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- Create Date：2021-06-13 09:54:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Greg Steinmetz
- ISBN：8365068974
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Summary
The life and times of the wealthiest man who ever lived--Jacob Fugger， the Renaissance banker who revolutionized the art of making money and established the radical idea of pursuing wealth for its own sake。
Jacob Fugger lived in Germany at the turn of the sixteenth century， the grandson of a peasant。 By the time he died， his fortune amounted to nearly two percent of European GDP。 Not even John D。 Rockefeller had that kind of wealth。
Most people become rich by spotting opportunities， pioneering new technologies， or besting opponents in negotiations。 Fugger did all that， but he had an extra quality that allowed him to rise even higher: nerve。 In an era when kings had unlimited power， Fugger had the nerve to stare down heads of state and ask them to pay back their loans--with interest。 It was this coolness and self-assurance， along with his inexhaustible ambition， that made him not only the richest man ever， but a force of history as well。 Before Fugger came along it was illegal under church law to charge interest on loans， but he got the Pope to change that。 He also helped trigger the Reformation and likely funded Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe。 His creation of a news service， which gave him an information edge over his rivals and customers， earned Fugger a footnote in the history of journalism。 And he took Austria's Habsburg family from being second-tier sovereigns to rulers of the first empire where the sun never set。
The ultimate untold story， The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is more than a tale about the richest and most influential businessman of all time。 It is a story about palace intrigue， knights in battle， family tragedy and triumph， and a violent clash between the 1 percent and everybody else。 To understand our financial system and how we got it， it pays to understand Jacob Fugger。
Jacob Fugger lived in Germany at the turn of the sixteenth century， the grandson of a peasant。 By the time he died， his fortune amounted to nearly two percent of European GDP。 Not even John D。 Rockefeller had that kind of wealth。
Most people become rich by spotting opportunities， pioneering new technologies， or besting opponents in negotiations。 Fugger did all that， but he had an extra quality that allowed him to rise even higher: nerve。 In an era when kings had unlimited power， Fugger had the nerve to stare down heads of state and ask them to pay back their loans--with interest。 It was this coolness and self-assurance， along with his inexhaustible ambition， that made him not only the richest man ever， but a force of history as well。 Before Fugger came along it was illegal under church law to charge interest on loans， but he got the Pope to change that。 He also helped trigger the Reformation and likely funded Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe。 His creation of a news service， which gave him an information edge over his rivals and customers， earned Fugger a footnote in the history of journalism。 And he took Austria's Habsburg family from being second-tier sovereigns to rulers of the first empire where the sun never set。
The ultimate untold story， The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is more than a tale about the richest and most influential businessman of all time。 It is a story about palace intrigue， knights in battle， family tragedy and triumph， and a violent clash between the 1 percent and everybody else。 To understand our financial system and how we got it， it pays to understand Jacob Fugger。
Reviews
Jerry Levit
，
Poorly written and tedious。 The author does not tackle his main thesis until the last few pages and simply does not make the case that Jacob Fugger was the lynchpin of his era。 Rich？ Yes。 Powerful？ Yes。 Utterly mendacious？ Without a doubt。 Yet， one is left wondering more about what made the man tick and why he had emperors， kings and popes in his thrall， from time to time。 Thankfully， it is less than 300 pages。
Carl Palmateer
，
Having lived in Augsburg ，seen the Fuggeri and Fugger statues I thought this would be interesting。 Its always fun to read a book and be able to say "I've been there！ I remember that place。"Once the richest man in the world， holding a portion of the total wealth that would make today's oligarchs blush and and having even more influence Jacob's story is a mixture of determination， luck， skill and foresight。 Relatively unknown today he touched， influenced and shaped much of the early 16th Century。 Having lived in Augsburg ，seen the Fuggeri and Fugger statues I thought this would be interesting。 Its always fun to read a book and be able to say "I've been there！ I remember that place。"Once the richest man in the world， holding a portion of the total wealth that would make today's oligarchs blush and and having even more influence Jacob's story is a mixture of determination， luck， skill and foresight。 Relatively unknown today he touched， influenced and shaped much of the early 16th Century。 。。。more
Shirley Mckinnon
，
A fascinating book and I can't believe that I have never heard of Fugger before。 This book is so full of information and detail that I had to pace myself。 But a great story of influence and what merchants had to go through to pick the right royal and how to stay in their good books despite strong opposition。 What a clever man， he must have been such a diplomat。 While I got a clear picture of his turbulent times and the things he did， I still felt I did not get a good understanding of the man him A fascinating book and I can't believe that I have never heard of Fugger before。 This book is so full of information and detail that I had to pace myself。 But a great story of influence and what merchants had to go through to pick the right royal and how to stay in their good books despite strong opposition。 What a clever man， he must have been such a diplomat。 While I got a clear picture of his turbulent times and the things he did， I still felt I did not get a good understanding of the man himself。 It was almost that his actions got the attention。 However， I guess it might be difficult to get more information on the man himself from so many centuries ago。Once I had read it， I gave it to my husband to read。 We don't usually read the same kind of books but he found it equally as fascinating as I did。 He was also amazed at the amount of information about the man and his times。 。。。more
Regis Neilson
，
This is a biography of Jacob Fugger， a cloth merchant who at the turn of the 16th century expanded his family’s business into mining and investing， eventually lending to royal families and amassing a fortune of nearly 2% of Europe’s GDP。After loving Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy （yes， I am never going to stop talking about it）， I was excited to read some nonfiction from approximately the same time period。 I didn’t find Fugger himself that compelling of a character， and there’s a lot we This is a biography of Jacob Fugger， a cloth merchant who at the turn of the 16th century expanded his family’s business into mining and investing， eventually lending to royal families and amassing a fortune of nearly 2% of Europe’s GDP。After loving Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy （yes， I am never going to stop talking about it）， I was excited to read some nonfiction from approximately the same time period。 I didn’t find Fugger himself that compelling of a character， and there’s a lot we simply can’t know about someone relatively obscure who lived so long ago。 I did finish the book feeling like I had a slightly better grasp on the intersection of politics， religion， and commerce in Europe during the era， particularly in relation to the Hapsbergs。 Two months later， though， I’m not sure how much of that information I retained。 。。。more
Dr。 Tobias Christian Fischer
，
Lesenswert und wenn man mal nach Augsburg kommt - eine tolle Kombination。 Spannend und nicht zu historisch „verstaubt“ angehaucht。
Ben
，
Great story of a merchant man who rose to power through wealth in a time when Emperors and Popes ruled Europe。
Ivan DS
，
Грег Стайнмец в книгата си „Най-богатият човек на всички времена“， представя живота на Якоб Фугер в края на 15 и началото на 16 век。 Времето на Ренесанса。 Представете си днес някой бизнесмен да се опълчи на най-влиятелния политик в света。 Това прави Якоб Фугер， банкер от Аугсбург， като изпраща известие за събиране на вземания до Карл V – най-могъщият човек за времето си， в чиято империя слънцето никога не залязва。 Пише му следното: „Добре известно е， че без мен Ваше величество можеше и да не при Грег Стайнмец в книгата си „Най-богатият човек на всички времена“， представя живота на Якоб Фугер в края на 15 и началото на 16 век。 Времето на Ренесанса。 Представете си днес някой бизнесмен да се опълчи на най-влиятелния политик в света。 Това прави Якоб Фугер， банкер от Аугсбург， като изпраща известие за събиране на вземания до Карл V – най-могъщият човек за времето си， в чиято империя слънцето никога не залязва。 Пише му следното: „Добре известно е， че без мен Ваше величество можеше и да не придобие имперската корона。 