When we think about the richest person in history, names like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or Bernard Arnault often come to mind.
Musk, the world's richest person could become the first trillionaire in the next decade if he meets ambitious goals set by Tesla as shareholders approved pay package that could push his wealth into trillions.
Even tough, Tesla CEO is extremely rich, his fortune is still small compared to the richest people in the history.
Here are top 10 richest people to ever live on Earth:
1. Mansa Musa (1280 - 1337)
Approx wealth: Immeasurable
Mansa Musa, the 9th ruler of the Mali Empire is considered the richest person in the history with wealth so enormous that it's hard to even imagine.
For context, some people says he controlled so much wealth that it was believed to exceed that of the rest of the world combined.
It is also said that his empire possessed over a third of the world's gold and precious gems and grew very strongly in both economic and military power.
2. Genghis Khan (1162 - 1227)
Approx wealth: $120 trillion
Genghis Khan, ruler of the massive Mongol Empire was extremely rich, mainly due to enormous land his empire controlled.
While, the exact wealth is unknown, it's said to have included trillion of dollars' worth of diamonds, 2 million tons of gold and vast amounts of other gems.
3. Emperor Shenzong (1048 - 1085)
Approx wealth: $45 trillion
Emperor Shenzong ruled China during one of its richest economic periods when China made up almost 30% of the world's economy.
Monarchs owned all the land and wealth and the dynasty became wealthy through trade, abundant resources and effective economic management.
4. Akbar I (1542 - 1605)
Approx wealth: $29 trillion
Akbar the Great, the third emperor ruled nearly the entire Indian subcontinent and built one of the strongest governments of his time.
He implemented smart economic strategies, including high taxes and string trades. The Mughal Empire controlled about 25% of the world's GDP, equivalent to roughly $28.9 trillion in today's term.
5. Empress Wu Zetian (624 - 705)
Approx wealth: $25 trillion
Empress Wu Zetian, China's only female ruler established the Wu Zhou Dynasty in 690 AD. At the time, the Tang Empire was extremely wealthy, holding about 20–25% of the world’s total wealth, which would be equivalent to around $25 trillion today.
6. Joseph Stalin (1878 - 1953)
Approx wealth: $11 trillion
Joseph Stalin didn't have personal wealth but as the leader of the Soviet Union, he controlled the entire country's economy including factories, farms, transport and the military.
7. Augustus Caesar (63 BC - 14 AD)
Approx wealth: $5.8 trillion
Augustus Caesar, a highly influential Roman emperor and conqueror greatly strengthened the Roman economy. His empire controlled about 25-30% of the world's GDP.
8. Catherine The Great (1729 - 1796)
Approx wealth: $2 trillion
Catherine the Great became ruler of Russia in 1760 and quickly made significant investments, controlling wealth equal to about 5% of Russia's GDP at that time.
9. Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919)
Approx wealth: $667 billion
Andrew Carnegie was a top figure in the American steel industry and created a vast business empire that made him extremely wealthy. He is also remembered for donating most of his fortune to build libraries, universities and support education and science worldwide.
10. John D. Rockefeller (1839 - 1937)
Approx wealth: $561 billion
John D. Rockefeller is known to be America's first billionaire who owned vast oil reserves and controlled at least 2% of the US economy.
