<Table> <Tr> <Th> Name </Th> <Th> Portrait </Th> <Th> Lifetime </Th> <Th> Net worth ( billion 2010 USD ) </Th> <Th> Description </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Jakob Fugger </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1459 -- 1525 <P> ( 66 years ) </P> </Td> <Td> 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> John D. Rockefeller </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1839 -- 1937 <P> ( 97 years ) </P> </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 ( equivalent to US $16 billion in 2016 ) . 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 <P> ( 84 years ) </P> </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> Nicholas II of Russia </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1868 -- 1918 <P> ( 50 years ) </P> </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> <Tr> <Td> Osman Ali Khan , Asaf Jah VII </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1886 -- 1967 <P> ( 81 years ) </P> </Td> <Td> 210 </Td> <Td> The last Nizam of Hyderabad State in British India . Regarded as the wealthiest person in the world during his lifetime , his portrait was on the cover of Time magazine in 1937 . As a semi-autonomous monarch , he had his own mint , printing his own currency , the Hyderabadi rupee , and had a private treasury that was said to contain £ 100m in gold and silver bullion , and a further £ 400m of jewels ( in 2008 terms ) . Among them was the Jacob Diamond , valued at some £ 50m ( in 2008 terms ) , and used by the Nizam as a paperweight . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Henry Ford </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 1863 -- 1947 <P> ( 84 years ) </P> </Td> <Td> 188 -- 199 </Td> <Td> Henry Ford was an American automotive engineer , entrepreneur , and founder of the Ford Motor Company
who is the richest person in the world who ever lived
Jakob Fugger