#250 Jacob Fugger (The Richest Man Who Ever Lived)

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one-time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets, they're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high, so I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today, and I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. In the days when Columbus sailed the ocean and Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, a German banker named Jacob Fugger became the richest man in history.
Maybe you've heard of him, but usually his name gets blank stares.
His influence rests on what he did for Austria's Hasburg family dynasty.
When Fugger made his first loan to the Hasburgs, they didn't even have Vienna.
By the time he finished, they had half the known world.
While they got the titles, Fugger got the money.
His biggest client died penniless, and he died with the biggest fortune the world has ever known. Most people become rich by spotting opportunities, pioneering new technologies, or besting opponents in negotiations. Fugger did all of that through a mix of gumption and intellect, 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 the heads of state and ask them to pay back their loans with interest.
One of his sneaky financing schemes provoked an outrage Martin Luther to start the Reformation.
In his biggest contribution to finance, he got the Pope to legalize money lending. He financed Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, and he helped defeat the mobs in the first clash between capitalism and communism.
In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, the author Greg Steinmetz for the first time gives Fugger his due. It is the ultimate untold story.
That is from the inside cover of the book that I'm gonna talk to you about today, which is The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger, and it was written by Greg Steinmetz.
Okay, so this book was actually recommended to me by my friend Eric Jorgensen. Eric is the author of the book that I covered on Founders No. 191 It's one of my favorite books. It's the Ammonac of Naval Ravicon. I think it's key for anybody trying to build a business in the age of infinite leverage. There's a ton of great ideas in that book. If you haven't listened to it, obviously read the book, but go ahead and listen to, make sure you go back and listen to episode No. 191 And this is what he said about the book that I'm holding in my hand that got me interested in reading it. And it just lists some of the innovations that Jacob, I'm gonna call him Jacob, instead of Fugger. And you'll see why when I read this message from Eric. So he said, Jacob invented double entry bookkeeping. He had a similar fast information network advantage like the Rothschild. So I'm gonna talk a lot about how Jacob reminded me of what I learned about reading the two books on the Rothschild. And then they called Jacob the German Rockefeller. And you'll see there's a lot of, he had a lot of things in common with both the Rothschilds and Rockefeller. So he had a similar fast network advantage, just like the Rothschild had. He was as powerful as the Pope. In fact, he bribes multiple popes throughout the entire book. This book is absolutely insane. The events that take place in the book happened 500 years ago.
His financing, Jacob's financing was decisive in a number of wars and he knew it. And he auctioned his influence to essentially win the war. At his death, his net worth was 2% of the GDP of Europe. That's why the author makes the case that he's the richest man that ever lived. There's lots of good nuggets on Germany and European history. And I was just struck by the amount of violence that's in the book. It was just mind blowing. He was generous to some degree, but he did create social housing that is actually still in use to this day, which is really remarkable. And then here's why I want to call him Jacob instead of Fugger. It's very likely that he was the root cause, the etymology behind the word fucker.