China's Richest Man in a Millennium Through Foreigners' Eyes
The U.S. Wall Street Journal has compiled a list of the 50 richest people in the world over the past 1,000 years. Among them are six Chinese individuals: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Liu Jin, He Shen, Wu Bingjian, and Song Ziwen.
### Genghis Khan (1162-1227)
**Occupation:** Conqueror
**Wealth Source:** Looting
**Assets:** Nearly five million square miles of land
**Claim to Fame:** Lived to humiliate his enemies
If wealth were measured by the 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."
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### Kublai Khan (1215-1294)
**Occupation:** Conqueror and heir
**Wealth Source:** Inheritance
**Assets:** Gold and jewels
**Claim to Fame:** Inspired Xanadu
Kublai Khan, the 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" in 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.
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### Liu Jin (1452-1510)
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