Jacob Fugger: The Rich Merchant and Banker of Augsburg, 1459-1525

By: Jacob Strieder

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Synopsis: A fascinating biography of Jacob Fugger of the Lily (1459-1525), a major German merchant, mining entrepreneur and banker. He was a descendant of the Fugger merchant family located in the Free Imperial City of Augsburg, where he was born and later also elevated through marriage to Grand Burgher of Augsburg. Within a few decades he expanded the family firm to a business operating in all of Europe. He began his education at the age of 14 in Venice, which also remained his main residence until 1487. At the same time he was a cleric and held several prebendaries, even though he never lived in a monastery. Fugger is held to be one of the wealthiest individuals in modern history, alongside the early 20th century industrialists John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.“The biography of Fugger by Professor Strieder is a fine example of the work done by economic historians in the field that is becoming specialized as business history.”—N. S. B. Gras