The list of most wealthy historical figures is based on calculations by Forbes.It is updated annually to reflect inflation. Most of the people on the list are from the Industrial Age, although there are a few Information Age people on the list. There is also one family on the list (Walton family) that is counted as thought they are an idividual.
The ranking process is done by percentage of the total GDP of the nation they lived in at the time they were alive. Whether or not their fortune was inherited, the list records the people at the time of their greatest net worth, not by their current net worth, or their net worth when they died. The list doesn't significantly change from year to year unless there is a new person who qualifies to be on the list or someone surpasses their previous peak amount. However this can only really happen to those who are still alive.
1. John D. Rockefeller 97 (died May 23, 1937) 305.3 billion United States - Standard Oil (broken up in 1911, parts of company exist within ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, Marathon Oil Company and other companies)
2. Henry Ford 83 (died April 7, 1947) 179.3 billion United States - Ford Motor Company
3. Cornelius Vanderbilt 82 (died January 4, 1877) 159.5 billion United States - New York Central Railroad and others, shipping
4. Andrew Carnegie 83 (died August 11, 1919) 127.3 billion Scotland - Carnegie Steel Company
5. H. L. Hunt 85 (died November 29, 1974) 122.0 billion United States - Hunt Refining Company
6. John Jacob Astor 84 (died March 29, 1848) 109.5 billion Germany - American Fur Company
7. Stephen Girard 81 (died December 26, 1831) 100.9 billion France - First Bank of the United States
8. Bill Gates 52 100.0 billion United States United States Microsoft
9. Walton family - - 87.5 United States billion United States Wal-Mart
10. Stephen Van Rensselaer 81 (died January 26, 1839) 84.7 billion United States - Rensselaerswyck
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