美国《华尔街日报》统计了1000年来世界上最富有的50人，其中有6名中国人，他们分别是成吉思汗、忽必烈、刘瑾、和坤、伍秉鉴和宋子文。
成吉思汗（Genghis Khan ）(1162-1227)
Occupation: Conqueror
职业： 侵略者
Source of wealth: Looting
财富来源： 掠夺
Assets: Almost five million square miles of land
资产： 五百万平方公里的土地
Claim to fame: Lived to humiliate his enemies
入围原因： 以羞辱敌人为生
If wealth were measured by lands conquered, Genghis Khan would rank as one of the wealthiest people ever. He began his career by uniting feuding Mongol tribes and then went on to seize almost five million square miles covering what is now China, Iran, Iraq, Burma, Vietnam, and most of Korea and Russia. Genghis Khan, whose name means "Universal Ruler," conquered as much for the sheer fun of it as for the spoils. He rode a horse and slept in a tent. "The greatest joy," he proclaimed, "is to conquer one's enemies, to pursue them, to seize their property, to see their families in tears, to ride their horses and to possess their daughters and wives."
如果财富用占领的土地来衡量的话，成吉思汗将被列为从未有过的世界上最富有的人。他的职业生涯开始于联合不和的蒙古部落，然后占领了将近五百万平方公里的土地，包括现在的中国、伊朗、伊拉克、缅甸、越南和大部分的朝鲜、俄罗斯。成吉思汗，其名字代表的含义就是“世界统治者”，他是一个征服狂和摧毁狂。他白天骑马晚上睡帐篷。他表示：“最大的快乐就是征服敌人，追赶敌人，抢占他们的财产，占有他们的战马和女人，看着他们妻离子散，家破人亡的泪水。”
忽必烈（Kublai Khan）(1215-1294)
Occupation: Conqueror and heir
职业： 侵略者后嗣
Source of wealth: Inheritance
财富来源： 继承
Assets: Gold and jewels
资产： 黄金和珠宝
Claim to fame: Inspired Xanadu
入围原因： 奢华的夏都行宫
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, failed in military campaigns against Japan, Southeast Asia and Indonesia, but he established the Yuan dynasty in China and built a sumptuous court of gilded cane at Ta-tu (now Beijing). Marco Polo marveled at the jeweled splendor of Kublai Khan's summer palace, Shang-tu -- the inspiration for the "Xanadu" of English poet Coleridge's work. Polo was also amazed by the indulgent feasting and hunting, and by Kublai Khan's ships, which were large enough to carry 1,000 men and "made the passengers feel as if they were on dry land." Kublai Khan zealously promoted paper money, forcing its use under penalty of punishment and confiscating everyone else's gold and silver.
忽必烈，成吉思汗的孙子，在对抗日本，东南亚和印尼的军事行动中失败，但是他建立了中国的元朝，而且在Ta-tu（现在的北京）建造了奢华的镀金宫廷。马可波罗对忽必烈避暑宫殿中散发的珠宝光辉啧啧称奇。shang—tu——英文诗人柯尔律治的杰作，就是来自“xanadu（夏都）”的灵感。马可波罗也十分惊讶于奢华的宴会和狩猎，而且忽必烈的船，大得可以容纳一百多人，使人感觉好像站在陆地上。忽必烈热衷促进纸币的流通，且通过刑罚或者没收人们的金银来推行这个政策的实施。
刘瑾（Liu Jin） (1452-1510)
Occupation: Court eunuch
职业： 太监
Source of wealth: Graft
财富来源： 贪污
Assets: Gold and silver
资产： 黄金和白银
Claim to fame: Inspired morality tales on the danger of greed
入围原因： 道德教本中贪婪的典范
A fabulously wealthy court eunuch of China's Ming dynasty, Liu Jin abused his office to amass a great fortune. When he was finally executed for treason, he was found to have 12 million ounces of gold and 259 million ounces of silver. By comparison, the treasury of the imperial palace had only 30 million to 70 million ounces of silver when the dynasty fell. However, reports of Liu Jin's wealth might have been grossly exaggerated, since chroniclers used his story to warn what can happen when an imperial eunuch annoys enough people.
一个在明朝传说中最富有的宫廷太监。刘瑾滥用职权收敛了大量的财富，当他最后因为叛逆被处以极刑的时候，他被发现拥有一千二百万盎司的黄金和二亿五千九百万盎司的白银。而当明朝落下帷幕时，国库中只有三千万到七千万盎司的白银。刘瑾的财富报告可能被过分渲染，因为编年史编者会使用这个故事来警告执政者当一个宦官掌权时会发生什么。
和珅 Ho-Shen (1750-1799)
Occupation: Chinese emperor's right-hand man
职业： 皇帝宠臣
Source of wealth: Graft, kickbacks
财富来源： 贪污，回扣
Assets: Gold, silver, furs
资产： 黄金，白银，毛皮
Claim to fame: So greedy he stole food from soldiers
入围原因： 贪婪到极致——克扣军饷
Handsome, witty, self-confident and incredibly corrupt, Ho-Shen entered the court of Emperor Kao-tsung in 1772 as a bodyguard but quickly became the aging emperor's confidante. He strengthened those ties by marrying the emperor's youngest and favorite daughter, giving Ho-Shen the power to make or break other officials. Because nobody dared to refuse his demands or bring charges against him, he became fabulously wealthy. Serving as customs superintendent, Ho-Shen had easy access to luxury goods; he also persuaded the increasingly senile emperor to prolong a bloody military campaign, pocketing vast sums allocated to the army while the soldiers starved. When the emperor died in 1799, his heir immediately arrested Ho-Shen and confiscated his silver, gold and precious stones. Ho-Shen, who died in prison, had at least 60 million ounces of silver, 70,000 furs and a gold table service of 4,288 pieces.
