The idea of “richest particular person on this planet” has developed dramatically during the last two centuries. Within the 1820s, a internet price of some million {dollars} was sufficient to say the title. As we speak, high billionaires command fortunes within the tons of of billions. For example, Jeff Bezos was price about $113 billion in 2020 – already unfathomable wealth – but inside simply two years Elon Musk would surge previous $300 billion, setting new data. And in early 2025, Elon’s internet price got here extraordinarily near hitting a mind-numbing $500 billion.
This text takes a journey via the richest folks from 1820 to the current, together with a year-by-year breakdown from 2020 to 2025, and highlights notable figures who might have been ignored. We’ll additionally share enjoyable anecdotes and legacy info about every particular person alongside the way in which.
1820s – Stephen Girard (Internet Price: $7.5 Million)
Adjusted for inflation: $105 Billion Stephen Girard, a French-born service provider who settled in Philadelphia, grew to become the richest particular person on this planet by 1810. His success in transport, buying and selling, and ultimately banking allowed him to single-handedly finance the U.S. through the Battle of 1812. Enjoyable Truth: Girard donated virtually his whole fortune to charitable causes – together with orphanages and faculties – and funded the founding of Girard School in Philadelphia.
(Photograph by Kean Assortment/Getty Photographs)
1830s – Nathan Mayer Rothschild
Following Girard’s dying, Nathan Mayer Rothschild grew to become the richest particular person on this planet. A robust banker based mostly in London, he performed a pivotal function in financing the British struggle effort towards Napoleon. Enjoyable Truth: Rothschild’s early intel on the Battle of Waterloo supposedly gave him an edge within the bond markets – a legendary monetary energy transfer. Missed Contender: Howqua (Wu Bingjian), a Chinese language service provider, might have really been richer than Rothschild through the 1830s, with a fortune from the tea and silk commerce estimated at over $26 million – doubtlessly making him the richest man globally on the time.
1840s – John Jacob Astor (Internet Price: $20 Million)
1850s – Cornelius Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt constructed a steamboat empire from scratch and have become the wealthiest American of the 1850s. He later transitioned into railroads, setting the stage for even better wealth.
1860s – Cornelius Vanderbilt
Within the 1860s, Vanderbilt absolutely pivoted to railroads, buying key strains and founding what would turn into the New York Central. His wealth soared as trains changed steamships.
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1870s – Cornelius Vanderbilt (Internet Price: $105 Million)
In his remaining decade as #1, Vanderbilt turned to philanthropy and donated $1 million to discovered Vanderbilt College in 1873.
Eighties – William Henry Vanderbilt (Internet Price: $232 Million)
Adjusted for inflation: $6.2 Billion William Henry inherited and expanded the Vanderbilt railroad empire. By the point of his dying in 1885, he had greater than doubled his father’s fortune. Enjoyable Truth: His notorious quote: “The general public be damned!” – a reply to a reporter questioning whether or not he would function unprofitable trains for public profit.
Eighteen Nineties – John D. Rockefeller
Co-founder of Customary Oil, Rockefeller managed over 90% of U.S. oil refining by the Eighteen Nineties, making him the richest particular person on this planet. Enjoyable Truth: He started gifting away dimes to youngsters – a unusual however symbolic begin to his immense lifetime of philanthropy.
Andrew Carnegie (Photograph by APIC/Getty Photographs)
1900s – Andrew Carnegie (Internet Price: $480 Million)
Carnegie offered Carnegie Metal to JP Morgan in 1901 and have become the world’s richest. He gave away 90% of his fortune to training, libraries, and peace efforts.
1910s – John D. Rockefeller (Internet Price: $900 Million)
Adjusted for inflation: $380 Billion Rockefeller regained the highest spot. In 1916, he grew to become the world’s first official billionaire. Enjoyable Truth: His wealth after the Customary Oil breakup really elevated due to hovering shares in its spin-off firms. Missed Contender: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia might have managed a private and imperial fortune equal to over $300 billion in right this moment‘s cash.
Twenties – John D. Rockefeller
Rockefeller’s giving accelerated within the Twenties, with donations that eradicated yellow fever and hookworm within the U.S. He remained the richest man till his dying in 1937.
