Quote:
Originally Posted by greywar
Because a salary of 20 million doesn't make it into these sorts of net worth. And its hard to define some of these as they play havoc with their taxes to move and hide income I would suspect.
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Lian from Hong Kong also paid one of the largest ransoms in history for the return of his son, so having that kind of wealth does not insulate you from crime.
Just after WWI (1918) it was estimated that John Rockefeller became the world's first billionaire. Although this list compiled by Forbes at the time only included Americans, it is interesting to note how small the fortunes were. The nominal cost of living comparison from 1918 to 2014 is a factor of 15.55 . So by that means that the equivalent of a billion dollars today was roughly $65 million in 1918.
Only 17 people were worth $65 million or more, and only 5 were worth more than $130 million or more.
Name Estimated Fortune Chief Source
John D. Rockefeller $1,200,000,000 Oil
Henry Clay Frick 225,000,000 Coke, Steel
Andrew Carnegie 200,000,000 Steel
George F. Baker 150,000,000 Banking
William Rockefeller 150,000,000 Oil, Railroads
Edward S. Harkness 125,000,000 Oil
J. Ogden Armour 125,000,000 Packing
Henry Ford 100,000,000 Automobiles
William K. Vanderbilt 100,000,000 Railroads
Edward Howland Robinson Green 100,000,000 Banking
Mrs. Edward H. Harriman 80,000,000 Railroads
Vincent Astor 75,000,000 Real Estate
James Stillman 70,000,000 Cotton, Banking
Thomas F. Ryan 70,000,000 Traction, Tobacco
Daniel Guggenheim 70,000,000 Mining, Smelting
Charles M. Schwab 70,000,000 Steel
J.P. Morgan 70,000,000 Banking
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Mrs. Russell Sage 60,000,000 Banking
Cyrus H. McCormick 60,000,000 Farm Machinery
Joseph Widener 60,000,000 Traction
Arthur James 60,000,000 Mining, Railroads
Nicholas F. Brady 60,000,000 Tractions
Jacob H. Schiff 50,000,000 Banking
James B. Duke 50,000,000 Tobacco
George Eastman 50,000,000 Cameras
Pierre S. du Pont 50,000,000 Powder
Louis F. Swift 50,000,000 Packing
Julius Rosenwald 50,000,000 Mail Orders
Mrs. Lawrence Lewis 50,000,000 Oil
Henry Phipps 50,000,000 Steel
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