Затова ще заповядате парите， които съм ви дал в заем， плюс лихвата върху тях да бъдат изчислени и сумата да ми бъде изплатена без по-нататъшно забавяне！“ Умните бизнесмени са политически неутрални и със съзнанието， че днешният опонент би могъл да бъде утрешен господар， те играят и за двата отбора。 В писмото си до император Карл V， Фугер нищо не преувеличава， защото финансира чрез заем подкупите за издигането му。 Също така финансира дядо му и изважда Хабсбургите от периферията на европейската политика， за да ги постави в центъра。 Лихварството се е наказвало от католическата църква， но той убеждава папата да премахне забраната за даване на заеми и получаване на лихва。 Финансира армията за победа в Германската селска война – първият сблъсък между капитала и комунизма в онзи период。 Пречупва гръбнака на Ханзата （Обединение на всички членуващи свободни градове в Северна Европа за защита на търговските си интереси。 Столица на Ханзата е град Любек в Северна Германия）。 Предизвиква Реформацията， разцепила на две европейските християни。 Въвежда двустранното счетоводство， одита и обезпечението на кредита。 Създава първата международна банкова мрежа с много клонове и организира първата в света новинарска мрежа от куриери с цел да информира клиентите си за случващото се на пазара。 Построява първите в света социални жилища， наречени „Фугерай“， съществуващи и до днес в град Аугсбург。 Първият документиран милионер в света。 Безскрупулен бизнесмен， трупащ богатство， заради самото богатство。 Понякога на твърде висока цена。 Поради тези причини Якоб Фугер се счита за най-влиятелният бизнесмен на всички времена。 。。。more
Nick
，
Mildy interesting story， but Renaissance banking isn't very exciting。 Voice actor was not a comfortable listen。 Mildy interesting story， but Renaissance banking isn't very exciting。 Voice actor was not a comfortable listen。 。。。more
Kevin Eikenberry
，
Before I read this book， I might have had a couple of guesses at the richest man who ever lived; but I wouldn’t have guessed Jacob Fugger。 The author makes the assertion based comparing a person’s net worth to the size of the economy he operated in。 By this measure （his net worth at about 2% of European economic output）， Jacob Fugger， who died in 1525 in Augsburg Germany was the richest man who ever lived。While much has been written about him in German， this book is the first significant biograp Before I read this book， I might have had a couple of guesses at the richest man who ever lived; but I wouldn’t have guessed Jacob Fugger。 The author makes the assertion based comparing a person’s net worth to the size of the economy he operated in。 By this measure （his net worth at about 2% of European economic output）， Jacob Fugger， who died in 1525 in Augsburg Germany was the richest man who ever lived。While much has been written about him in German， this book is the first significant biography of this fascinating and influential man written in English。Read more。。。 。。。more
Kathelijne
，
Tip: Read the epilogue and the afterword first
Matt Heavner
，
fascinating！ Jacob's life is very interesting - this book does a great job of weaving the "life" and the "times" together very well。 I learned alot。 There is so much going on， it sometimes got tricky to keep up with all the characters。 fascinating！ Jacob's life is very interesting - this book does a great job of weaving the "life" and the "times" together very well。 I learned alot。 There is so much going on， it sometimes got tricky to keep up with all the characters。 。。。more
Nathan Rubene dos Santos
，
To what standard does pop history have to abide by besides that of its author？ In this case， Steinmetz is intent to tell an engrossing story above all else， and perhaps in expense of extensive research and contextualization too。 Besides the numerous errors in dating， references to important figures， and some basic facts about Catholic theology， what I found most troubling was the author's ambiguous treatment of Fugger's lifelong corruption， engaged at times for self-preservation but mostly in th To what standard does pop history have to abide by besides that of its author？ In this case， Steinmetz is intent to tell an engrossing story above all else， and perhaps in expense of extensive research and contextualization too。 Besides the numerous errors in dating， references to important figures， and some basic facts about Catholic theology， what I found most troubling was the author's ambiguous treatment of Fugger's lifelong corruption， engaged at times for self-preservation but mostly in the name of ever-greater profit from Germany to Hungary and beyond。 Anachronistically called 'crony capitalism' on occasion， the serious ramifications of Fugger's bribery measured in bloodshed and reinforced class tensions are overlooked so as to praise him as "the world's richest man" and legitimize the excesses that made such a title possible。 Ambition taken to the point of ruin of one's reputation and country is absolved as a modern， secular virtue innovated by Fugger upon the supposedly stifling background of medieval tradition， and any further debate is rendered moot。 Additionally， I found issue with Steinmetz's inexplicable sentence structure， fragmentary beyond anything expected from his history as a journalist。 The narrative also lacks a clearly followed chronology， hopping back and forth between years for no apparent reason。 。。。more
