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The list of the most wealthy historical figures of 2008 is based on research done around the world by Forbes magazine in 2007 and other sources of information, and has been adjusted for 2007 US dollars[1]. This is a list of historical figures who lived during the Industrial age[2][3][4], Information Age, Middle Ages[5], Ancient world[6] and is solely based on net worth accumulated by inheritance or personal earnings. The ranking process is done by the percentage of the total GDP of the nation they live in. The estimated net worth of these people is calculated into inflation-adjusted 2007 dollars, from when historical figures were at the peak of their net worth.[7][8] In order to be inflation adjusted for 2007 dollars, the bearer of wealth at time of death or at highest point must be at least 16 years ago. For last year's figures, go to Wealthy Historical Figures 2007.[9][10][11][12] For other uses, see Forbes (disambiguation). ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ...
Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ...
A university computer lab containing many desktop PCs The transition of communication technology: Oral Culture, Manuscript Culture, Print Culture, and Information Age Information Age is a term that has been used to refer to the present economic era. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...
Ancient redirects here. ...
GDP is an acronym which can stand for more than one thing: (in economics) an abbreviation for Gross Domestic Product. ...
Net worth (sometimes net assets) is the total assets minus total liabilities of an individual or company. ...
The next most wealthy historical figures list is set to come out on February 2009.
| # | Image | Name | Age when at peak of earnings, or in 2008 for living people | Current age, or age at death | Wealth in Billion USD | Origin | Current or Final Residence | Company or Source of Wealth | | 1. |
 | John D. Rockefeller | 74 | 97 | 318.3 | United States | United States | Standard Oil | | 2. |
 | Andrew Carnegie | 68 | 83 | 298.3 | Scotland | United States | Carnegie Steel Company | | 3. |
 | Nicholas II of Russia | 49 | 50 | 253.5 | Russia | Russia | House of Romanov | | 4. |
 | William Henry Vanderbilt | 64 | 64 | 231.6 | United States | United States | Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad | | 5. |
 | Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII | 50 | 80 | 210.8 | Hyderabad | India | Monarchy | | 6. |
 | Andrew W. Mellon | 80 | 82 | 188.8 | United States | United States | Gulf Oil | | 7. |
 | Henry Ford | 57 | 83 | 188.1 | United States | United States | Ford Motor Company | | 8. |  | Marcus Licinius Crassus | 62 | 62 | 169.8 | Roman Republic | Roman Republic | Roman Senate, conquest, assorted business ventures | | 9. |
 | Basil II | 67 | 67 | 169.4 | Byzantine Empire | Byzantine Empire | Monarchy | | 10. |
 | Cornelius Vanderbilt | 82 | 82 | 167.4 | United States | United States | New York and Harlem Railroad, shipping | | 11. | | Alanus Rufus | 49 | 49 | 166.9 | England | England | Investments | | 12. |
 | Amenophis III | 50 | 50 | 155.2 | Ancient Egypt | Ancient Egypt | Pharaoh | | 13. |
 | William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey | 38 | 38 | 153.6 | England | England | Earl of Surrey | | 14. |
 | William II of England | 44 | 44 | 151.7 | England | England | Monarchy | | 15. |
 | Elizabeth I | 69 | 69 | 142.9 | England | England | House of Tudor | | 16. |
 | John D. Rockefeller, Jr. | 54 | 86 | 141.4 | United States | United States | Standard Oil | | 17. |
