Long before Silicon Valley, the grandson of a 15th Century German peasant named Jacob Fugger built a mining and banking empire that dwarfed today's tech titans, accumulating a fortune estimated at $4 trillion in today's terms. Richer than the Medici, Rockefeller or Elon Musk, he was the ultimate financial mastermind who bought imperial elections, legalised interest-bearing loans, and inadvertently sparked the Protestant Reformation.

In this episode, hosts Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth are joined by historian and author Greg Steinmetz to unpack the saga of history's ultimate balance-sheet nerd. From pioneering wire-transfer systems and building the world's first social housing project to bankrolling popes and Holy Roman emperors, they explore how Fugger weaponized capital, shaped modern finance, and redefined the relationship between money and power.

Further reading: The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: The Life and Times of Jacob Fugger by Greg Steinmetz. To enjoy future episodes, subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts.