America has never had as many billionaires as it does now.
But how does the wealth of historic figures, such as the industrialists of the Gilded Age, compare to that of the richest people in 2025?
In many historic calculations of net worth, individual fortunes weren’t measured in isolation; instead, they were compared to the GDP of the US at the time. When the US economy was much smaller than it is today, the wealthiest families and individuals carried more weight in the economy than others during more prosperous times.
One of the richest Americans of all time is widely considered to be Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller, whose wealth, at its peak in 1937, was equal to 1.5% of the country’s GDP. His estimated net worth would be around $499 billion today, when adjusted for inflation.
Elon Musk‘s current wealth, however, is understood to have now eclipsed that of Rockefeller’s. On December 29, Forbes estimated Musk’s fortune to be $744.6 billion.
To identify some of the richest Americans of all time, we consulted Forbes’ 2007 list of history’s wealthiest figures, based on estimates by economist Peter Bernstein. It calculated individuals’ wealth at their peak and compared it to the country’s GDP at the time to convert it to 2006 dollars. This was then adjusted to today’s dollars using the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator.
For living individuals, we cited estimated net worths as reported by Forbes on December 29.
While estimations of historic wealth may not be perfect, they help paint a picture of the level of wealth enjoyed by some of America’s most notable figures in business, and put it into context with today’s billionaires.
Here are 28 of the wealthiest Americans in history.
Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937)
Estimated net worth (2025 adjusted estimate): $82.5 billion
Source of wealth: Banker and industrialist; heir to the Mellon banking dynasty
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $88.8 billion
Source of wealth: Automaker; founder of Ford Motor Company
Jay Gould (1836-1892)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $95.1 billion
Source of wealth: Railroad financier and speculator
Sam Walton (1918-1992)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $95.8 billion
Source of wealth: Retail entrepreneur; founder of Walmart
Marshall Field (1834-1906)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $98.2 billion
Source of wealth: Retail magnate; founder of Marshall Field & Company
Bill Gates
Net worth: $104 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; co-founder of Microsoft
Michael Bloomberg
Net worth: $109.4 billion
Source of wealth: Financial data entrepreneur; founder of Bloomberg LP
Frederick Weyerhaeuser (1834-1914)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $118 billion
Source of wealth: Timber magnate; founder of Weyerhaeuser
Alice Walton
Net worth: $119.7 billion
Source of wealth: Walmart heir
Jim Walton
Net worth: $128.5 billion
Source of wealth: Walmart heir and board member
Rob Walton
Net worth: $131.2 billion
Source of wealth: Walmart heir and former chairman
Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-1876)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $132.1 billion
Source of wealth: Retail pioneer; founder of AT Stewart & Co.
Richard B. Mellon (1870-1933)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $134.5 billion
Source of wealth: Banker and industrial investor; heir to Mellon banking dynasty
Michael Dell
Net worth: $141.2 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; founder and CEO of Dell Technologies
Warren Buffett
Net worth: $147.4 billion
Source of wealth: Investor; CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $148.3 billion
Source of wealth: Tech executive; former CEO of Microsoft
Stephen Girard (1750-1831)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $156.3 billion
Source of wealth: Banker, merchant, and financier
Jensen Huang
Net worth: $165.4 billion
Source of wealth: Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia
John Jacob Astor (1763-1848)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $180 billion
Source of wealth: Fur trader and real-estate investor
Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $227.4 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; co-founder of Facebook, now Meta
Sergey Brin
Net worth: $237.7 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; co-founder of Google
Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $244 billion
Source of wealth: E-commerce entrepreneur; founder of Amazon
Larry Ellison
Net worth: $249.4 billion
Source of wealth: Software entrepreneur; co-founder and former CEO of Oracle
Larry Page
Net worth: $257.6 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; co-founder of Google
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $275.3 billion
Source of wealth: Shipping and railroad tycoon
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $459.6 billion
Source of wealth: Steel industrialist; founder of Carnegie Steel
John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $499 billion
Source of wealth: Oil magnate; founder of Standard Oil
Elon Musk
Net worth: $744.6 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; CEO of Tesla & SpaceX
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