 | Sam Walton | 74 | 74 | 128.0 | United States | United States | Wal-Mart | | 18. |  | John Jacob Astor | 84 | 84 | 115.0 | Germany | United States | American Fur Company | | 19. |
 | Odo of Bayeux | 61 | 61 | 110.2 | England | England | Monarchy | | 20. |
 | Stephen Girard | 81 | 81 | 99.5 | France | United States | First Bank of the United States | | 21. |
 | Cleopatra | 39 | 39 | 95.8 | Ancient Egypt | Ancient Egypt | Ptolemaic Inheritance | | 22. |
 | Stephen Van Rensselaer III | 81 | 81 | 88.8 | United States | United States | Rensselaerswyck Estate | | 23. |  | Richard B. Mellon | 70 | 74 | 86.3 | United States | United States | Gulf Oil | | 24. |  | Alexander Turney Stewart | 72 | 72 | 84.7 | Ireland | United States | Long Island Rail Road | | 25. |
 | William Backhouse Astor, Jr. | 45 | 61 | 84.7 | United States | United States | Inheritance | | 26. | | Don Simon Iturbi Patino | 69 | 87 | 81.2 | Bolivia | Bolivia | Huanuni tin mine | | 27. |
 | Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah | 46 | 61 | 80.7 | Brunei | Brunei | Kral | | 28. |  | Frederick Weyerhaeuser | 80 | 80 | 80.4 | Germany | United States | Weyerhaeuser Corporation | | 29. |  | Moses Taylor | 76 | 76 | 79.3 | United States | United States | Citibank | | 30. |
 | Vincent Astor | 20 | 67 | 73.9 | United States | United States | Inheritance | | 31. |  | Carlos Slim Helú | 67 | 67 | 72.4 | Mexico | Mexico | Telmex | | 32. |
 | T.V. Soong | 60 | 77 | 67.8 | China | United States | Central Bank of China | | 33. |  | Jay Gould | 56 | 56 | 67.1 | United States | United States | Union Pacific | | 34. |
 | Marshall Field | 74 | 74 | 66.3 | United States | United States | Marshall Field and Company | | 35. |  | George F. Baker | 84 | 91 | 63.6 | United States | United States | Central Railroad of New Jersey | | 36. |  | Hetty Green | 71 | 71 | 58.8 | United States | United States | Seaboard National Bank | | 37. |
 | Bill Gates | 44 | 52 | 58.0 | United States | United States | Microsoft | | 38. |
 | Lawrence Joseph Ellison | 55 | 61 | 58.0 | United States | United States | Oracle Corporation | | 39. |
 | Richard Arkwright | 59 | 59 | 56.2 | England | England | Derwent Valley Mills | | 40. | | Mukesh Ambani | 50 | 50 | 55.8 | India | India | Reliance Industries | | 41. |
 | Warren Buffett | 76 | 77 | 52.4 | United States | United States | Berkshire Hathaway | | 42. |
 | Lakshmi Mittal | 54 | 54 | 51.0 | India | England | Mittal Steel Company | | 43. | | J. Paul Getty | 83 | 83 | 50.1 | United States | England | Getty Oil Company | | 44. |  | James G. Fair | 63 | 63 | 47.2 | United States | United States | James Graham Fair | | 45. |  | William Weightman | 91 | 86 | 46.1 | United States | United States | Merck & Company | | 46. |  | Russell Sage | 89 | 89 | 45.1 | United States | United States | Western Union | | 47. |
 | John Blair | 68 | 68 | 45.1 | United States | United States | Union Pacific | | 48. | | Anil Ambani | 48 | 48 | 45.0 | India | India | Reliance Communications | | 49. |
 | Leland Stanford | 69 | 69 | 44.9 | United States | United States | Central Pacific Railroad | | 50. |  | Howard Robard Hughes Jr. | 45 | 70 | 43.4 | United States | United States | Hughes Tool Company, Hughes Aircraft Company, Summa Corporation, TWA | | 51. |  | Cyrus Curtis | 82 | 82 | 43.2 | United States | United States | Curtis Publishing Company | | 52. |  | John Insley Blair | 97 | 97 | 42.4 | United States | United States | Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad | | 53. |
