by Daniel Coughlin
1820s: Stephen Girard
Stephen Girard (born Étienne Girard; May 20, 1750 – December 26, 1831) was a French-born American banker and philanthropist. Born in Bordeaux, Girard subsequently immigrated to the Thirteen Colonies where he established himself in the American banking industry. During the War of 1812, Girard single-handedly saved the federal government of the United States from bankruptcy by personally financing the American war effort. Eventually accumulating a large estate which included a slave plantation in Louisiana, a 2007 article in Fortune Magazine estimated that he was the fourth-richest American in history.[1] Having no children, Girard devoted much of his fortune to philanthropy, in particular the education and welfare of orphans, and his estate continues to fund philanthropic endeavors in the present day.
The son of a naval captain, Stephen Girard was born in Bordeaux, France in 1750 and went to sea at an early age.
He settled in Philadelphia in 1776, where he set himself up as a merchant.
Girard racked up an immense fortune importing and exporting goods in the bustling city and became the richest private individual in the world by 1810.
In 1811, Girard set up his very own bank, which provided the primary source of credit for the US government during the War of 1812.
By the time of his death in 1831, the philanthropic financier’s fortune was estimated at $7.5 million, the equivalent of $260 million in today’s money.
He gave almost his entire fortune to charity, including:
- orphanages
- libraries
- schools
in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
Nathan Mayer Rothschild (16 September 1777 – 28 July 1836), also known as Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild, was a British-German banker, businessman and financier. Born in Frankfurt am Main, he was the third of the five sons of Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his wife, Guttle (née Schnapper). He was the founder of the British branch of the prominent Rothschild family.
1830s: Nathan Mayer Rothschild
Following Girard’s death in 1831, the scion of the Rothschild banking dynasty, Nathan Mayer Rothschild, took his place the richest person in the world.
BLOODLINE: ROTHSCHILD – Do YOU have the HOLY GHOST?
Born in Frankfurt in 1777, the German financier moved to England in 1798, setting up textile and banking businesses that netted him a huge fortune.
Miles Williams Mathis: Who are the Rothschilds? – Do YOU have the HOLY GHOST?
When he died in 1836, Rothschild was worth the equivalent of 0.62% of British national income.
BLOODLINE: ROTHSCHILD: Did Sabbatai Zevi Father the Rothschilds? – Do YOU have the HOLY GHOST?
John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting opium into the Chinese Empire, and by investing in real estate in or around New York City. He was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States. Born in Germany, Astor immigrated to England as a teenager and worked as a musical instrument manufacturer. He moved to the United States after the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). Seeing the expansion of population to the west, Astor entered the fur trade and built a monopoly, managing a business empire that extended to the Great Lakes region and north into British North America (future Dominion of Canada), and later expanded into the Western United States and the American frontier West and extended to the far West Coast and Pacific Ocean. Following a decline in demand due to changing European styles and tastes in beaver fur mens’ hats and clothing tastes, he got out of the fur trade in 1830, diversifying by investing in New York City real estate. Astor became one of the wealthiest men in the United States and became a prominent patron of the arts. In proportion to GDP, he was one of the richest people in modern history, leaving behind an estate worth 0.9% of US GDP at his time of death, roughly equivalent to $276 billion in 2025. This was previously popularized by Nathaniel P. Tallmadge remarking “one in every 100 dollars in this country ends up in J Astor’s hands” during Tallmadge’s 1839/1840 Senate election for NY.
1840s: John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor was born in Walldorf, Germany in 1763 and emigrated to America at the age of 21 where he entered the fur trade, building up a lucrative monopoly.
At the time of his death in 1848, the German-American businessman, who was also a big player in the real estate and opium industries, had a net worth of $20 million, equivalent to $798 million in today’s money.
1850s: Cornelius Vanderbilt
Another savvy self-made tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt was born on Staten Island, New York in 1794. The descendant of a Dutch indentured servant, Vanderbilt left school at 11 and established a ferry service when he was 16, which morphed into a booming nationwide steamboat business.
By the 1850s, Vanderbilt had become the world’s richest person.
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed “the Commodore”, was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father’s business, Vanderbilt worked his way into leadership positions in the inland water trade and invested in the rapidly growing railroad industry, effectively transforming the geography of the United States. As one of the richest Americans in history and wealthiest figures overall, Vanderbilt was the patriarch of the wealthy and influential Vanderbilt family. He provided the initial gift to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. For his monopoly on shipping and the railroads, facilitated by political manipulation, Vanderbilt is often described as a “robber baron”, including in what may be one of first uses of the term, in The New York Times in 1859.
1860s: Cornelius Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt made his first foray into the railroad industry in 1863 when he bought the failing New York and Harlem route.
The following year, the business magnate sold his steamship concerns to focus 100% on railroads and went on to create the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad company, one of America’s first mega-corporations.
1870s: Cornelius Vanderbilt
During the early 1870s, Vanderbilt embraced philanthropy, setting aside $1 million ($24m today) to found Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Upon his death in 1877, the shrewd businessman was worth $105 million, equivalent to $3.2 billion in today’s money.
He left the lion’s share of his fortune to his eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt.
William Henry Vanderbilt (May 8, 1821 – December 8, 1885) was an American businessman Known as “Billy”, he was the eldest son of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to his fortune and a prominent member of the Vanderbilt family. Vanderbilt became the richest American after he took over his father’s fortune in 1877 until his own death in 1885, passing on a substantial part of the fortune to his wife and children, particularly to his sons Cornelius II and William. He inherited nearly $100 million from his father. The fortune had doubled when he died fewer than nine years later.
1880s: William Henry Vanderbilt
William Henry Vanderbilt picked up where his father left off and expanded the dynasty’s railroad empire with aplomb while donating vast sums to charitable causes.
At the time of his death in 1885, he had more than doubled the family fortune and was worth $232 million, equivalent to $7.5 billion in today’s money.
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern history. Rockefeller was born into a large family in Upstate New York who moved several times before eventually settling in Cleveland, Ohio. He became an assistant bookkeeper at age 16 and went into several business partnerships beginning at age 20, concentrating his business on oil refining. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company in 1870. He ran it until 1897 and remained its largest shareholder. In his retirement, he focused his energy and wealth on philanthropy, especially regarding education, medicine, higher education, and modernizing the Southern United States.
1890s: John D. Rockefeller
Born in upstate New York in 1839, Gilded Age tycoon John D. Rockefeller co-founded Standard Oil in 1870 and went on to control a staggering 90% of all oil refined in the USA, later becoming the world’s first billionaire in 1916.
In the 1890s, the oil baron expanded into iron ore and natural gas and had huge influence over the country’s railroad industry.
Capitalism by Gaslight: The Shadow Economies of 19th-Century America – The Library Company of Philadelphia
Why 19th Century Europe became the richest part of the world? What can we learn? – Global Village Space
CONTINUE
CIVILIZATION: RICHEST in 20th Century – Do YOU have the HOLY GHOST?
TIME: 1800’S: Was there a RESET for CIVILIZATION in the 19th Century? – Do YOU have the HOLY GHOST?