the richest who ever lived

Every year Forbes publishes the richest 500 people in the world. Bill Gates has topped that list for 16 of the past 21 years. His fortune sits at $79.2 billion dollars, which is larger than the size of Hawaii’s economy at $77.4 billion dollars in 2014!

Although Gates’ wealth is the highest today, how would he stack up against the history’s richest people? Below are history’s top 30 richest people at their peak wealth, adjusted for inflation and appreciation of their assets. You will also see the “Honorable Mention” list that shows rulers, monarchs, and emperors of countries that drew their wealth from the country they ruled.

Here are some interesting highlights for the richest people of all time, including the Honorable Mentions:

The Top 30 are worth about $5 trillion dollars! This amount is more than the size of Japan’s economy.

14 out of the 30 are Americans

None are women (for now at least!)

Only 3 are currently living but do not crack the Top 10: Bill Gates, Carlos Slim Helu, and Warren Buffett