The Rich and How They Got That Way: How the Wealthiest People of All Time--From Genghis Khan to Bill Gates--Made Their Fortunes

Cynthia Crossen presents a one-thousand-year pageant of fortune, focusing on how nine wealthy men - and one woman - gained and kept their wealth. Each person symbolizes an era, and a means of amassing money. Crossen combines their biographies with a discussion of the historical trends that contributed to the changing sources of wealth - from the ancient days when thievery and conquest were the way to riches to the times when trade, manufacturing and new technologies provided the roads to wealth. The book provides a fascinating and leisurely overview of history, as well as a glimpse of the lives of these wealthy people. The discussion sometimes wanders in time and place, with asides comparing different time periods. We [...] recommend this engaging, briskly written book to executives, managers and anyone fascinated by wealth, history or both.

Cynthia Crossen has managed to combine entertaining mini-biographies of ten of the wealthiest people in history with thought provoking insights into how attitudes toward money and wealth have evolved (and stayed the same)over the past 1000 years.It is interesting to observe how the mechanics of accumulating wealth have changed from brute strength, to religious edict, to market manipulation, to financial leverage, to technological innovation while the personalty traits of those who are driven to wealth acquistion share many common characteristics.