<Tr> <Td> John D. Rockefeller </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1839--1937 </Td> <Td> 336 </Td> <Td> On September 29, 1916, Rockefeller became the first person ever to reach a nominal personal fortune of US $1 billion . Rockefeller amassed his fortune from the Standard Oil company, of which he was a founder, chairman and major shareholder . By the time of his death in 1937, estimates place his net worth in the range of US $300 billion to US $400 billion in adjusted dollars for the late 2000s (decade). When considering the real value of his wealth, Rockefeller is widely held to have been the wealthiest American, as well as the richest person in modern history . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Andrew Carnegie </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1835--1919 </Td> <Td> 310 </Td> <Td> Carnegie founded the Carnegie Steel Company, which was the most extensive integrated iron and steel operations in the United States; in 1901, Carnegie sold his company for US $480 million to J.P. Morgan, who then merged his company into U.S. Steel . Capitalized at US $1.4 billion at the time, U.S. Steel was the first billion dollar company in the world . In his final years, Carnegie's net worth was US $475 million, but by the time of his death in 1919 he had donated most of his wealth to charities and other philanthropic endeavors and had only US $30 million left to his personal fortune . Carnegie's hundreds of millions accounted for about 0.60% of the U.S. annual GDP and has a real value estimated at about US $75 billion adjusted for the late 2000s (decade). </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jakob Fugger </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1459--1525 </Td> <Td> 277--400 </Td> <Td> German merchant, mining entrepreneur and banker . He expanded Fugger family's assets by making their operations European wide . At one point, Fugger & family had an almost monopolistic hold on the European copper market . At his death, Jakob Fugger bequeathed to his nephew Anton Fugger company assets totaling 2,032,652 guilders . Referred to as "Fugger the Rich". </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Nicholas II of Russia </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1868--1918 </Td> <Td> 250--300 </Td> <Td> Emperor of All Russia from 1894 to 1917 . Estimates of the wealth of Nicholas II remain wildly speculative . As emperor, and an autocrat, the resources under Nicholas II's command were virtually incalculable . However, the vast majority of this was officially owned by the State as Crown property . From this, supplemented by an annuity from the Treasury, he derived an annual income of 24 million roubles, from which he had to fund staff, the upkeep of imperial palaces and imperial theatres, annuities for the royal family, pensions, bequests, and other outgoings . "Before the end of the year, the Tsar was usually penniless; sometimes he reached this embarrassing state by autumn ." According to the Grand Marshall of the Court, Count Paul Benckendorff, his personal wealth only amounted to between 12.5 and 17.5 million roubles . </Td> </Tr>

Richest man in the world who ever lived