Top 10 richest people in history by Time magazine

7. John D. Rockefeller

Seventh place went to the founder of the American company Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller, the state of which in 1918 was estimated at 1.5 billion dollars or in terms of the course of the last year – 341 billion dollars.

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American oil industry tycoon and philanthropist, who is considered to be the wealthiest American of all time by virtually every source, and—largely—the richest person in modern history.

Born into a large family in Richford, New York, he was shaped by his con man father and mother—a deeply religious Baptist. His family moved several times before eventually settling in Cleveland, Ohio. He had many siblings, including his brother William, with whom he would later found an oil company. Rockefeller became an assistant bookkeeper at the age of 16, and went into a business partnership with Maurice B. Clark at 20. He bought out Clark and his brothers, who also became involved—a crucial step in his career. He went on founding Rockefeller & Andrews with his brother William and another shareholder—chemist Samuel Andrews. In 1867, Henry Flagler entered the partnership. The Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler company prospered until the foundation of Standard Oil.