Regarding the 'richest person in history' claim, I remember reading about this a couple of year ago [1]:
(top) 1. Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa Abraham Cresques—Getty Images/The Bridgeman Art Library
Year: 1280–1337
Country: Mali
Wealth: Richer than anyone could describe
Mansa Musa, the king of Timbuktu, is often referred to as the wealthiest person in history. According to Ferrum College history professor Richard Smith, Musa’s west African kingdom was likely the largest producer of gold in the world—at a time which gold was in especially high demand.
It's pretty hard to define wealth, since so much of it historically has been illiquid. If you can't turn all or most of your wealth into some other form of asset, should it really be counted? But you can say the same about Bezos' fortune: he can sell $1B of stock per year, but selling much more would devalue his worth considerably.
And of course is there a difference between the absolute control that absolute rulers had and ownership?
But there's little argument that Mansa Musa was the richest of all time and that Putin is currently the richest.
(top) 1. Mansa Musa
Mansa Musa Mansa Musa Abraham Cresques—Getty Images/The Bridgeman Art Library Year: 1280–1337
Country: Mali
Wealth: Richer than anyone could describe
Mansa Musa, the king of Timbuktu, is often referred to as the wealthiest person in history. According to Ferrum College history professor Richard Smith, Musa’s west African kingdom was likely the largest producer of gold in the world—at a time which gold was in especially high demand.
[1]: http://time.com/money/3977798/the-10-richest-people-of-all-t...