List of richest Americans in history


Most sources agree on John D. Rockefeller being the richest American in history, although some define richest as an individual's wealth as a share of contemporary Gross Domestic Product. This method of comparing individuals' wealth across time is disputed. For example, economic blogger Scott Sumner noted in 2018 that Rockefeller was worth $1.4 billion when he died in 1937, which was about $24 billion in dollars adjusted to 2018. Meanwhile, Bill Gates in 1999 was worth nearly $150 billion in dollars adjusted to 2018.
Second richest in terms of wealth over contemporary GDP is disputed, with various sources listing Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Jacob Astor IV, Bill Gates, or Henry Ford. Most sources agree on Carnegie. Further places are a matter of even bigger debate.
Given the economic rise of the United States of America since its origins, with America becoming the foremost economic power in the world by the late 19th century, the wealthiest men in America were often also the wealthiest men in the world.

Fortune's Wealthiest Americans (1957)

In 1957, Fortune magazine developed a list of the seventy-six wealthiest Americans, which was republished in many American newspapers. Jean Paul Getty, when asked his reaction on being named wealthiest American and whether he was really worth a billion dollars, said "You know, if you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars" and then added, "But remember, a billion dollars isn't worth what it used to be."
The second category, covering the second to eighth richest individuals, included Andrew W. Mellon's son, daughter, niece, and nephew. The list also included seven members of the Rockefeller family, five members of the Ford family, four members of the Du Pont family, and four General Motors executives.
$700,000,000 to $1,000,000,000
$400,000,000 to $700,000,000
$200,000,000 to $400,000,000
$100,000,000 to $200,000,000
$75,000,000 to $100,000,000
In the 1996 book The Wealthy 100, authors Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther placed John D. Rockefeller atop the list of the richest Americans in history, followed by Cornelius Vanderbilt and John Jacob Astor. Bill Gates was the top living person, coming in fifth.

''American Heritage'' (1998)

published the following list of 40 richest Americans ever in 1998.
  1. John D. Rockefeller
  2. Andrew Carnegie
  3. Cornelius Vanderbilt
  4. John Jacob Astor
  5. Bill Gates
  6. Stephen Girard
  7. Alexander Turney Stewart
  8. Frederick Weyerhauser
  9. Jay Gould
  10. Marshall Field
  11. Sam Walton
  12. Henry Ford
  13. Warren Buffett
  14. Andrew W. Mellon
  15. Richard B. Mellon
  16. James Graham Fair
  17. William Weightman
  18. Moses Taylor
  19. Russell Sage
  20. John Insley Blair
  21. Cyrus H. K. Curtis
  22. Paul Allen
  23. J. P. Morgan
  24. E. H. Harriman
  25. Henry Huddleston Rogers
  26. Oliver Hazard Payne
  27. Henry Clay Frick
  28. Collis Potter Huntington
  29. Peter Arrell Browne Widener
  30. Nicholas Longworth
  31. Philip Danforth Armour
  32. James Clair Flood
  33. Mark Hopkins Jr.
  34. Edward Cabot Clark
  35. Leland Stanford
  36. Hetty Green
  37. James J. Hill
  38. William Rockefeller
  39. Elias Hasket Derby
  40. Claus Spreckels

    Bernstein & Swan (2008)

Bernstein and Swan in All the Money in the World mention the 15 richest Americans of all time.
  1. John D. Rockefeller
  2. Andrew Carnegie
  3. Cornelius Vanderbilt
  4. John Jacob Astor
  5. Stephen Girard
  6. Richard B. Mellon
  7. A. T. Stewart
  8. Frederick Weyerhäuser
  9. Marshall Field
  10. Sam Walton
  11. Jay Gould
  12. Henry Ford
  13. Bill Gates
  14. Andrew W. Mellon
  15. Warren Buffett

    Business Insider (2011)

Business Insider agreed on Rockefeller in first, but placed Andrew Carnegie second, followed by Vanderbilt, and Gates.
  1. John D. Rockefeller
  2. Andrew Carnegie
  3. Cornelius Vanderbilt
  4. Bill Gates
  5. John Jacob Astor
  6. Stephen Girard
  7. A. T. Stewart
  8. Frederick Weyerhäuser
  9. Jay Gould
  10. Stephen Van Rensselaer
  11. Marshall Field
  12. Sam Walton
  13. Warren Buffett

    CNN Money (2014)

The following is a list compiled by CNN Money in 2014.
  1. John D. Rockefeller
  2. Cornelius Vanderbilt
  3. John Jacob Astor
  4. Stephen Girard
  5. Richard Mellon
  6. Andrew Carnegie
  7. Stephen Van Rensselaer
  8. A. T. Stewart
  9. Frederick Weyerhäuser
  10. Jay Gould
  11. Marshall Field
  12. Bill Gates
  13. Henry Ford
  14. Warren Buffett
  15. Andrew Mellon
  16. Sam Walton
  17. Moses Taylor
  18. Russell Sage
  19. James G. Fair
  20. William Weightman

    Today

is presently the richest man, with an estimated net worth of over $150 billion dollars according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. However, his wealth as a share of his country's GDP is still a lower percentage than John D Rockefeller's was in the early 1900s.

By half decade

This list names the richest American by half decade starting in 1770.
YearNamePicture
1770Peter Manigault
1775Robert Morris
1780William Bingham
1785Benjamin Franklin
1790John Hancock
1795Elias Hasket Derby
1800Thomas Willing
1805Stephen Girard
1810Stephen Girard
1815Stephen Girard
1820Stephen Girard
1825Stephen Girard
1830Stephen Girard
1835Stephen Van Rensselaer
1840John Jacob Astor
1845John Jacob Astor
1850Cornelius Vanderbilt
1855Cornelius Vanderbilt
1860Cornelius Vanderbilt
1865Cornelius Vanderbilt
1870Cornelius Vanderbilt
1875Cornelius Vanderbilt
1880William Henry Vanderbilt
1885William Henry Vanderbilt
1890John D. Rockefeller
1895John D. Rockefeller
1900Andrew Carnegie
1905Andrew Carnegie
1910John D. Rockefeller
1915John D. Rockefeller
1920Henry Ford
1925Henry Ford
1930Andrew Mellon
1935Andrew Mellon
1940Henry Ford
1945Henry Ford
1950H. L. Hunt
1955J. Paul Getty
1960Howard Hughes
1965Howard Hughes
1970Howard Hughes
1975Howard Hughes
1980Daniel Ludwig
1985Sam Walton
1990John Kluge
1995Bill Gates
2000Bill Gates
2005Bill Gates
2010Bill Gates
2015Bill Gates
2020Jeff Bezos