Marcia Benjamin
，
While it was interesting to read about life and wealth and the bacchanalia that was the Catholic Church of the day， this was a somewhat dry history of Fugger。 Who knew the life of a 15th Century banker would’ve been so dry？ Well， looking back， I should have。
Alvaro Almeyda
，
Excelente recuento de la historia económica。
Roger Hoffmann
，
Es wurde nie langweilig。 Toll geschrieben und oft einen Bezug zu noch heute gültigen Gegebenheiten und Verweise auf geschichtliche Zusammenhängen， welche heute noch von Bedeutung sind bzw woher heutige Dinge ihren Ursprung haben
Christoph Monschein
，
sehr interessantes buch， wenn man interesse an wirtschafts- aber auch politischer geschichte hat。 viele parallelen zum kapitalismus im 21。 jahrhundert
Bryan Alkire
，
See my blog: dailybooksandicdcreamsundays。wordpress。com
Mary E。
，
Fascinating read。 The subject of this non-fiction book， Jakob Fugger （1459-1525）， is a prominent actor in many of the international events of his time in Europe and in other parts of the world。 The author does a wonderful job in depicting these events， cause and effect， and how they were interwoven。 The writing is crisp and clear and never overburdened。 The book is a very interesting and entertaining way of learning important history of that time period。
Bart Schneider
，
The Koch brother of the 15/16th centuries！ Anything for money， greed coursing his veins。 Fun fact: centuries earlier when his family moved to Augsburg， the name was Fucker。 The town registrar misheard the name， the rest is history。
Luis Bedolla
，
Very interesting story， it's incredible in how a single person was able to change the world， change the commerce， put kings in the throne on the XV-XVI Century， and even push the vatican and Pope to change their rules。 Impressive how a single was able to manage the world and not being very knwon in the present。 Impressive。 Very interesting story， it's incredible in how a single person was able to change the world， change the commerce， put kings in the throne on the XV-XVI Century， and even push the vatican and Pope to change their rules。 Impressive how a single was able to manage the world and not being very knwon in the present。 Impressive。 。。。more
Igor
，
One of the most interesting books I have ever read。 As I am from Brazil， I had been taught short fragments of European history。 Besides I very biased version of it。 So this book for me was very enlightening。 It will help me understand other books that I am already reading and future ones。
Phyllis
，
Very interesting。 Provided an understanding of this period in regard to financial dealings。
Franklyn Gonzalez
，
A short listen on the account of Jakob Fugger's life。 There were some small notes to keep in mind inside this book/audiobook。 Trust， finances， and history。 Words like "account" and "credit" originated in Venice。 Jakob had found an opportunity in mining。 And a part of Jakob's success came from a balance sheet。A balance sheet， used to keep track of finances， payments， and loans。 I'd like to keep this in mind in the future。 Even though I use a personal monthly budget sheet for myself。 I didn't foll A short listen on the account of Jakob Fugger's life。 There were some small notes to keep in mind inside this book/audiobook。 Trust， finances， and history。 Words like "account" and "credit" originated in Venice。 Jakob had found an opportunity in mining。 And a part of Jakob's success came from a balance sheet。A balance sheet， used to keep track of finances， payments， and loans。 I'd like to keep this in mind in the future。 Even though I use a personal monthly budget sheet for myself。 I didn't follow through the book's reference on currency well。 Maybe become I didn't understand how much money or dollars would translate to "Florens"。 Overall， it was a nice listen。 。。。more
Ajay Palekar
，
