16. Despite his father forfeiting his properties through treason, Richard FitzAlan successfully recovered his due lands and more to leave his own children the equivalent of more than $100 billion.
Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel and 8th Earl of Surrey (b. 1306) was an English nobleman during the reign of Edward III. The eldest son of Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, who was executed for treason in 1326, Richard successfully regained his father’s lands and titles after years of political wranglings. Becoming a close advisor and supporter of Edward, the Black Prince of Wales, Richard spent much of his prime fighting in the Second Wars of Scottish Independence and in France during the Hundred Years’ War. Becoming a highly distinguished and successful admiral, Richard was vastly rewarded for his services.
Elevated to the positions of Lieutenant of the Duchy of Aquitaine, Admiral of the Western Fleet, and Keeper of the Tower, continuing to experience war across France and Flanders including at the Battle of Crécy, Richard also succeeded in 1347 to the Earldom of Surrey. Amassing a considerable fortune, Richard ensured his security by loaning vast sums to the royal treasury. A strict adherent to the code of chivalry, Richard died in 1376. Despite his loans to the crown, Richard left behind a vast estate valued at approximately hundred and nineteen billion dollars today.