America has never had as many billionaires as it does now — and the number is only growing.
The SpaceX IPO resulted in one of the greatest wealth increases in history, turning Elon Musk's estimated net worth of over $800 billion before the company went public into the world's first-ever trillion-dollar-plus fortune.
While the scale of Musk's fortune is unprecedented by all measures, it also raises the question of how historic figures, largely considered America's richest, such as the Gilded Age industrialists, compare with the richest people today.
That is to say: Who are the richest Americans of all time?
In many historical calculations of net worth, individual fortunes weren't measured in isolation; instead, they were compared to the US GDP 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 $512.7 billion today, when adjusted for inflation.
Elon Musk's current wealth, however, has now far eclipsed that of Rockefeller's.
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 Forbes' estimated net worths as of June 16, 2026.
While estimates of historical wealth may not be perfect, they help paint a picture of the wealth enjoyed by some of America's most notable business figures and put it in context with today's billionaires.
Here are 29 of the wealthiest Americans in history — and how modern-day tech magnates rank among them.
Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937)
Estimated net worth (2026 adjusted estimate): $85.3 billion
Source of wealth: Banker and industrialist; heir to the Mellon banking dynasty
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $91.8 billion
Source of wealth: Automaker; founder of Ford Motor Company
Jay Gould (1836-1892)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $98.4 billion
Source of wealth: Railroad financier and speculator
Sam Walton (1918-1992)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $99 billion
Source of wealth: Retail entrepreneur; founder of Walmart
Marshall Field (1834-1906)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $101.6 billion
Source of wealth: Retail magnate; founder of Marshall Field & Company
Bill Gates
Net worth: $104.4 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; cofounder of Microsoft
Thomas Peterffy
Net worth: $107.1 billion
Source of wealth: Digital trading pioneer; founder and former CEO of Interactive Brokers
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): $122 billion
Source of wealth: Timber magnate; founder of Weyerhaeuser
Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $126 billion
Source of wealth: Tech executive; former CEO of Microsoft
Alice Walton
Net worth: $127.7 billion
Source of wealth: Walmart heir
Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-1876)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $136.6 billion
Source of wealth: Retail pioneer; founder of AT Stewart & Co.
Jim Walton
Net worth: $136.7 billion
Source of wealth: Walmart heir and board member
Richard B. Mellon (1870-1933)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $139.1 billion
Source of wealth: Banker and industrial investor; heir to Mellon banking dynasty
Rob Walton
Net worth: $139.4 billion
Source of wealth: Walmart heir and former chairman
Warren Buffett
Net worth: $146.4 billion
Source of wealth: Investor; former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
Stephen Girard (1750-1831)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $161.6 billion
Source of wealth: Banker, merchant, and financier
Jensen Huang
Net worth: $181.1 billion
Source of wealth: Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia
John Jacob Astor (1763-1848)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $186.1 billion
Source of wealth: Fur trader and real-estate investor
Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $204.7 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; cofounder of Facebook, now Meta
Michael Dell
Net worth: $229.2 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; founder and CEO of Dell Technologies
Larry Ellison
Net worth: $238.3 billion
Source of wealth: Software entrepreneur; cofounder and former CEO of Oracle
Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $255.6 billion
Source of wealth: E-commerce entrepreneur; founder of Amazon
Sergey Brin
Net worth: $279.6 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; cofounder of Google
Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $284.6 billion
Source of wealth: Shipping and railroad tycoon
Larry Page
Net worth: $303.1 billion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; cofounder of Google
Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $475.2 billion
Source of wealth: Steel industrialist; founder of Carnegie Steel
John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937)
Net worth (adjusted estimate): $516 billion
Source of wealth: Oil magnate; founder of Standard Oil
Elon Musk
Net worth: $1.4 trillion
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur; CEO of Tesla and SpaceX
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Kristine Villarroel is a reporter on Business Insider's Editorial Partnerships team.Her reporting often turns data into accessible stories about how money, education, policy, and place shape Americans’ lives. She covers stories on college costs and degree outcomes, state-by-state comparisons, public officials’ salaries, the rising cost of living, travel, food, and real estate.She has previously worked writing about culture, entertainment, music, and tech. Her work has been featured on Teen Vogue and Wired. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. There, she worked as editor of The Independent Florida Alligator. Email Villarroel at [email protected] and follow her on X @ktnedelvalle
