The Richest People in Ancient History

The wealthiest Romans were extravagant on a scale that few modern billionaires could match.
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Chapters:
0:00 The richest Romans
0:41 Foods and feasting
2:00 Silver, silk, gems
3:11 Vases, goblets, antiques
4:10 Cribs
5:10 Vacation cribs
5:58 Masterworks
7:13 Gardens, fountains, fishponds
8:19 Gladiators and other political stunts
9:05 Funerals
10:12 Tombs

[@JmsNmnn]

This channel is the main reason I think about the Roman Empire twice a week

[@etsequentia6765]

I still don't understand what this stupid trend is all about.

[@RENATVS_IV]

Just twice a week? Man! I need help 😅

[@RENATVS_IV]

​​@@etsequentia6765 The trend is for women (and/or couples) to discover how many times their husbands/boyfriends/couples think about Roman Empire

[@lordpepe2927]

i think about rome every day in july and august.

[@jz12390]

@@etsequentia6765 I dont get it either.. I think about Rome a lot because Im a history geek.. lol

[@Matt67012]

Thank you for my daily history crack

[@cougar2013]

😂 it is a great channel indeed!

[@bryrye4545]

Please use in moderation.

[@rodionromanovich449]

This one hit good

[@nathanlocation]

@@bryrye4545i’ve been itching for my fix

[@ChristianPareATLAS]

🤪

[@Sam97979]

9:00 you know what they say... if you owe your creditors 10,000 sestertiae, you have a problem. But if you're the emperor and you owe 30million, the creditors have a problem.

[@fuferito]

I once read a story where a delegation of Carthaginians made the rounds during their stay in Rome, during the very modest days of the Republic before the Punic Wars, and would nudge one another and stifled their laughter when the same exact set of silverware and serving platters would appear, again and again, each time the delegates would be invited to dinner at the home of several of Rome's V.I.P. during their stay.

[@MrThe1And0nly]

That's funny as hell

[@doublem1975x]

They weren’t laughing when their city was being reduced to rubble.

[@DrPeculiar312]

@@doublem1975x Chill bro it was 2000 years ago

[@JustinCage56]

Oddly wholesome

[@khalidalali186]

That’s interesting. It’s fascinating how the only constant in life is change. Nothing remains the same, and the music has to stop at some point in time.

[@rickb3078]

No matter how many sestertie I would have, it’ll be burgers and beer at my domus when friends come over.

[@UpliftedCapybara]

The photoshopped Zillow and better homes and gardens are perfection lol

[@blainemills1408]

FYI Masterworks isn't recognized by the S.E.C and every time you "invest" in a painting, your really just investing into an LLC built around that specific painting. Anyone who has a basic understand of LLC's will realize this is a big problem.

[@DJL78]

He does not seem to care.

[@CAP198462]

That’s actually a fascinating fact. That doesn’t make me think it suspicious, but it’s interesting. An LLC is fundamentally a legal vehicle for shielding the assets of the owners in the event of bankruptcy or lawsuits. I don’t see how it’s suspicious to form one around a painting, it’s not substantially different from the stock market.

[@lelagrangeeffectphysics4120]

Masterworks ads are usually a dogwhistle on greedy ytubers on who dont care about the well being of their fans, Financially or otherwise

[@Trivve]

He constantly promotes scams. Pretty disheartening to see from a history channel that you’d expect to dig a little deeper into the company.

[@projext2380]

@@Trivvewho cares. Everything ever is a scam, let the dude make his money. If you’re stupid to buy something without researching it’s your fault. You pulled the trigger. Go live in a log cabin and hunt ur own food if u want to avoid scams

[@robinneumann8861]

This man just knows what people want to know.

