10 Richest Kings in the World of All Time
Wow! These are the 10 richest kings in the world of all time, among them have wealth of 6 thousand trillion rupiah, who is the richest?
Illustrations of some of the richest kings in the world of all time (YouTube People Profiles)
- The richest king with an untold amount of wealth once ruled in various parts of the world.
The reason is that money is power, so the richest kings have more power. The world's richest kings of all time made their money in a variety of ways.
One way is to go to war and plunder other territories.
Another way kings earned money was fees imposed on their subjects through taxes or tribute.
There were also several nobles who paid the king a ransom so that he would not have to go to war. Another way kings raised money was with revenue from land, taxes, customs, courts, salvage rights, and various other dues and fees. Such as market fees and port fees, and sometimes maintaining a monopoly on certain products. This money is ultimately passed down through inheritance.
This ensured the king always had money to govern his realm by paying for soldiers and war.
More money means greater power, as quoted by Hops.ID from discoverwalks.com, here are the 10 richest kings in the world who have ever ruled:
1. Mansa Musa I of Mali
Mansa Musa was the tenth ruler with the title "king", “sultan”, “conqueror”, or “emperor” of the wealthy West African Islamic Mali Empire. He ruled the Mali Empire in West Africa in the early 14th century. His wealth came from the abundant salt and gold deposits in his country.
Mansa Musa traded salt and gold with traders from Venice, Genoa and Egypt. His wealth was used to build mosques across the continent, many of which survive to this day. Mansa Musa conquered 24 cities, each with a surrounding district containing villages and plantations.
Musa I was easily one of the richest men in history. He collected funds of no less than $415 billion or the equivalent of IDR 6,587 quadrillion during his 25 year reign from 1312-1327.
2. Genghis Khan
This fearsome Mongol leader conquered 12 million square miles of territory between 1206 and his death in 1227. This is more than anyone else in history.
But while his hordes plundered vast areas of Eurasia, Khan did not exactly hoard his spoils. He chose to redistribute the loot and stolen territory to his people.
It is estimated that his wealth during his lifetime was worth 130 trillion dollars or the equivalent of IDR 2,000 quadrillion.
3. Emperor Zhao Xu of Shezong of Song China
Shenzong ruled China from 1067-1085 during the era of ‘Peaceful Prosperity’ and ‘Primary Abundance’ when he controlled around 30% of global GDP, equivalent to more than $30 trillion or the equivalent of IDR 476 quadrillion. Adept at collecting taxes, the emperor's reign was not all take, take, take.
The famous New Policies, which helped improve the living standards of the poor, are seen as the forerunner of the modern welfare state.
4. Akbar I from the Indian Mughal Dynasty
Akbar I, also known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor of India, from 1556 to 1605. His territory was roughly the same as today's India and accounted for 25% of world GDP. This amount means $21 trillion or the equivalent of IDR 333 quadrillion today. In return for this income, the emperor needed an army depending on the size of his territory.
By reining in more than 15 of these provinces, the Empire proved extremely beneficial to the emperor in collecting taxes, which contributed to his wealth.
Renowned for his lavish lifestyle and patronage of the arts, this emperor conquered hundreds of thousands of square miles of territory and ruled most of the Indian subcontinent, known as the Mughal Empire, from 1556 to 1605.
5. August Emperor
Augustus was the first Roman emperor. He ruled the vast kingdom from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. Augustus even owned Egypt. However, poor economic performance and a series of military failures haunted his final years. Augustus ruled the Roman Empire from 27 BC to 14 AD, after the death of his father Julius Caesar. He was one of the most successful leaders who led the transformation of Rome from a republic to an empire.
He was able to seize power of an empire which also contributed around 25-30% of world GDP at that time. Apart from that, he can count on personal wealth of around $4.6 trillion or the equivalent of IDR 73 quadrillion.
6. King Solomon of Israel
According to the Bible, King Solomon reigned from 970 BC to 931 BC, and during this time he is said to have received 25 tons of gold for each of his 39 years of reign, which is currently worth billions of dollars.
In addition to the enormous wealth gained from taxation and trade, the personal fortune of this biblical ruler could have exceeded $2 trillion or the equivalent in today's money.
7. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1894 to 1917, during which he had full access to the state treasury, making him one of the richest monarchs in history.
No people got a share of his wealth, estimates of the Tsar's personal wealth in 1916 were equivalent to $300 billion or the equivalent of IDR 4.7 quadrillion in today's money.
8. Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII of India
Khan was the absolute leader of India between 1911 and 1948. Mir Osman Ali Khan reportedly owned 50 Rolls Royces and used diamonds as paperweights in his office. He has a personal gold collection worth more than $100 million or the equivalent of IDR 1,500 trillion and owns jewelry worth more than $400 million or the equivalent of IDR 6,000 trillion. Mir Osman Ali Khan was a benevolent ruler who was seriously involved in promoting education among the people, science and construction.
He made primary education mandatory for all citizens and free for the poor. He was known as the richest man in the world with an estimated fortune of $2 billion in the early 40s. This amount is equivalent to $230 billion or the equivalent of IDR 3.6 quadrillion today.
9. William the Conqueror
William was king of England from 1028-1087. He is best known for attacking and conquering England. He took lands and treasures from Sussex to Yorkshire. He defeated Earl Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, where he became King William I. The more kingdoms he conquered, the more wealth he gained. William the Conqueror confiscated land and plundered treasures from south to north worth $228 billion or the equivalent of IDR 3.6 quadrillion today. He spent his vast fortune on everything from tapestries to castles, including the iconic White Tower of the Tower of London.
When he died, he left his entire fortune to his children.
10. Muammar Gaddafi
The former Libyan colonel and dictator shocked the world in 2011 after being overthrown and killed by rebels. He considered himself a king, flaunting his wealth across the African continent. He is a controversial world figure and there are two versions about him. He inspired great admiration from his followers and bitter hatred from his opponents. He has exercised unfettered control over Africa's largest oil reserves for the past 41 years where his investments helped grow his bank account.
At the time of his death, Gaddafi's personal wealth was estimated to be equivalent to around $200 billion or the equivalent of IDR 3.1 quadrillion in various banks around the world and in oil investments in the country. ***