The Richest Man In The World

New York Times bestselling author and award-winning reporter Ronald Kessler goes inside the infamously lavish life of billionaire Adnan Khashoggi, once the richest man in the world. He made more money than anyone in history. And he spent it at a dizzying clip of $330,000 a day, every day of the year. He was Adnan Mohamed Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian middleman who started out with nothing and in twenty-five years parlayed his connections to the Saudi royal family and genius at dealing with people into a fortune of colossal proportions. Uncle to Dodi Al-Fayed, Princess Diana's once boyfriend before a fatal car crash and Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist allegedly murdered in Istanbul, Adnan Khashoggi's American Express bill often exceeded $1 million. When he felt like having spaghetti, he flew to Venice for dinner on one of his three commercial-size airplanes. One of his luxury yachts, the 282-foot Nabila, was considered the most opulent modern yacht afloat and was borrowed for a James Bond movie. He even sold Donald Trump one of his 285-foot luxury super yachts for $200 million, although it is now in the hands of Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. This remarkable book is a rare glimpse into a life of opulence beyond most people's wildest imaginings--a compelling closeup of a complex and driven man who has explored the outer reaches of success, power, and all that money can buy.

“A colorful introduction to one of the most influential businessmen in history” (The New York Times Book Review), Jacob Fugger—the Renaissance banker “who wrote the playbook for everyone who keeps score with money” (Bryan Burrough, author of Days of Rage). 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. 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. In an era when kings had unlimited power, Fugger dared 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 gave him an information edge over his rivals and customers and 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. “Enjoyable…readable and fast-paced” (The Wall Street Journal), The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is more than a tale about the 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 one percent and everybody else. “The tale of Fugger’s aspiration, ruthlessness, and greed is riveting” (The Economist).

When Carlos Slim claimed the top spot on Forbes’s annual list of the world’s richest people in 2010, it was the first time since 1994 that the spot wasn’t occupied by an American and, even more impressively, the first time that a person from a developing country topped the list. Although Slim is fabulously wealthy, he lives a relatively modest life, residing in the same house in Mexico City for the last 40 years. His extreme wealth and steadfast humility make him a unique creature in the world of the rich and famous. The most revelatory book available about this Mexican business magnate, comprised entirely of Slim's own thought-provoking and inspiring quotes, The World's Richest Man: Carlos Slim In His Own Words is a comprehensive guidebook to the inner workings of the world's wealthiest man and one of its most prominent philanthropists. Over 200 quotes on business, investing, entrepreneurship, leadership, management, wealth, and life provide an intimate and direct look into the mind of this modern business icon.

They say money can’t buy you everything. But it is also true that money is a necessary evil. When we think of money, we have a number in mind which we feel should suffice for the rest of our life. What distinguishes the men and women in this list is their ability to allow this evil to not only run wild but master it at the same time.

Winner of the BAC Wadsworth Prize for Business History 2020 When Calouste Gulbenkian died in 1955 at the age of 86, he was the richest man in the world, known as 'Mr Five Per Cent' for his personal share of Middle East oil. The son of a wealthy Armenian merchant in Istanbul, for half a century he brokered top-level oil deals, concealing his mysterious web of business interests and contacts within a labyrinth of Asian and European cartels, and convincing governments and oil barons alike of his impartiality as an 'honest broker'. Today his name is known principally through the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, to which his spectacular art collection and most of his vast wealth were bequeathed. Gulbenkian's private life was as labyrinthine as his business dealings. He insisted on the highest 'moral values', yet ruthlessly used his wife's charm as a hostess to further his career, and demanded complete obedience from his family, whom he monitored obsessively. As a young man he lived a champagne lifestyle, escorting actresses and showgirls, and in later life - on doctor's orders - he slept with a succession of discreetly provided young women. Meanwhile he built up a superb art collection which included Rembrandts and other treasures sold to him by Stalin from the Hermitage Museum. Published to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, Mr Five Per Cent reveals Gulbenkian's complex and many-sided existence. Written with full access to the Gulbenkian Foundation's archives, this is the fascinating story of the man who more than anyone else helped shape the modern oil industry.

Carlos Slim has become synonymous with business success and economic power. Starting to build his fortune at the age of 14, this authorized biography reveals the boy and the man behind the name, complete with advice from the richest man on Earth on how to maintain a balanced life, inspiring readers to achieve their own destiny. He is a blueprint for how to turn adversity into success.--Publisher.

In this short, powerful book, multimillionaire and bestselling author Steven K. Scott reveals King Solomon’s breakthrough strategies to achieve a life of financial success and personal fulfillment. Steve Scott flunked out of every job he held in his first six years after college. He couldn’t succeed no matter how hard he tried. Then Dr. Gary Smalley challenged him to study the book of Proverbs, promising that in doing so he would achieve greater success and happiness than he had ever known. That promise came true, making Scott a millionaire many times over. In The Richest Man Who Ever Lived, Scott reveals Solomon’s key for winning every race, explains how to resolve conflicts and turn enemies into allies, and discloses the five qualities essential to becoming a valued and admired person at work and in your personal life. Scott illustrates each of Solomon’s insights and strategies with anecdotes about his personal successes and failures, as well as those of such extraordinary people as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, and Steven Spielberg. At once inspiring and instructive, The Richest Man Who Ever Lived weaves the timeless truths of one of our greatest works of literature into a detailed roadmap for successful living today.