[@renegadeswgr]

the little caesar's cameo 💀

[@intractablemaskvpmGy]

I think there is a disconnect here about the worth of things to a roman vs now. The price of bread and wine was literally pennies to them. We place a far higher price on a loaf a bread and don't consume it nearly as much; but it, like wine would have been ubiquitous in roman society- whereas caviar is similar to a rare song bird or fish of a particular type was more specialized and cost a lot more

[@AFatalPapercut]

i got a nice chuckle out of that Better Romes and Gardens pic hahaha

[@kylro6021]

I always watch toldinstone when I eat pizza for some reason, and today I sit down to finish some nice cold leftover slices and I see this upload. My day is complete

[@EmazingGuitar]

Primitive times calls for some primitive food

[@marshalleubanks2454]

That "villa on Lake Garda" - AKA the "Grottoes of Catullus" - was enormous - 167 × 105 m, or roughly the size of a football stadium (either kind), and the whole complex was about a km long. When I visited there, the signs describing the site said that about 4000 slaves worked in the house complex, tending to the family which owned it.

[@partially2413]

I’d like to see a video on how the ancients exercised.

[@aidenhiggins2533]

That sounds interesting!

[@johnssmith4005]

Orgies

[@tomasrocha6139]

The Greeks exercised nude so women weren't allowed to watch the Olympics and because circumcision was despised as cruel and barbaric mutilation Hellenistic Jews tried to restore their foreskins.

[@jimjam6598]

I handle a lot of roman intaglios- the detail put into something so small is incredible. I can see why they're so desireable. It's a fascinating side of the jewellery industry

[@jimjam6598]

If you see this mr toldinstone, I'd love to see more about roman art if you're open to topic suggestions :))

[@malcolmcurran6248]

Yes completely agree the details in the gemstones are incredible. Some months ago I posted the question to Garrett Ryan of how were the intaglios done at that scale in that exacting detail without, in theory, any form of magnification. I don't know if he took up the question or not. I've had a fascination with incised Greek and Roman gemstones since I was kid living in Athens almost sixty years ago.

[@Gainn]

"At home with Agrappina" sounds like a fascinating article.

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

Can you even imagine 400,000 mint condition sesterti today? That would easily be 80 million dollars or more... unless it crashed the entire ancient coin market such as if they were all of Nero.

[@98Zai]

I imagine there is a hoard hidden somewhere, but like you said; if found it would not be advertised.

[@trvst5938]

@@98Zaiofc people own these things. They’re on the black market. The US government alone has millions of Native American artifacts they stole and never returned to tribes that are still* around. 😐

[@98Zai]

@@trvst5938 Oh just wanted to sneak in some propaganda did we?

[@marleybeauty88]

@@98Zai So, truth is now propaganda.???? Take in the whole truth, not just the things that make you comfortable

[@98Zai]

@@marleybeauty88 Yes, propaganda doesn't necessarily have to be lies. It can be embellished, but mostly it's just angled. "millions of artifacts"... in museums? Mostly it felt like propaganda because it's unrelated to the subject matter.

[@quetzalcoatlz]

Ive always wanted to know this!!! A follow up video detailing how those in rome amassed such wealth would be equally as interesting.

[@lordpepe2927]

mostly slavery

[@theluftwaffle1]

Mmmm boy do I love my dissolved pearls!

[@Rizky06]

"A Human Being With Feelings And A Family" Feelings wowowo Feelings 🎶

[@marial8235]

I had a bit of a giggle about Oprah giving away chariots.😂❤

[@FloyDJode]

Glad to know they were as callous then as they are now, and equally as antiquated.

[@foolofatook1271]

“Rillow” I see what you did there 😂

[@supatrane9857]

Guys. The girls found out how much we think about the romans

[@benitoharrycollmann132]

Another fantastic video! Thank you guys for preserving the little known aspects of history. I imagine billionaires in Rome to be much like billionaires now. Times change, and technology changes, but fundamental human nature has stayed somewhat consistent over the ages.

[@Latinkon]

The more things change, the more they stay the same....

[@janvusnic]

"Human nature" right... I remember the Homo Spaines of 150,000 years ago owning 8 caves and charging rent to the others. This is a very modern phenomenona.

