Meet the Fuggers: Europe’s richest family ever

Meet the Fuggers: Europe’s richest family ever

Long before Silicon Valley, the grandson of a 15th Century German peasant named Jakob Fugger built a mining and banking empire that dwarfed today’s tech titans, accumulating a fortune estimated at $4 trillion in today’s terms. Richer than the Medici, Rockefeller or Elon Musk, he was the ultimate financial mastermind who bought imperial elections, legalised interest-bearing loans, and inadvertently sparked the Protestant Reformation.


In this episode, hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth are joined by historian and author Greg Steinmetz to unpack the saga of history's ultimate balance-sheet nerd. From pioneering wire-transfer systems and building the world’s first social housing project to bankrolling popes and Holy Roman emperors, they explore how Fugger weaponised capital, shaped modern finance, and redefined the relationship between money and power.


Further reading: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger by Greg Steinmetz


To enjoy future episodes, be sure to subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts, also on the show's dedicated YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@FTTheStoryOfMoney


Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth

Producer: Lulu Smyth

Executive producers: Kate Ford and Manuela Saragosa

Original music and sound design: Breen Turner

Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis

Video editor: Michael Saliba

Podcast development: Laura Clarke

FT global head of audio: Flo Phillips


Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(343)

Why Dante put bankers in hell and James Joyce didn't

Why Dante put bankers in hell and James Joyce didn't

Is money a tool of moral decay or a force for human liberation? Dante feared money would corrupt and damn us, placing bankers in the eighth circle of hell - just one above Lucifer. James Joyce saw it ...

12 Syys 41min

Was Jesus anti-capitalist?

Was Jesus anti-capitalist?

What did Jesus really think about money? When he overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple in Jerusalem, accusing them of turning a sacred "house of prayer" into a "den of robbers", he...

9 Syys 51min

1873: The year America ditched silver as money and all hell broke loose

1873: The year America ditched silver as money and all hell broke loose

In 1873, Ohio senator John Sherman quietly helped pass a law that stopped Americans from turning silver into official US money. The consequences were huge: years of economic pain and political turmoil...

2 Syys 41min

The ‘Sheriff of Wall Street’ who exposed bankers’ lies

The ‘Sheriff of Wall Street’ who exposed bankers’ lies

He was the bruiser of Wall Street. In the early noughties, New York attorney-general Eliot Spitzer took it upon himself to expose the lies of stock analysts during the dotcom bubble. His crusade blind...

26 Elo 46min

Mohammed: prophet, trader . . . and capitalist?

Mohammed: prophet, trader . . . and capitalist?

Did you know that the Prophet Mohammed was a caravan trader? He helped arrange convoys of thousands of camels carrying valuable goods across the Arabian desert. And he put his commercial nous to good ...

19 Elo 48min

How a stock market crash gave birth to modern antisemitism

How a stock market crash gave birth to modern antisemitism

The 1873 Gründerkrach, the spectacular stock market crash that followed Germany’s unification, is one of history’s great financial maelstroms. But its most enduring legacy isn’t about money. Host Robi...

12 Elo 50min

The hidden financial world of ancient Rome

The hidden financial world of ancient Rome

Ancient Rome is often depicted as a glamorous empire of power, sophistication and wealth. Yet for most people, the reality of daily life was precarious. Host Robin Wigglesworth talks to Kim Bowes, aut...

5 Elo 54min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
vallattomat
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
mimmit-sijoittaa
rss-oivalluksia-rahasta-elamasta
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
lakicast
oppimisen-psykologia
rss-inderes
rss-paasipodi
juristipodi
hyva-paha-johtaminen
rss-karon-grilli
rss-rahamania
rss-pinnan-alle
rss-alanvaihtajat
rss-startup-ministerio
rahapuhetta
rss-siksi-viestinta