Following are the 15 Richest Americans Ever

Click on a name to see genealogical information & his ancestral/descendant lines.

Wealth in 2007 Dollars
The Billionaires
1. $192 Billion John D. Rockefeller
2. $143 Billion Cornelius Vanderbilt
3. $116 Billion John Jacob Astor
4. $ 83 Billion Stephen Girard
5. $ 82 Billion Bill Gates
6. $ 75 Billion Andrew Carnegie
7. $ 70 Billion A. T. Stewart
8. $ 68 Billion Frederick Weyerhaeuser
9. $ 67 Billion Jay Gould
10. $ 64 Billion Stephen Van Rensselaer
11. $ 61 Billion Marshall Field
12. $ 54 Billion Henry Ford
13. $ 53 Billion Sam Walton
14. $ 48 Billion Andrew W. Mellon
15. $ 48 Billion Richard B. Mellon
16. $ 46 Billion Warren E. Buffett
17. $ 45 Billion James G. Fair
18. $ 44 Billion William Weightman
19. $ 44 Billion Moses Taylor
20. $ 43 Billion Russell Sage

Source: The New York Times, Sunday, July 15, 2007
Fortunes at death (or current - if living) adjusted for growth in the GDP, not inflation. When possible, the value of philanthropic contributions has been added back in.