John D Rockefeller Was At Least Three Times Richer Than Jeff Bezos In His Heyday

That’s not that impressive when you look at it that way – not that nearly $27 billion is anything to sneeze at! But if you look at what measuringoutput.com calls “relative output,” then Rockefeller is the clear winner. His $1.5 billion in 1937 was roughly 1.6% of the economy. Were he to own the same percentage of the economy today, his net worth would be nearly triple Jeff Bezos’. Pretty cool, right? This is measured using a number of factors from the size of the economy to the value of the dollar to the cost of a loaf of bread. Obviously $1 was more to a kid in 1925 than it is to a kid today. It is a way to quantify the buying power of the wealthiest people of different eras on as level a playing field as possible. Below is a list of some of the richest people in history at the height of their wealth and what they’d be worth today using the “relative output” approach. John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) Net worth via relative output: $331 billion Fun fact: Oil magnate usually considered the world’s first billionaire. Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) Net worth via relative output: $321 billion Fun fact: Sold his steel company in 1901 to J.P. Morgan for $480 million. Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) Net worth via relative output: $238 billion Fun fact: Shipping and railroad tycoon. Ancestor of Gloria Vanderbilt and Anderson Cooper. Bill Gates (b. 1955) Net worth via relative output: $213 billion Fun fact: Was the world’s richest man for many years. Founder of the Giving Pledge. Marcus Licinius Crassus (115 B.C.-53 B.C.) Net worth via relative output: $210 billion Fun fact: He was a Roman politician who thwarted Spartacus’ slave revolt. Alan the Red (1040-1093) Net worth via relative output: $203 billion Fun fact: He was William the Conqueror’s cousin and he was basically a real estate/land baron after the Norman Conquest. John Jacob Astor (1763-1848) Net worth via relative output: $169 billion Fun Fact: Astor was a big investor in New York real estate. Jeff Bezos (b. 1964) Net worth: $114 billion Fun fact: World’s richest person, not a member of the Giving Pledge.