[@nomaanahmed9688]

@@janvusnic what? thats because they did what they needed to survive which was bare minimum. Going above the bare needs of humans they started trading which evolved into todays systems. it is in human nature to innovate.

[@LauraS1]

@@janvusnic What @nomaanahmed9688 says is true. When we acquire what it takes for bare minimum survival, should we have more than that bare minimum, we're looking to spend it in whatever form it may be, a pretty shell, a stack of hides, a bowl of beads, a purse of coins, and so forth, trying to increase our wealth. It's been our nature for millennia. What is also very much human nature is greed and capitalizing on the misfortune of others in whatever way we can, be it finding a dollar on the ground and singing "Finders Keepers" to ourselves instead of trying to find the owner, up to leveraging oneself into a position of power such as an emperor, a dictator, or other politician. There are always going to be super-wealthy people. Most get their wealth by the labors of others, too. It is what it is.

[@colemanstarr5404]

@@nomaanahmed9688 But the Roman elite didnt innovate, they just plundered and spent

[@internetxxx_pl0r3r_xxx77]

Any chance you might do a vid like this about the luxuries of the Ottoman Empire? Be neat to see how the Sultans flexed their wealth.

[@PersonManManManMan]

I now kinda wanna get purple colored clothing or silky one

[@EastyyBlogspot]

Marcus Licinius Crassus, would go out in the city as fires were a common occurrence and when someone's house was burning down he would offer to buy it at a knock down price and then when the deal is done would then get his group of firefighters to put out the fire and usually the building would not be that damaged....and he would buy up a lot of rome doing that and that is how he stayed rich lol

[@barrymoore4470]

I understand Crassus came to regarded as the single richest Roman before he died.

[@bvlogs4083]

Fascinating. Excellent production quality and great content … Thank you for what you do!

[@PopeLando]

I take it Narcissus was Claudius's freedman and, essentially, Chief of Staff? He was known to have used his office to enrich himself enough to be one of the wealthiest men in Rome.

[@isimpkins4]

Absolutely love your content man. Thank you so much for doing what you do! (Also keep publishing books! I'll always purchase a copy)

[@dj-kq4fz]

Kudos, as always, to the great visual puns and gags! They really make me pay attention rather than just listen. Thanks!

[@patriot5550]

Make a video comparing incomes from different jobs in ancient Rome, republic and imperial and how much they could cover interms of calories.

[@Euthenon]

New toldinstone video let’s go!

[@acid7333]

I honestly love every video you put out. Love ya ❤️

[@davidmajer3652]

I look forward to this download every week.

[@avee6630]

The music at the start always helps destress after a long day

[@LandofNodnuts]

Thanks to my daily hit of the Roman Empire

[@kejserrige]

i love it when you upload

[@KasFromMass]

I joined tolinstone after his 3rd upload. It's now become my Top 5 watched of everything...including other History Channels, DIY, and One Piece fan boy sites!

[@thesteef77]

4:45 I love the aprilis 46 edition of Better Romes & Gardens.

[@user-rl3iv2jk9q]

Thank you for your presentation , I watched all of it .

[@cykryst]

Fun video, thanks!

[@danielchequer5842]

This video begs another question: how did they charge for that many coins? I imagine weighting 6 million coins to make sure the payment was right must've taken weeks with dozens of people counting it for the whole day!

[@mreps4629]

Maybe they had to pay multiple people. So each person maybe had a reciept and went to the banks to take out their pay. Or maybe it was just an account transfer and u just got what u needed out of the bank as u go.

[@danielchequer5842]

@@mreps4629 I did some quick research and it seems temples were used as money reserves that the wealthy people trusted to hold their cash so you may be right!

[@purpurina5663]

I imagine they mostly functioned with written IOUs

[@BonkDompReports]

Through debt likely, money existing within their own somewhat financial system they could draw on

[@mreps4629]

None of our theories explain paying people outside of rome though

[@Tonysopranoyafinook]

Ive watched you refine this channel over years now and feel very proud despite doing nothing myself.