英俊、机智、自信并且难以置信得腐败。1772年，和珅入乾隆朝当侍卫，并很快成为老皇帝身边的红人。娶乾隆最小也是最喜欢的女儿为妻进一步巩固了和绅的地位，并使他有能力拉拢党羽和排除异己。因为没有人敢拒绝他的意思或者拿权利来对抗他，他变得不可思议得富有。作为赋税管理者，和珅已经非常容易得到珍贵的物品；不仅如此，他还劝说日益年老的乾隆拖延血腥的军事战争。士兵挨饿的时候，他却把数量巨大本因分配给军队的军饷装入囊内。乾隆1799年驾崩时，其继承人嘉庆马上抓住和珅，并没收了他的白银，金子和宝石。和珅死于狱中，他生前至少拥有六千万盎司的白银，七万张毛皮和四千二百八十八块金砖。
伍秉鉴 Howqua (a.k.a. Wu Bingjian) (1769-1843)
Occupation: Trader
职业： 商人
Source of wealth: Import，export, money-lending
财富来源： 进出口贸易，放贷
Assets: Millions of silver dollars
资产： 数百万银元
Claim to fame: Richest businessman in the world in his time
入围原因： 当时世界上最富有的商人
Howqua's father was one of a handful of Chinese merchants permitted to trade silk and porcelain with foreigners. Howqua's family accepted payment only in silver; they didn't see any foreign goods they wanted. In 1789, Howqua took over the business from his father. He lent enormous sums to foreign traders (up to a million silver dollars at a time) in exchange for a share of the shipments. He was also a public benefactor, donating 1.1 million silver dollars toward reparations after the First Opium War. Howqua was so widely known in his time that his portrait still hangs in several Salem, Mass., and Newport, R.I., mansions built by American merchants who traded with him.
伍秉鉴的父亲是少数与外国人交易丝和磁器的中国商人之一。伍秉鉴家只接受白银的付款，他们并不是所有的外国商品都想要。1789年，伍秉鉴接管了他父亲的生意。他借出大笔数目给外国商人（每次百万银元）以换来进出口贸易的权利。他也是公认的慈善家。他为第一次鸦片战争签订的赔款条约捐赠了一百一十万的银元。伍秉鉴名声远播，以至于现如今他的肖像仍然在Salem, Mass., Newport和R.I.等地曾和他有过贸易往来的一些美国人官邸里悬挂着。
宋子文 T.V. Soong (1894-1971)
Occupation: Financier, government official
职业： 金融家，政府官员
Source of wealth: Banking, fraud
财富来源： 银行业，欺诈
Assets: Blue-chip stocks, cash
资产： 蓝筹股，现金
Claim to fame: Used Chinese treasury to invest in General Motors Corp.
入围原因： 用中国财政库的资金投资美国通用汽车公司
An official of the Chinese Nationalist Government from 1927 to 1949, Soong was said to be the richest man in the world during the 1940s. If not the wealthiest, he was surely one of the most powerful. The son of a prominent Methodist industrialist, Soong graduated from Harvard University and quickly rose in the financial world as a banker. In 1923, he financed the Nationalist party of Sun Yat-sen, his brother-in-law. Soong established the Central Bank of China, which became the government treasury in 1924 when Soong was appointed the minister of finance. In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek -- Sun Yat-sen's rival and Soong's other brother-in-law -- rose to power, and Soong served as his finance minister. He was appointed minister of foreign affairs in 1942, and became a master at mustering Washington's support for China. Using his easy access to the Chinese treasury, he made large personal investments in foreign stock, including holdings in General Motors Corp. When the Soviets captured mainland China in 1949, Soong moved to San Francisco, where he kept a lower profile.
1927—1949年间作为国民党政府官员，宋子文被认为是40年代世界上最富有的男人。即便不是最有钱，他也当之无愧地被认为是最有权的人。作为一个卓越的企业家之子，宋子文从哈佛毕业之后迅速成为一名银行家并进入金融行业。1923年，他为姐夫孙中山的政党提供经费。1924年，他被任命为政府财政大臣，掌管国库并创立了中央银行。1927年，蒋介石，孙中山的竞争对手，宋子文的另一个妹夫，权利日益增强。之后宋子文成为蒋的财政部长。1942年被任命为外交部大臣，致力于争取美国在财务上的援助。宋利用职务之便，把大部分的个人财产投资到国外的通用汽车公司和多特等公司的股票上面。1949年，新中国成立后，宋移居到旧金山，过起了低调的生活。
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