 | Edward Henry Harriman | 61 | 61 | 40.9 | United States | United States | Western Union | | 54. |
 | Henry H. Rogers | 69 | 69 | 40.9 | United States | United States | Standard Oil Company | | 55. |  | Paul Allen | 46 | 53 | 40.0 | United States | United States | Microsoft, Vulcan Inc. | | 56. |  | John Werner Kluge | 76 | 93 | 40.0 | Germany | United States | Metropolitan Broadcasting Company | | 57. |
 | J.P. Morgan | 76 | 76 | 39.8 | United States | United States | General Electric,US Steel | | 58. |  | Oliver H. Payne | 78 | 78 | 38.8 | United States | United States | Standard Oil Company | | 59. |
 | Yoshiaki Tsutsumi | 56 | 73 | 38.1 | Japan | Japan | Seibu Corporation | | 60. |
 | Henry Clay Frick | 68 | 70 | 37.7 | United States | United States | Carnegie Steel Company | | 61. |
 | John Jacob Astor IV | 47 | 47 | 37.0 | United States | United States | Inheritance | | 62. |
 | George Pullman | 56 | 66 | 35.6 | United States | United States | Pullman Company | | 63. |  | Collis Potter Huntington | 70 | 79 | 34.6 | United States | United States | Central Pacific Railroad | | 64. |  | Peter Arrell Brown Widener | 71 | 71 | 33.5 | United States | United States | American Tobacco Company | | 65. |
 | Philip Danforth Armour | 68 | 68 | 33.4 | United States | United States | Armour Refrigerator Line | | 66. |  | William S. O'Brien | 53 | 53 | 33.3 | United States | United States | Consolidated Virginia Mining Company | | 67. |  | James C. Flood | 52 | 62 | 32.5 | United States | United States | Consolidated Virginia Mining Company | | 68. |
 | Ingvar Kamprad | 80 | 80 | 33.0 | Sweden | Switzerland | IKEA | | 69. | | K. P. Singh | 76 | 76 | 32.9 | India | India | DLF Universal Limited | | 70. |
 | Li Ka-shing | 79 | 79 | 32.0 | China | China | Hutchison Whampoa Limited | | 71. |  | Anthony N. Brady | 79 | 79 | 31.7 | United States | United States | Brooklyn Rapid Transit | | 72. |  | Elias Hasket Derby | 59 | 59 | 31.4 | United States | United States | Shipping | | 73. |  | Mark Hopkins | 64 | 64 | 30.9 | United States | United States | Central Pacific Railroad | | 74. |  | Edward Clark | 71 | 71 | 30.2 | United States | United States | Singer Sewing Machine Company | | 75. | | Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal | 48 | 48 | 29.5 | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabian | Kingdom Holding Company | | 76. |
 | Saudi Arabian King Fahd | 75 | 83 | 29.3 | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | King | | 77. |  | Thomas Fortune Ryan | 77 | 77 | 28.2 | United States | United States | British-American Tobacco Company | | 78. | | Sheldon Adelson | 72 | 72 | 28.0 | United States | United States | Las Vegas Sands | | 79. |
 | William Rockefeller | 69 | 69 | 28.0 | United States | United States | Standard Oil | | 80. |  | Calouste Gulbenkian | 86 | 86 | 28.0 | Turkey | Portugal | Iraq Petroleum Company | | 81. |  | H. L. Hunt | 75 | 85 | 27.5 | United States | United States | Hunt Refining Company | | 82. |  | Nicholas Longworth | 61 | 61 | 27.2 | United States | United States | House Majority Leader | | 83. |
 | Queen Elizabeth II | 53 | 81 | 26.2 | Britain | Britain | Head of the Commonwealth | | 84. |
 | Gordon Moore | 62 | 78 | 26.0 | United States | United States | Intel Corporation | | 85. | | Bernard Arnault | 57 | 57 | 26.0 | France | France | LVMH | | 86. |
 | Claus Spreckels | 59 | 59 | 24.9 | Germany | United States | Spreckels Sugar Company | | 87. |
