Book Review: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived
Steinmetz, Greg. The richest man who ever lived : the life and times of Jacob Fugger. Simon & Schuster, 2015.
The November issue of Money magazine features “The 10 Richest People of All Time.” Bill Gates is #9, the only living super-rich person on the list, his net worth totaling $87 billion. Two other Americans are on the list — Andrew Carnegie, #6 with an inflation-adjusted net worth of $404 billion, and John Rockefeller #7 with $385 billion. Several names on the list are unfamiliar, including Money’s #1 richest man of all time, Mansa Musa, the king of Timbuktu, a West African kingdom.
Nowhere on Money’s list is Jacob Fugger who, according to journalist Greg Steinmetz’s calculations, was truly the richest man who ever lived. Fugger lived in the dawning days of international trade, banking and capitalism, of mining and industry. It was the time of Columbus, Isabella and Ferdinand; of Machiavelli, Martin Luther and King Henry VIII. Fugger financed Magellan’s iconic voyage around the globe. He financed the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I and the Habsburgs’ rise to power. As “God’s Banker,” he financed the Vatican. His shady deals provoked Martin Luther to write his 95 Theses, triggering the Protestant Reformation.
Jacob Fugger is the subject of Steinmetz’s book, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived. Fugger started life in 15th century Germany as a commoner and ended up the preeminent financier in Europe. His family lived in Augsburg (now in Austria) and were prosperous textile traders. When he was a teenager, Fugger’s mother arranged an apprenticeship in Venice, at the time the most commercial city in Europe, where banking and accounting were new inventions. He returned to Austria to expand into the profitable new industry of the era – mining – and he developed into an aggressive businessman with a talent for managing customers, a tolerance for risk and a genius for negotiation.
Fugger’s approach to business was modern. He understood monopoly power and tried to corner the market in precious metals. Investing in research and development, he pioneered new technology. He knew the power of market-sensitive information and created a news service, couriers who raced between cities with market tips and political updates. He maintained special relationships with kings and emperors and bought political favors. He surrounded himself with lawyers and accountants. By monitoring his accounts closely, he understood his financial exposure at every moment.
Greg Steinmetz is a gifted storyteller. Characters and events in the book come alive. His Jacob Fugger is a champion of private property and unfettered markets, the first modern businessman to pursue wealth for its own sake. But he also shows Fugger as a ruthless capitalist, who squeezes his workers and bullies his family. Fugger’s life illustrates the founding of today’s world economy.
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