Well written book 。。。 its surprising that not more is said or that knowledge of Fugger's life and influence is lessor know。 It helps to understand a visionary， controversial figure。 I was put off by Greg's pro-capitalist ideas when the life and times of Fugger are clear evidence against his claims。。。 Still I appreciate his research and enjoyed the connections that he held over the economic and political events that I have researched before。Its sad our textbooks don't normally tell history in thi Well written book 。。。 its surprising that not more is said or that knowledge of Fugger's life and influence is lessor know。 It helps to understand a visionary， controversial figure。 I was put off by Greg's pro-capitalist ideas when the life and times of Fugger are clear evidence against his claims。。。 Still I appreciate his research and enjoyed the connections that he held over the economic and political events that I have researched before。Its sad our textbooks don't normally tell history in this way -- with flawed greedy and corrupt kings and their financiers， injustice， exploitation， and opulence all throughout。 More kids would enjoy school if they did。 。。。more
Claudia
，
Nun， ganz so klein und unwichtig war Ausgburg jetzt auch nicht。。。 - Aber ich hab dabei doch jede Menge neues gelernt， dass ich über Jakob Fugger nicht wusste。
Mateus Levi
，
I liked it！ While I am very interested in history books， specially the ones about the Reformation， I’ve found that many books that deal with this time period （maybe history books in general） can be a bit tedious and difficult to really enjoy， what if reading more like an university textbook than anything else。 But this is actually a very enjoyable book。 While it might not be a 100% accurate on theology or economy or even history matters （I would not be able to say， as I do not know enough about I liked it！ While I am very interested in history books， specially the ones about the Reformation， I’ve found that many books that deal with this time period （maybe history books in general） can be a bit tedious and difficult to really enjoy， what if reading more like an university textbook than anything else。 But this is actually a very enjoyable book。 While it might not be a 100% accurate on theology or economy or even history matters （I would not be able to say， as I do not know enough about these topics）， the author does a very good job in explaining who was Jakob Fugger and what made him an important figure at that time。 So I’d say that if you’re looking for a nice read on an interesting man from centuries ago， his ventures and all the drama he was involved in （and may have caused）， I recommend this book。 As other reviewers have said， it might come off as a bit of a “pop history” piece， but I wouldn’t say that was really any problem for me。 。。。more
Ena
，
Делай деньги， делай деньги，А остальное все дребедень （с） Якоб Фуггер - № 1 в списке Форбс 16 века。 Олигархи тех времён ничем не отличались от современных: любовь к деньгам， хитрости кредитования， максимум влияния на Правительство， любовь к предметам искусства + немного благотворительности。 Личная жизнь таких людей чаще всего остаётся за кадром （настолько， что сложно сказать: любил ли он свою жену или нет）。 Якоб， как Фигаро， успевает везде: спонсорство нескольких войн， инквизиция， покупка парочки Делай деньги， делай деньги，А остальное все дребедень （с） Якоб Фуггер - № 1 в списке Форбс 16 века。 Олигархи тех времён ничем не отличались от современных: любовь к деньгам， хитрости кредитования， максимум влияния на Правительство， любовь к предметам искусства + немного благотворительности。 Личная жизнь таких людей чаще всего остаётся за кадром （настолько， что сложно сказать: любил ли он свою жену или нет）。 Якоб， как Фигаро， успевает везде: спонсорство нескольких войн， инквизиция， покупка парочки городов， модернизация шахт， строительство квартала для бедняков （существует и поныне с той же арендной платой）， но для Всемирной истории он навсегда остался на вторых ролях， как любимый банкир Короля。 Но мы-то， прочитавшие эту книгу， знаем правду， кто тут главный ;）Минус: исторических отступлений в книге больше， чем самого Фуггера 。。。more
Ernst
，
A fun and very interesting read， packed with a lot of information。
Leanne
，
