Of course, Fugger enriched himself through practices that are illegal today: He created cartels in the mining of silver and copper; he was a major investor in a scheme to smash the Venetian spice trade monopoly. Fugger financed ships that brought back holds bursting with pepper (without refrigeration, pepper was an important cooking ingredient to disguise the taste of rotted meat). Fugger and his associates dumped pepper on the European markets, which caused prices to drop to the point where it wrecked the Venetian pepper monopoly. Venice never recovered, but Fugger and other investors made a killing despite the low prices. That was one of Fugger’s greatest talents, Steinmetz wrote, the ability to see an opportunity and embrace the inherent risks.
Fugger was also blessed that there were no Securities and Exchange Commissions or anti-trust laws to get in his way. He also benefited by insider trading information that came his way through his own business news service, a first for the world.
When he died in 1525, Fugger wanted his epitaph to read that he was “second to none in the acquisition of extraordinary wealth.”
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The life and Times of Jacob Fugger, by Greg Steinmetz, Simon & Schuster, Aug. 4, 2015, 284 pages.
William L. Haacker is an award-winning journalist and editor who has worked for various New Jersey newspapers including Gannett New Jersey.