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Nineteen Thirties – John D. Rockefeller
The Nice Despair did not dethrone Rockefeller. He continued to donate closely and left a philanthropic legacy spanning medication, training, and the humanities. Missed Contender: Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was thought of the richest monarch of the period by Time journal.
Forties – Henry Ford
Adjusted for inflation: $200 Billion The auto pioneer revolutionized transportation and mass manufacturing. Ford was price over $13 billion at his dying in 1947. Enjoyable Truth: Ford shocked the world in 1914 by paying staff $5 per day – greater than double the prevailing wage.
Night Customary/Getty Photographs
Nineteen Fifties – J. Paul Getty
Getty struck oil within the Center East and constructed Getty Oil into a worldwide empire. He was famously frugal regardless of his wealth. Enjoyable Truth: He put in a payphone in his mansion so visitors would not run up his telephone invoice.
Nineteen Sixties – J. Paul Getty (Internet Price: $1.2 Billion)
Getty remained on high via the ’60s whereas amassing one of many world’s most spectacular non-public artwork collections.
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Seventies – J. Paul Getty (Internet Price: $6 Billion)
Adjusted for inflation: $50 Billion Getty made headlines when he initially refused to pay the ransom for his kidnapped grandson. He died in 1976.
Nineteen Eighties – Yoshiaki Tsutsumi (Internet Price: $20 Billion)
Adjusted for inflation: $45.5 Billion A Japanese actual property mogul, Tsutsumi topped the worldwide listing throughout Japan’s Nineteen Eighties financial bubble. He later misplaced most of his fortune after the bubble burst.
(Photograph by Mike Cohen/Getty Photographs )
Nineties – Invoice Gates (Internet Price: $12.9 Billion in 1995)
Gates first grew to become the richest particular person in 1995. His Microsoft stake made him the world’s wealthiest for over a decade. Enjoyable Truth: Gates as soon as memorized staff‘ license plates to trace who stayed late on the workplace.
2000s – Invoice Gates
Regardless of the dot-com crash, Gates stayed #1 for many of the decade, solely briefly overtaken by Warren Buffett in 2008. Gates shifted focus to philanthropy throughout this time.
2010s – Carlos Slim, Invoice Gates, Jeff Bezos
Three billionaires dominated the last decade:
Carlos Slim: 2010–2013, peaking at $73B from telecom in Mexico Invoice Gates: 2014–2017, with ~$86B and a robust deal with philanthropy Jeff Bezos: 2018–2019, reaching $170B as Amazon inventory soared
12 months-by-12 months Breakdown: 2020–2025
2020 – Jeff Bezos (Internet Price: $113 Billion)
Amazon’s pandemic-fueled progress pushed Bezos’s fortune over $200 billion by summer season. He offered billions in inventory however remained #1.
2021 – Elon Musk (Internet Price: $300 Billion)
Musk’s wealth surged with Tesla inventory and personal SpaceX positive factors. He briefly grew to become the richest particular person in historical past. Enjoyable Truth: Musk responded to hitting $300B by tweeting: “How unusual.”
2022 – Elon Musk (Internet Price: $219 Billion)
Regardless of inventory selloffs and the controversial Twitter acquisition, Musk retained the highest spot for many of the yr.
(Photograph by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Photographs for The Met Museum/Vogue)
2023 – Bernard Arnault (Internet Price: $211 Billion)
The LVMH chairman grew to become the primary European to high the worldwide wealth listing. Musk briefly reclaimed the title mid-year. Enjoyable Truth: Arnault’s household runs a lot of LVMH’s manufacturers, and his youngsters maintain key govt roles.
2024 – Elon Musk (Internet Price: $252 Billion)
Tesla rebounded and Musk’s AI firm xAI raised billions. He as soon as once more took a commanding lead. Enjoyable Truth: At one level, Musk was price greater than Bernard Arnault and Invoice Gates mixed.
2025 – Elon Musk (Internet Price: $499 Billion)
In late December 2024 and early January 2025, Elon Musk got here inside inches of getting a internet price of $500 billion.