This is my third re-read of this book。 Wonderfully written， it is about a 15th century business man who is quite simply impossible to ignore。 I first became interested in Jacob Fugger after learning about his fuggerai， which is the world’s oldest public housing project and one of the world’s oldest ongoing charities， dating from Jacob Hugger’s lifetime。 But it wasn't until I read Christopher Buckley’s novel the Relic Master （my favorite book of 2017） that I really started wanting to learn everyt This is my third re-read of this book。 Wonderfully written， it is about a 15th century business man who is quite simply impossible to ignore。 I first became interested in Jacob Fugger after learning about his fuggerai， which is the world’s oldest public housing project and one of the world’s oldest ongoing charities， dating from Jacob Hugger’s lifetime。 But it wasn't until I read Christopher Buckley’s novel the Relic Master （my favorite book of 2017） that I really started wanting to learn everything I could about this banker to the crazies！ He was born into a family of mid-level merchants （i。e。， not aristocrats）， but in his megalomaniacal pursuit of money， he would by the end of his life amass the greatest fortune the world had ever seen—from lending and investing to all kinds of mining enterprises he made heaps and heaps of money。 He is most significant for being the cash behind many of Europe’s princes and kings—notably the Habsburgs。 Also notably he managed to get Leo X to issue a bull canceling the prohibition against usury！ Italian bankers had all been doing it anyway before that but still。。 And maybe even more extraordinary was his role in the outrageous selling of indulgences that led to Martin Luther’s attack。http://theconversation。com/the-man-wh。。。 This is all the background contained in Buckley’s novel about the relic trade， which has Durer playing the role of conscience in the sudden very very greedy turn the Catholic Church made at that time （which I learned was instigated by none other than Jacob Fugger！） Greg Steinmetz， a former teacher turned investment manager， is a fantastic writer。 And I really appreciated his critique of the idea of an “invisible hand” in capitalism， using Fugger to show how Adam Smith was quite wrong that the pursuit of self-interest will necessarily promote the interest of society more effectively than if government had managed things。 Just because the theory says it， it doesn’t make it true and indeed， the reality again and again shows is that self-interest alone， if left unchecked leads to crony capitalism…。I love Durer’s portrait of Fugger。 And you can imagine how maddening it must have been as a banker to deal with people like Charles V （Fugger， to save his life， was made to toss Charles’ debt papers into the fire！） but still Steinmetz does not paint a very pretty picture。 The more you read， the less impressed you will feel by this man who ended life all alone with nothing but his money。 On his deathbed， neither his wife （who was with her lover） nor his kids （who were disgruntled） showed up。 Bit maybe that was how he liked it。 Money seems to have been his greatest and only true love in life。As pointed out in the fantastic review in the NYRBs， even if Fugger was not the first actual capitalist （as the author claims）， he was certainly the first to 1） use money to buy commodities to trade for more money （as opposed to the medieval practice of using commodities to trade for money to buy other commodities） 2） create a new class of people whose sole means of social security was money （this is new as previously honor was achieved from blood and a variety of other "aristocratic" practices） and finally 3） these people would use money to partner with politicians—sometimes making them their puppets。 These are very key descriptions to our modern form of capitalism and they all had their start with this one man。 It would lead to state-run corporations like the Dutch East India CORPORATION…。 This was very different from the Portuguese endeavors in imperialism that came before。 This from the review in the NYRBSIf Fugger was not the “first capitalist，” the story of his life perfectly exemplifies sixteenth-century capitalism and suggests a fundamental truth about many more forms of capitalism， one that was so monstrously embodied by the Dutch East India Company: wealth is won and preserved with the support of a state that is， in turn， dependent on the riches accumulated by the few who excel in commerce。 In some periods， at some moments of technological history， the riches are typically extracted from ever more efficient production， invariably aided by ruthless exploitation of human labor and natural resources。 In others the wealth comes principally from control of supplies， manipulation of demand， and management of distribution networks。 But always the merchants grow rich because state power protects them or looks away when the time is right—and does so because in a world where commerce reigns， neither the state nor a powerful merchant class can exist without the other。 We have Steinmetz’s book to thank not just for telling Fugger’s story so well but also for showing us how the partnership between state and commerce worked in the earliest days of European capitalism。Wonderful book， highly recommend it。 。。。more
Konrad
，