List of richest Americans in history

Most sources agree on John D. Rockefeller being the richest American in history, although some define richest as an individual's wealth as a share of contemporary Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This method of comparing individuals' wealth across time is disputed. For example, economic blogger Scott Sumner noted in 2018 that Rockefeller was worth $1.4 billion when he died in 1937, which was about $24 billion in dollars adjusted to 2018. Meanwhile, Bill Gates in 1999 was worth nearly $150 billion in dollars adjusted to 2018.[1]

John Davison Rockefeller, business magnate and philanthropist.
For the contemporary lists, see List of Americans by net worth and Forbes 400.

Second richest in terms of wealth over contemporary GDP is disputed, with various sources listing Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Jacob Astor IV, Bill Gates, or Henry Ford. Most sources agree on Carnegie. Further places are a matter of even bigger debate.

Given the economic rise of the United States of America since its origins, with America becoming the foremost economic power in the world by the late 19th century, the wealthiest men in America were often also the wealthiest men in the world.

Fortune's Wealthiest Americans (1957)

In 1957, Fortune magazine developed a list of the seventy-six wealthiest Americans, which was republished in many American newspapers. Jean Paul Getty, when asked his reaction on being named wealthiest American and whether he was really worth a billion dollars, said "You know, if you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars" and then added, "But remember, a billion dollars isn't worth what it used to be."[2]

The second category, covering the second to eighth richest individuals, included Andrew Mellon's son, daughter, niece, and nephew. The list also included seven members of the Rockefeller family, five members of the Ford family, four members of the Du Pont family (and a non-family DuPont executive), and four General Motors executives.

$700,000,000 to $1,000,000,000

$400,000,000 to $700,000,000

$200,000,000 to $400,000,000

$100,000,000 to $200,000,000

$75,000,000 to $100,000,000

Klepper & Gunther (1996)

In the 1996 book The Wealthy 100, authors Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther placed John D. Rockefeller atop the list of the richest Americans in history, followed by Cornelius Vanderbilt and John Jacob Astor.[3] Bill Gates was the top living person, coming in fifth.

American Heritage (1998)

American Heritage magazine published the following list of 40 richest Americans ever in 1998.[4]

Bernstein & Swan (2008)

Bernstein and Swan in All the Money in the World (2008) mention the 15 richest Americans of all time.[5]

Business Insider (2011)

Business Insider agreed on Rockefeller in first, but placed Andrew Carnegie second, followed by Vanderbilt, and Gates.[6]

CNN Money (2014)

The following is a list compiled by CNN Money in 2014.[7]

Current richest American

South African born Elon Musk is presently the richest man, with an estimated net worth of over $200 billion dollars.

By half decade

This list names the richest American by half decade starting in 1770.[8]

Year Name Picture
1770Peter Manigault[9]
1775Robert Morris[10]
1780William Bingham[11]
1785Benjamin Franklin[12]
1790John Hancock[13]
1795Elias Hasket Derby[14]
1800Thomas Willing[15]
1805Stephen Girard[16]
1810
1815
1820
1825
1830
1835Stephen Van Rensselaer[17]
1840John Jacob Astor
1845
1850Cornelius Vanderbilt[18][19]
1855
1860
1865
1870
1875
1880William Henry Vanderbilt
1885
1890John D. Rockefeller[20][21]
1895
1900Andrew Carnegie
1905
1910John D. Rockefeller
1915
1920Henry Ford
1925
1930Andrew Mellon
1935
1940Henry Ford[22]
1945
1950H. L. Hunt[23]
1955J. Paul Getty
1960Howard Hughes
1965
1970
1975
1980Daniel Ludwig
1985Sam Walton
1990John Kluge[24]
1995Bill Gates[25]
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020Jeff Bezos[26]

References

  1. Sumner, Scott (February 24, 2018). "Virtually all sources are wrong". The Money Illusion. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. "J. Paul Getty Dead at 83; Amassed Billions From Oil". Nytimes.com. June 6, 1976. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  3. "The Wealthiest Americans Ever". The New York Times. July 15, 2007.
  4. Gibson, Christine (October 1998). "The American Heritage". American Heritage. Vol. 49 no. 6.
  5. All the Money in the World (2008) by Bernstein and Swan, p. 17 "Introduction"
  6. Gus Lubin (April 17, 2011). "The 13 Richest Americans of All Time". Business Insider.
  7. Hargreaves, Steve (June 1, 2014). "The richest Americans in history". CNNMoney. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  8. Klepper, Michael; Gunther, Michael (1996), The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates – A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present, Secaucus, New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group, p. xii, ISBN 978-0-8065-1800-8, OCLC 33818143
  9. Heitzler, Michael James (2005). Goose Creek, South Carolina: A Definitive History 1670–2003. 1. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-59629-055-6.
  10. Kennedy, John (1894). Robert Morris and the Holland Purchase. Batavia, NY: J. F. Hall. p. 121. richest man 1775 robert morris.
  11. Spingola, Deanna (2011). The Ruling Elite: a Study in Imperialism, Genocide and Emancipation. Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publishing. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4269-5462-7.
  12. Gross, Daniel (April 1, 2002). "Finance & Investment: Cash of the Titans". Robb Report. Malibu, CA.
  13. "Finance & Investment: Cash of the Titans".
  14. Kellogg, Day Otis (1898). New American Supplement to the Latest Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. 2. New York, NY: The Werner Company. p. 1031.
  15. Burke, James (2007). American Connections: The Founding Fathers. Networked. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 157–58. ISBN 978-0-7432-8226-0. richest man america 1800.
  16. Phillips, Kevin (June 18, 2002). Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of America's Rich. New York, NY: Broadway Books. p. Chapter 1. ISBN 9780767911511. richest man united states 1810.
  17. Jones, Abner Dumont (1854). The Illustrated American Biography. 2. New York, NY: J. Milton Emerson & Co. p. 463.
  18. Buder, Stanley (2009). Capitalizing on Change: A Social History of American Business. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8078-3231-8. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794–1877) succeeded Astor as the wealthiest American.
  19. Kemp, Michael (2016). Uncommon Sense: Investment Wisdom Since the Stock Market's Dawn. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-7303-2424-9. Consider also Cornelius Vanderbilt, the wealthiest American at the time of his death in 1877.
  20. Li, Xiaobing; Molina, Michael (2014). Oil: A Cultural and Geographic Encyclopedia of Black Gold. 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 335. ISBN 978-1-61069-271-7.
  21. "America's Richest Man: J. D. Rockefeller and his Enormous Fortune". The Star. Canterbury, NZ. Detroit Free Press. April 6, 1895.
  22. National Republic: A Monthly Review of American History, Policy, Politics and Public Affairs. Washington, DC: National Republic Publishing Co. 1940. p. 30. The richest man in America is Henry Ford.
  23. Knowles, Ruth Sheldon (1978). The Greatest Gamblers: The Epic of American Oil Exploration. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 302. ISBN 978-0-8061-1513-9.
  24. Miller, Stephen (September 9, 2010). "A One-Man Empire, From TV to Laundry". The Wall Street Journal.
  25. "Forbes magazine profile on Bill Gates". Forbes. 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  26. "Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man in Modern History, Topping $150 Billion". Bloomberg. July 16, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
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