According to Newsweek Magazine, here are the Greediest of All Time:
Marcus Licinius Crassus (ca. 115 BC – 53 BC) was a Roman general and politician who commanded Sulla’s decisive victory at Colline gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus and entered into a secret pact, known as the First Triumvirate, with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar. He allegedly owned more than 200,000,000 sestertii at the height of his fortune. One of the richest men of the era and still ranked in the top 10 List of most wealthy historical figures, Crassus still desired recognition for military victories in the shape of a triumph. This desire for a triumph led him into Syria, where he was defeated and killed in the Roman defeat at Carrhae which was fought with the Parthian Spahbod Surena.
Genghis Khan (1162–1227), was the founder, Khan (ruler) and Khagan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed “Genghis Khan”, he started the Mongol invasions and raids of the Kara-Khitan Khanate, Caucasus, Khwarezmid Empire, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. During his life, the Mongol Empire eventually occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia.
Pope Sixtus IV (July 21, 1414 – August 12, 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. He founded the Sistine Chapel where the team of artists he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance to Rome with the first masterpiece of the city’s new artistic age.
William Henry Vanderbilt III (November 24, 1901 – April 14, 1981) was an American statesman and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family.
William Marcy Tweed Jr. (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), known as “Boss Tweed,” was an American most famous for his leadership of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century New York. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railway, the Tenth National Bank, and the New-York Printing Company, as well as proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel.
Empress Dowager Cixi (November 29, 1835 – November 15, 1908), popularly known in China as the West Dowager Empress, was from the Manchu Yehe Nara Clan. She was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, ruling over China for 48 years from her husband’s death in 1861 to her own death in 1908.
Charles Ponzi (March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949) was one of the greatest swindlers in American history. His aliases include Charles Ponei, Charles P. Bianchi, Carl and Carlo. The term “Ponzi scheme” is a widely known description of any scam that pays early investors returns from the investments of later investors. He promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days, or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the United States as a form of arbitrage. Ponzi was probably inspired by the scheme of William F. Miller, a Brooklyn bookkeeper who in 1899 used the same pyramid scheme to take in $1 million.
Imelda Marcos (born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez on July 2, 1929 in Manila) is the widow of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and is herself an influential political figure in the Philippines. She is known as the “Steel Butterfly” due to her role as a controversial figure not only in her home country but also around the world. In 1996, the Australian Magazine ranked her 58th among “The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World”. Newsweek, meanwhile, listed her as one of the “Greediest People of All Time”. Her extensive shoe, gown, and jewelry collections have allowed her to gain notoriety.
Ivan Frederick Boesky (born March 6, 1937, in Detroit) is an American businessperson. He is notable for his prominent role in a Wall Street insider trading scandal that occurred in the United States in the mid-1980s.
Dennis Leo Kozlowski (born November 16, 1946, Newark, New Jersey) is a former CEO of Tyco International, convicted of misappropriating more than $400 million of the company’s funds to support a lavish lifestyle and chronic and tragic substance abuse issues. He is currently serving at least eight years and four months in prison.
Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff, (born April 29, 1938), is an American businessman and former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who was convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme that has been called the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pled guilty to an 11-count criminal complaint, admitting to defrauding thousands of investors. Federal prosecutors estimated client losses, which included fabricated gains, of almost $65 billion. He had been confined to his Manhattan penthouse apartment during the investigation, and was subsequently incarcerated after his guilty plea. There was no plea deal with prosecutors. He faces spending the rest of his life in prison, and up to $170 billion in restitution.