The Richest People in History (And How They Actually Got Rich)

Who was the richest person in history, and how did they actually get rich? Tim becomes five of the richest people who ever lived: King Croesus, Marcus Crassus, Mansa Musa, Jakob Fugger and John D. Rockefeller. He finds out how each fortune was really made, and how each one went wrong. In this animated history of wealth: 🪙 Croesus: the king of Lydia who helped invent coins, and lost everything to a prophecy 🔥 Crassus: Rome's richest man and his fire brigade that let your house burn 🐪 Mansa Musa: the Mali emperor who crashed the price of gold in Cairo 👑 Jakob Fugger: the banker who bought an emperor, and the Fuggerei, still under €1 a year 🛢 John D. Rockefeller: Standard Oil, America's first billionaire, broken into 34 companies ❌ Myth break: was Mansa Musa really worth $400 billion? Which fortune would you want? Tell Tim in the comments. ⏱ Chapters 0:00 Intro: five fortunes 0:42 Era 1: Croesus, the king who invented money (Lydia, ~560 BC) 2:03 Era 2: Crassus and the fire brigade (Rome, ~70 BC) 3:32 Era 3: Mansa Musa crashes the price of gold (1324) 4:45 Era 4: Jakob Fugger buys an emperor (1519) 6:17 Era 5: Rockefeller and Standard Oil (1870–1913) 7:49 Myth break: the $400 billion number 8:50 Outro 📺 More from Terrible Timing The Worst Jobs in Human History What Stealing Bread Got You in Every Century 📚 Sources Croesus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croesus Marcus Licinius Crassus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_... Mansa Musa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_I_... Jakob Fugger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_F... Fuggerei: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuggerei John D. Rockefeller: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D.... Standard Oil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standar... All animation, music and sound effects are original to Terrible Timing. Narration is AI-generated. #history #richestpeople #animatedhistory