Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault , Warren Buffet, Amancio Ortega—okay, lets add Nigeria’s own Aliko Dangote—are the richest men of this century thanks to their business acumen and genius.
But findings have revealed they are not as smart as the world’s richest men a century ago—if the dollar is a standard for measuring smartness.
According to Learnbonds.com, the top five richest people of the 20th century currently have a combined net worth of $1.62 trillion. With inflation adjustments, this big men’s club had a cumulative net worth of $63 billion in 1913.
Back then, Andrew Carnegie was the richest person with interests in the steel industry. As of 1913, he had a net worth of $16.5 billion. By now, with inflation adjusted, Carnegie’s fortune would be around $419.8 billion.
Oil baron John D Rockefeller follows. By 1913, Rockefeller was valued at $14.9 billion while in 2020, he would be $384.8 billion rich.
Russia’s Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov who had a net worth of $13.1 billion in 2013 would be valued at $338.58 billion in 2020.
Mir Osman Ali Khan from India would be valued at $259.5 billion in 2020. In 1913, Khan’s fortune was valued at $10 billion.
The late Libyan leader Muarmur Gadaffi, the only African at the bottom of the pile had a net worth of about $200 billion in 2011, would currently be valued at $225.7 billion.
Brought together, members of this league would have wealth three times more than their 21st century counterparts whose cumulative wealth amount to $514.4 billion.
Bezos is $125.30 billion rich; Gates, $112.60 billion; Arnault, $90.40 billion; Buffett, $90.40 billion; Ortega ($78.10 billion