealth of Solomon. One cannot directly assess his wealth, but some calculations are possible. 1 Kings 10:14-15 states,

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land.

It is uncertain if 1 year represents his best year, i.e. a specific year, or every year. Taking 1 talent as roughly 75 pounds (~34 kilograms), 16 ounces per pound, this is an income of 799200 ounces. At $US1750 per ounce this is an annual income of $14 billion dollars in 1 year. Solomon ruled for 40 years though he may not had had that income every year, especially in the earlier years. This is besides all the income from explorers, merchants, kings and governors.

He also had $11 million worth of chariots of his own besides what he made thru exporting them. He had wealth in ivory, fauna, and spices. Silver was so abundant its value was not worth calculating, "Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon." (1 Kings 10:21).

He also owned much land. His palace in Jerusalem, his palace in Lebanon. He was able to give cities to King Hiram and his wife was given a city by Pharaoh on Solomon's marriage to his daughter. The land holdings probably add significantly to his valuation. It is likely he would get into the top 25 above.