 | George Peabody | 74 | 74 | 24.8 | United States | United States | Peabody Trust | | 88. | | Amancio Ortega | 71 | 71 | 24.0 | Spain | Spain | Inditex Group | | 89. | | Lee Shau Kee | 79 | 79 | 23.0 | China | China | Henderson Land Development | | 90. |  | Steven Ballmer | 43 | 51 | 23.0 | United States | United States | Microsoft | | 91. |
 | Saudi Arabian King King Abdullah | 82 | 82 | 23.0 | Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | Monarchy | | 92. |
 | Charles Crocker | 66 | 66 | 22.7 | United States | United States | Central Pacific Railroad | | 93. |
 | Kenneth Thomson | 82 | 82 | 22.6 | Canada | Canada | Thomson Corporation | | 94. |
 | William Andrews Clark | 86 | 86 | 22.6 | United States | United States | Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad | | 95. |
 | George Eastman | 78 | 78 | 22.5 | United States | United States | Eastman Kodak Company | | 96. |  | Charles Tiffany | 90 | 90 | 22.4 | United States | United States | Tiffany & Co | | 97. | | David Thomson | 50 | 50 | 22.0 | Canada | Canada | Thomson Corporation | | 98. |  | Edward Stephen Harkness | 66 | 66 | 21.5 | United States | United States | Standard Oil | | 99. |
 | Henry M. Flagler | 83 | 83 | 21.1 | United States | United States | Florida East Coast Railway | | 100. |
 | James Buchanan Duke | 68 | 68 | 21.1 | United States | United States | Catawba Power Company | | 101. |
 | Roman Abramovich | 40 | 40 | 21.0 | Russia | Russia, UK | Millhouse Capital | | 102. |  | Sunil Mittal | 57 | 57 | 20.9 | India | India | Bharti Airtel | | 103. | | Jim Walton | 52 | 56 | 20.8 | United States | United States | Wal-Mart | | 104. |
 | Liliane Bettencourt | 85 | 85 | 20.7 | France | France |
L'Oréal | | 105. |
 | John T. Walton | 51 | 58 | 20.7 | United States | United States | Wal-Mart | | 106. |
| Samuel Robson Walton | 61 | 57 | 20.5 | United States | United States | Wal-Mart | | 107. | | Alice Walton | 54 | 50 | 20.5 | United States | United States | Wal-Mart | | 108. |
| Christy Walton | 51 | 51 | 20.5 | United States | United States | Wal-mart | | 109. |  | Helen Walton | 82 | 87 | 20.4 | United States | United States | Wal-Mart | | 110. |  | Israel Thorndike | 87 | 87 | 20.4 | United States | United States | China trade | | 111. | | Karl Albrecht | 83 | 87 | 20.0 | Germany | Germany | ALDI | | 112. |
 | Michael Dell | 41 | 42 | 20.0 | United States | United States | Dell, Inc. | | 113. | | Gerard Mulliez | 76 | 76 | 19.9 | France | France |
Auchan | | 114. |
 | Isaac Merritt Singer | 63 | 63 | 19.5 | United States | United States | Singer Sewing Machine Company | | 115. |
 | George Hearst | 70 | 70 | 19.4 | United States | United States | Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co. | | 116. |
 | John Hancock | 70 | 70 | 19.3 | United States | United States | Hancock Manor | | 117. |
 | John W. Garrett | 64 | 64 | 19.3 | United States | United States | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | | 118. |  | John William Mackay | 71 | 71 | 19.2 | United States | United States | Consolidated Virginia and California | | 119. |  | Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan | 60 | 60 | 19.0 | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | Inheritance | | 120. |
 | Julius Rosenwald | 69 | 69 | 18.9 | United States | United States | Sears, Roebuck and Company | | 121. |
 | Sergey Brin | 34 | 33 | 18.5 | United States | United States | Google | | 122. |
 | Larry Page | 34 | 34 | 18.5 | United States | United States | Google | | 123. | | Azim Premji | 62 | 62 | 18.5 | India | India | Wipro Technologies | | 124. | | Stefan Persson | 59 | 59 | 18.4 | Sweden | Sweden | Hennes & Mauritz | | 125. | | Kirk Kerkorian | 90 | 90 | 18.0 | United States | United States | MGM Mirage | | 126. |
