Recently, Kim Byung-joo, chairman of MBK Partners, was recognized as the richest person in South Korea, with assets worth 13 trillion won. This is an enormous wealth that ordinary people can hardly imagine. However, when expanding the scope globally and disregarding the era, the story changes. Someone like Chairman Kim would not even be considered among the wealthy.
So, who is the richest person in history? Of course, the criteria for wealth vary depending on the era, as the value is evaluated differently according to past economic conditions. However, there is a person commonly regarded as number one.
That person is Mansa Musa. Mansa Musa was the 9th emperor of the Mali Empire in West Africa in the early 14th century (reigned 1312?1335). He was known as the Golden King of Africa. In 2012, the American web media Celebrity Net Worth estimated his fortune at 400 billion dollars. Currently, this amounts to about 530 trillion won. However, economic historians explain that his wealth is 'incalculable.' In particular, the British Museum has evaluated that the wealth of the Mali Empire under his rule was about half that of the world's ancient kingdoms.
There is a famous anecdote when explaining his wealth. It was when he embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy site of Islam. His pilgrimage entourage numbered about 60,000 people. This included ministers, soldiers, merchants, 12,000 servants, as well as goats for food and camels for carrying loads. It is said that hundreds of pounds of gold were loaded onto the camels.
Most other wealthy individuals were also emperors or kings. This is natural since emperors were the CEOs running the state in the past. Representative figures include Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of the Roman Empire; Emperor Shenzong, the 6th emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty in China; and Akbar I of the Mughal Empire in India. They are commonly known to have led their countries when the domestic gross domestic product (GDP) accounted for 25?30% of the world GDP.
Meanwhile, looking at Forbes' '2023 World's Billionaires' ranking, the world's richest person is Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy (LVMH). He recorded asset value of 210 billion dollars (about 278 trillion won), surpassing Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, to take first place. Elon Musk is second with assets worth 180 billion dollars (about 238 trillion won), and Jeff Bezos is third with 114 billion dollars (about 151 trillion won).
Domestically, Kim Byung-joo, who founded the independent private equity firm MBK Partners and built his wealth, was the top asset holder. With a total of 9.7 billion dollars (about 13 trillion won), he jumped from third place in 2022 to first place in 2023. Following him, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong ranked second with 8 billion dollars (about 11 trillion won), and Celltrion honorary chairman Seo Jung-jin ranked third with 5.7 billion dollars (about 8 trillion won).
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