Both Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are among the richest people in the world today, but the fortunes of modern billionaires are nothing compared to what some of the richest people in history owned.

In an article published by the American "Investopedia" website, the writer David Floyd talked about some of the richest personalities in history, whose fortunes had an impact on the economies of entire countries.

Elon Musk (right) and Jeff Bezos are among the richest people in the world today, but their fortunes do not compare to what the richest people in history owned (agencies)

What is the value of Genghis Khan's treasure?

It is difficult to estimate the wealth of the rich in past ages because the concept of wealth differs from one era to another;

How can, for example, determine the wealth of the Persian emperors?

Is it possible to estimate the value of Genghis Khan’s treasure if we know that the price of an ounce of gold is equal to $1,769.75 (according to April 2021 data)?

It doesn't make sense to use dollars to estimate the fortunes of people who lived in eras when economies had no real currencies and taxes were pills, but just imagining what their fortunes are worth today is not without wit.

Can the value of Genghis Khan’s treasure be estimated if we know that the price of an ounce of gold is equal to $1,769.75 (according to April 2021 data)?

(Getty Images)

Marcus Licinius Crassus and Real Estate Investment

Among the richest historical figures is Marcus Licinius Crassus who lived during the first century BC, and his net worth at the time was estimated at 170 million sesterces.

This general was one of the first investors in real estate, as he bought vast tracts of land and houses in Rome after their destruction, and relied on his army of slaves of builders, engineers, and architects to restore and rebuild them.

Legend has it that he died when molten gold was poured into his mouth, a sign of his thirst for wealth.

It is estimated that John D. Rockefeller's fortune (1839-1937) was between $300 and $400 billion (Getty Images)

John D Rockefeller net worth

However, we don't need to go back in history to antiquity to find super-rich people.

For example, it is estimated that John D. Rockefeller's fortune (1839-1937) was between $300 and $400 billion.

JP Morgan loans America

It should be noted that JP Morgan loaned the United States and saved it from the economic crisis and depression that followed in 1893, before the creation of the Federal Reserve.

JP Morgan loaned the United States and saved it from the economic crisis and depression in 1893 (communication sites)

Two people possess unparalleled wealth

Instead of trying to measure the wealth of the richest people in history in absolute terms, the size of this wealth can be estimated by knowing the richest person at that age and in a particular geographic area, and taking it as a reference for the value of money.

In all of history, there were two people who possessed unparalleled wealth;

So much so that its spending in the current era could plunge the global economy into chaos.

A new mosque every Friday

In 1324 AD, Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Malian Empire, went to perform the Hajj with his entourage, which consisted of about 60,000 people, and with him an incalculable amount of gold that he distributed to the poor in the Mediterranean cities that he passed through during his journey.

According to one version, Im Mansa built a new mosque every Friday.

He is the most honorable king, Al-Hajj Mansa Musa, Kanga Musa, Kanko Musa Nyari Nyakate, or Musa I. He was born about 1280 and died in 1337 AD. He is the tenth Mansa of the Kingdom of Mali between 1312 and 1337 AD.

At the time of his accession to the throne, the kingdom of Mali consisted of the lands that belonged to the empires of Ghana, Mali and its environs, according to Wikipedia.

He was spent lavishly in Cairo and Medina in particular, and the sudden influx of money drove up the prices of everyday goods at the time.

Aware of the hyperinflation that had plagued an entire region because of it, Mansa resorted to what is today called "quantitative easing", where he bought all the gold in Cairo on loan at a high interest rate.

Mansa Musa, the greatest leaders of the Mali Empire and the most famous leaders of Africa and Islam in the Middle Ages (communication sites)

A ransom fills a large room with gold

What about the Americas?

In 1532, the brutal war of succession between the half-brothers Atahualpa and Huascar was coming to an end, and the Inca Empire was beginning to recover.

Surprisingly enough, this is the only complex and large-scale civilization that developed without any form of market, and had absolutely no idea about money.

The entire country at that time was based on the family unit system, where the Inca (the emperor) controlled everything: food, clothes, luxury goods, houses, people.

The people then served the emperor in return for providing them with everything they needed to survive.

When the Spanish conquistadors ambushed Atahualpa in Cajamarca and took him captive, he was able to pay an unparalleled ransom that would fill a large room with gold.

Currently, the ransom he paid at the time is estimated at $1.5 billion.

But the Spaniards killed him and seized his empire, and it was said that his wealth of gold and silver that then flooded Europe caused great inflation and economic stagnation.