Average American Billionaire
Brady Knippa
Time Frame
The majority of the average American billionaires lived anywhere from 1750 to present day, though a majority lived around the years 1800 to 1900. The oldest of the lot was Stephen Girard, who lived from 1750-1831, and the youngest being Bill gates, who was born in 1955, and is still alive. Both him and Warren Buffett are still going strong with their massive fortunes.
The Industry
One will always wonder how to become as wealthy as these individuals. The key is the right amount of hard work and dedication, and the right field. It is possible to strike it rich such as John Rockefeller did in the oil industry, Andrew Carnegie in the steel industry, or even John Jacob Astor in the fur trading business. Other fields of work include railroads, mines, and of course computer software businesses.
Was it Legal?
Amassing such as large fortune will always raise the brows of skeptics, but not all fortunes are made illegitimately. John Blair and William Weightman both built their companies on legal grounds, but others such as the renowned John D. Rockefeller weren't quite as sound. He utilized what is known as a monopoly to essentially make it impossible for competitive businesses to thrive. Many wealthy individuals did this in previous years, and their dealings and transactions weren't always viewed as ethical or even legal. By buying up other companies and consolidation your own, the monopoly begins to bring in a healthy cash flow, and soon enough the fortune is jaw-droppingly large.
Net Worth
Due to inflation and other economic causes, the value of the dollar has decreased over the years, meaning that what the dollar was worth 100 years ago far exceeds what it is worth now. That being said, individuals such as John Rockefeller and Cornelius Vanderbilt were wealthy beyond compare. Their nearly 400 billion dollar combined net worth hasn't been seen since then. The wealthiest people in the world currently rarely exceed 100 billion.