‘14th century African king was the richest person of all time’

The wealthiest person ever to have lived is a 14th century king who ruled Malian Empire in Africa, a website claimed.

Celebrity Net Worth, a website which keeps track of celebrities’ incomes, estimated the net worth of wealthiest people in history and sorted out the 25 richest people of all time, and found that Mansa Musa I of Mali ranks No.1.

The website adjusted the respective wealth of rich people to incorporate the inflation: For example, $100 million in 1913 is equal to $2.3 billion in 2012. In today’s money, Musa’s fortune at the time of his death was valued at $400 billion (442.8 trillion won).

The African ruler was roughly three times richer than that of software mogul Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft Corp. and one of the most successful businessmen of modern times. In fact, Gates doesn’t even come close to the top of the list, as he sits humbly in the 12th place with $136 billion.

Musa’s eye-popping wealth came from his country’s vast natural resources, namely salt and gold.

The king’s immense wealth, however, vanished just two generations after his death, as Musa’s heirs failed to fend off civil war and invading armies.

The next name on the list is the Rothschild family. Their estimated net worth of $350 billion makes them the richest group of living people.

American tycoons John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie claim the third and fourth place, with $340 billion and $310 billion, respectively. American investor Warren Buffett is the last on the list with peak net worth of $64 billion.

Of the 25 people on the list -- who enjoyed a combined fortune of $4.317 trillion -- 14 of them are Americans and none are women.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)



The 25 richest people of all time


1. MANSA MUSA I - $400 billion (born 1280)
2. ROTHSCHILD FAMILY - $350 billion (born 1744)
4. ANDREW CARNEGIE - $310 billion (born 1835)
5. TSAR NICHOLAS II OF RUSSIA - $300 billion (born 1868)
6. MIR OSMAN ALI KHAN - $236 billion (born 1886)
7. WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR - $229.5 billion (born 1028)
8. MUAMMAR GADHAFI - $200 billion (born 1942)
9. HENRY FORD - $199 billion (born 1863)
10. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT - $185 billion (born 1794)
11. ALAN RUFUS - $178.65 billion (born 1040)
12. BILL GATES - $136 billion (born 1955)
13. WILLIAM DE WARENNE - $146.13 billion (birth unkown)
14. JOHN JACOB ASTOR - $121 billion (born 1763)
15. RICHARD FITZALAN - $118.6 billion (born 1306)
16. JOHN OF GAUNT - $110 billion (born 1340)
17. STEPHEN GIRARD - $105 billion (born 1750)
18. ALEXANDER TURNEY STEWART - $90 billion (born 1803)
19. HENRY DUKE OF LANCASTER - $85.1 billion (born 1301)
20. FRIEDRICH WEYERHAUSER - $80 billion (born 1834)
21. JAY GOULD - $71 billion (born 1836)
22. CARLOS SLIM - $68 billion (born 1940)
22. STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER - $68 billion (born 1764)
23. MARSHALL FIELD - $66 billion (born 1834)
24. SAM WALTON - $65 billion (born 1918)
25. WARREN BUFFETT - $64 billion (born 1930)



<관련 한글 기사>

빌 게이츠 세배! 역대 최고 부자는 누구?

역사상 가장 재산이 많았던 사람은 14세기에 말리 제국을 다스렸던 왕 만사 무사 1세라고 한 웹사이트가 주장했다.

유명인사들의 재산을 확인해 알려주는 한 웹사이트인 셀레브리티넷워스 (Celebrity Net Worth)는 최근 역사상 가장 부유한 25명의 목록을 공개했다.

이 목록은 시대별 물가상승률을 감안하여 작성되었는데, 예를 들어 1913년 기준으로 1억달러의 재산은 2012년 기준으로 약 23억 달러가 된다.

이렇게 해서 환산한 무사 1세의 재산은 오늘날의 가치로 무려 4,000억 달러 (한화 약 442.8 조원)에 달한다.

그의 재산은 마이크로소프트의 창업자 빌 게이츠의 재산가치가 가장 높았을 때보다 세배나 많다. 한편 현재 세계 최고의 부자 중 하나인 게이츠는 재산이 가장 많았을 때가 2012년 기준으로 환산하면 1,360억 달러로 이 목록에서 12위에 그쳤다.

무사 1세는 소금, 황금 등 말리 제국의 광대한 지하자원 덕분에 막대한 재산을 쌓을 수 있었다고 한다. 그러나 그가 사망한 후 후계자가 내전과 외적의 침입을 막지 못해 어마어마한 재산은 불과 두 세대만에 흔적도 없이 사라졌다.

2위에 이름을 올린 것은 로스차일드 가문으로, 이들은 총합 3,500억 달러의 재산으로 생존해 있는 사람들 중 가장 부자로 기록되었다.

미국의 ‘석유왕’ 존 록펠러와 ‘철강왕’ 앤드류 카네기는 각각 3,400억 달러, 3,100억 달러로 3위와 4위를 차지했다. ‘투자의 달인’ 워렌 버핏은 640억 달러로 25위를 차지해 간신히 이름을 올렸다.

이 목록에 오른 25명의 재산을 합하면 4.3조 달러에 달하며, 이 중 미국인은 14명, 여성은 한 명도 없었다. (코리아헤럴드)