 | George Washington | 67 | 67 | 17.7 | United States | United States | Mount Vernon Plantation | | 127. | | Adolphus Busch | 77 | 77 | 17.6 | United States | United States | Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. | | 128. |  | John T. Dorrance | 67 | 67 | 17.5 | United States | United States | Campbell Soup Company | | 129. | | Theo Albrecht | 85 | 85 | 17.5 | Germany | Germany | ALDI | | 130. | | David H. Koch | 67 | 67 | 17.0 | United States | United States | Koch Industries | | 131. | | Charles G. Koch | 72 | 72 | 17.0 | United States | United States | Koch Industries | | 132. |  | George Pullman | 66 | 66 | 16.5 | United States | United States | Pullman sleeping car | | 133. | | Yang Huiyan | 26 | 26 | 16.2 | China | China | Country Garden | | 134. |  | Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. | 74 | 74 | 15.9 | United States | United States | Johnson & Johnson | | 135. |  | Horace E. Dodge | 52 | 52 | 15.5 | United States | United States | Olds Motor Vehicle Company | | 136. |  | John F. Dodge | 65 | 65 | 15.5 | United States | United States | Olds Motor Vehicle Company | | 137. |  | William Henry Aspinwall | 68 | 68 | 15.1 | United States | United States | Pacific Mail | | 138. | | Abigail Johnson | 43 | 43 | 15.0 | United States | United States | Fidelity Investments | | 139. | | Barbara Cox Anthony | 85 | 85 | 14.6 | United States | United States | Cox Enterprises | | 140. |  | Felix Yussupov | 29 | 80 | 14.6 | Russia | Soviet Union | House of Yusupov | | 141. |
 | James J. Hill | 77 | 77 | 14.6 | United States | United States | Great Northern Railway | | 142. | | Carl C. Icahn | 71 | 71 | 14.5 | United States | United States | TWA | | 143. | | François Pinault | 71 | 71 | 14.5 | France | France | PPR | | 144. |
 | Johns Hopkins | 77 | 77 | 14.5 | United States | United States | Pacific Mail | | 145. | | Suleyman Kerimov | 41 | 41 | 14.4 | Russia | Russia | Gazprom | | 146. | | Vladimir Lisin | 51 | 51 | 14.3 | Russia | Russia | Novolipetsk Steel | | 147. |
 | Samuel Colt | 48 | 48 | 14.2 | United States | United States | Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company | | 148. |  | Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum | 58 | 58 | 14.0 | United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | Inheritance | | 149. | | Sumner Redstone | 76 | 84 | 14.0 | United States | United States | CBS | | 150. | | Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster | 56 | 57 | 14.0 | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Grosvenor Group | | 151. | | Jack C. Taylor | 84 | 84 | 13.9 | United States | United States | Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company | | 152. |  | James Stillman | 67 | 67 | 13.9 | United States | United States | Texas and Pacific Railroad | | 153. |  | William Collins Whitney | 63 | 63 | 13.8 | United States | United States | Metropolitan Street Railway | | 154. | | Vladimir Potanin | 46 | 46 | 13.5 | Russia | Russia | United Export Import Bank | | 155. |
 | Mikhail Prokhorov | 42 | 42 | 13.5 | Russia | Russia | MMC Norilsk Nickel | | 156. | | Oleg Deripaska | 42 | 42 | 13.3 | Russia | Russia | Rusal | | 157. |
 | William Thaw | 71 | 71 | 13.2 | United States | United States | Pennsylvania Railroad | | 158. |
 | Donald Bren | 75 | 75 | 13.0 | United States | United States | Irvine Company | | 159. |
 | Cyrus McCormick | 85 | 85 | 12.9 | United States | United States | International Harvester Company | | 160. | | Anil Agarwal | 54 | 54 | 12.7 | India | India | |
