5 Billionaire Titans From History

As much as we celebrate billionaires like Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault, there are titans in history that amassed incredible fortunes, whose names are still recognised today. From railroads to oil and steel, these billionaires shared a common drive and ambition that propelled them to the top of their respective fields.

Some of these billionaires committed a great course of their fortune to charity before their departure from Earth. In this article, we will walk you through history and present five billionaire titans who made a significant fortune during their time. Let’s go.

John D Rockefeller 

Rockefeller is an American business magnate popularly known as the wealthiest American of all time. Rockefeller who founded Standard Oil in 1870 monopolised the market until 1890, when the US government passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. Rockefeller fought the government but he lost the battle in 1911 when the Supreme Court of the United States found that Standard Oil Company of New Jersey violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. 

The court ruled that the illegal monopoly be broken into 34 companies, a ruling that generated a financial windfall for Rockefeller. Becoming the first person ever to reach a nominal personal fortune of $1 billion, Rockefeller tithed 10 per cent of his earnings to his church from his very first paycheck. After retiring from Standard Oil in 1897, he increased his philanthropy by donating more than half a billion dollars to educational, religious and scientific causes.

Andrew Carnegie 

Carnegie is a Scottish-born industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He sold his company for $480 million to J.P. Morgan, who then merged his company into U.S. Steel. The U.S. Steel grew to become the first billion-dollar company in the world. 

After selling his company, Carnegie started numerous nonprofit organisations that are still in existence, including Carnegie-Mellon University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. By the time of his death in 1919, he had donated most of his wealth to charities and had only $30 million left to his personal fortune.

Henry Ford 

Known as one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, Henry Ford revolutionized the manufacturing industry and made mass production of goods possible through the development of his assembly line. By breaking down the process of making a car into individual tasks, Ford was able to greatly increase efficiency and lower costs, making automobiles affordable for the average American.

As the founder of Ford Motors, Ford is among the pioneers of the five-day workweek who offered a $5 per day wage to his workers. This resulted in a rapid increase in output, with Ford production rising from roughly 18,000 cars in 1909 to over 1 million cars in 1920. 

Stephen Girard

Girard is known for his role in financing the United States government during the War of 1812. When the country’s banks refused to lend money to the government, Girard stepped in and loaned the Treasury Department $5 million. This loan helped to finance the war effort and demonstrated Girard’s commitment to the country he adopted as his own.

Estimated to be the fourth richest American of all time, Girard developed a worldwide trading fleet and efficient business methods that formed the foundation of his fortune. He bought the first Bank of the United States, after its charter had expired and renamed it the Bank of Stephen Girard. He almost gave out his entire fortune to social welfare institutions, including an endowment for a Philadelphia college for male orphans, founded as the Stephen Girard College in 1833.

Jakob Fugger

As a German merchant, Fugger gathered the majority of his wealth from controlling copper and his involvement in international trade, which allowed him to establish a global network of banking and trade connections. Fuger built a grand home located in the centre of Augsburg, which was four stories tall and constructed in the latest Renaissance style. 

The building which is still owned by Jakob’s descendants reportedly had water fountains and fireplaces or ovens in every room. When Fugger died, he bequeathed the company to his nephews, leaving them with assets worth 2,032,652 guilders – an estimated fortune of $400 billion.