8. William the Conqueror, fighting to claim and hold lands and titles his whole life, seized incalculable wealth via his victories in battle, amassing an almost $215 billion fortune.
William I, also known as William the Conqueror or William the Bastard, was the first Norman King of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. Born 1028, the son of the unmarried Robert I of Normandy, William inherited his father’s dukedom at the age of just seven. Facing political intrigue and attempts to usurp his lands and title, the young William was unable to successfully fight back until 1047. Gradually quashing pockets of resistance to his authority, it would take until 1060 for William to exert full control over Normandy. Within just two years, however, William would have already conquered the neighboring county of Maine.
Increasingly vying for the throne of England in the 1050s, upon the childless death of his first cousin once removed, King Edward the Confessor, in January 1066, William declared himself the successor. Claiming Edward has promised him the crown, and that Harold had pledged to support him, William invaded England in September 1066 to seize his due. Defeating Harold at the Battle of Hastings, William was crowned on Christmas Day. Winning vast lands and a colossal personal fortune through his staggering conquests, William accumulated an estate with a projected value of $228,000,000,000 today.