Jacob Fugger

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Jacob Fugger, nicknamed "the Rich" (6 March 1459 in Augsburg, Holy Roman Empire – 30 December 1525 in Augsburg), was a banker and a member of the Fugger family. A trader like his brothers, he learned double-entry bookkeeping (keeping track of both credits and debits) in the Adriatic Port of Venice. He was well-known throughout Europe, and used his eventual fortune to lend money to its rulers. Fugger often provided mercenary armies with monetary resources so they could wage war against one another.

[edit] Early life

Fugger was the son of a weaver who settled in the southern German town of Augsburg by the late fifteenth century.

[edit] Rise to wealth

Inheriting his father's business of trading, he expanded the family enterprise to the Adriatic sea via the port of Venice. When asked if he wanted to retire, Fugger replied that he intended to keep making money until he dropped dead. Shortly before he died in December 1525 he appointed his nephew, Anton Fugger, as his successor.

At their peak the Fugger family had amassed a fortune of 5,100,000 guilders – a greater sum than the combined value of all 30 companies listed on today’s DAX, the German Stock Exchange index.

[edit] Election of Charles V

Fugger provided Charles V with the money needed to bribe the seven electors to make him Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. Charles ennobled the family and granted them sovereign rights over their lands, including that of coining their own money. Jakob also secured the right to sell papal indulgences, which increase his already vast fortune tenfold.