Jeff Bezos Is Now The Richest Person On The Planet

In the 30 years since publications have tracked the wealth of billionaires, there have been seven individuals who have held the crown of richest person on the planet. Bill Gates had been the richest person on the planet 18 out of the last 23 years. There was a period around 2008/2009 when the crown was held by Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim. Warren Buffett was the richest person on the planet for a year. There was actually a very brief moment earlier this year when Spanish Zara billionaire Armancio Ortega Ganoa came within striking distance of the top spot, but he quickly settled back into second place (now third place) with a net worth of $80 billion. It should be noted that had Bill Gates never decided to become a philanthropist, Bezos would still have a LONG way to go to becoming the richest human on the planet. Over the last decade, Gates has given away around $30 billion of his personal wealth to various causes. His $90 billion net worth today is AFTER that $30 billion has been taken out. At $90.6 billion, Jeff is the 17th richest human being of all time after adjusting for inflation. He’s the 7th richest American of all time. The richest human being of all time is widely believed to be King Mansa Musa I of Mali who lived from 1280-1337 and had an estimated net worth of $400 billion after adjusting for inflation. Mansa Musa ruled the Malian Empire which covered modern day Ghana, Timbuktu and Mali in West Africa. Mansa Musa’s shocking wealth came from his country’s vast production of more than half the world’s supply of salt and gold. Musa used his wealth to build immense mosques that still stand today, nearly 700 years later. His kingdom and wealth didn’t last much longer after his death. His heirs were not able to fend off civil war and invading conquerors. Just two generations later, his world record net worth was gone.