[@0_1_2]

This was an exceptionally interesting video! Excellent!

[@rileyhinshaw8659]

I follow quite a few history channels, and this one is by far my favorite! Obviously not the first (nor will I be the last) to say that! I eagerly await each video, whatever you do, please keep making amazing content my friend!

[@nm425]

Another great video!

[@33Donner77]

Thanks for the presentation. Wealth, perhaps extending to several generations, but it never seems to last, in any era. Just make sure you're in the right generation.

[@JoaoVictor-dw2ci]

I´m obssesed with this amazing channel !!!! thanks for creating amazing content for all historian´s passionates like me.

[@timog7358]

great video

[@gandfgandf5826]

It took me a second 'Rillow' 🤣

[@Minty1337]

i do wonder how someone would actually go about spending over 10,000 cicerti (if thats how you spell it) like what, do you use a wheelbarrow? checks and banks? representative coins?

[@Minty1337]

@@petert2481 even with those numbers, if 10k = 0.8kg, then just 1m = 80kg, so 100m would be 8000kg...... i dont care how rich you are, moving around that amount of gold seems like a hassle and security risk lmao imagine trying to transport that amount of wealth to somewhere like Carthage for trade or a treaty, 8 tons of gold sounds like it'd crush most carts of the time period lmao. boats initially seem like a decent option until you consider rome's navy, i mean, we've already found plenty of roman shipwrecks full of gold, i wonder how many were situations like this lol. of course brick moving carts could probably do it, but it still sounds like a huge risk and hassle to move lmao

[@sarahrosen4985]

@@petert2481 thanks, that is info which could have helped in the video. As for how to count out such large sums? I assume it looked a lot like when I buy nails at the hardware store today. The guy takes out 3 or 4 from my bag, weighs them and divides by the number of nails (or screws). Then he weighs the whole bag, divides and knows how many nails are in the bag.

[@michaelporzio7384]

I understand now why an occasional purge of the Senate was needed to balance the Roman budget. Better Romes and Gardens ... LOL

[@optomix3988]

Great Video. So interesting.

[@toriwilson6961]

Your comedy is fantastic. I frequently watch your videos once for for the spoken information while i cook and then go back to watch them again for the visual richness and the comedy. The "better romes and gardens" got a belly laugh out of me.

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

If I ever try to escape mutually assured destruction by time traveling to live in 2nd century Italy, I’m bringing a huge sack full of tumbled amethysts, jaspers, and carnelians. That’s stuff’s barely $30 a pound today.

[@lynco3296]

I'm sure the problems you would face in time traveling to ancient Rome would far outweigh any benefits the jaspers and amethysts would bring you...

[@dodiswatchbobobo]

@@lynco3296 I mean, obviously. That’s why I’d only do it to escape mutually assured destruction.

[@sarahrosen4985]

And / or dress all in purple, even your underwear, plus purple leather shoes and bring some purple fabric to let everyone know who they are dealing with.

[@jasonblankenship8274]

Garrett your videos are awesome

[@nsbd90now]

It's amazing what some can do on a basis of slave labor. Or serfs. Or powerless employees.

[@sarahrosen4985]

Amazing and sickening.

[@nickc3657]

The human brain really isn’t suited to having that much money, and the historical record shows as much. Billionaires have always spent frivolously and cruelly, it seems.

[@barrymoore4470]

I definitely believe there is such a thing as being too rich. Having an insane excess of money skews one's sense of reality and priorities.

[@jstantongood5474]

Excellent content.

[@eedobee]

Information and content like this is among the reasons modernity is worth it.

[@xXSprMgaAwsmFxyHtXx]

I hope your channel has a bump after this whole “how often do you think of the Roman Empire?” thing. I’ve been a fan for about 2 years, I think about Rome multiple times a day

[@sarahfranco6802]

Cool cool cool. Make more videos about this topic

[@johnmcglynn4102]

Thank you. Very interesting. I collect silver tableware. Can you suggest some places to go see what Roman tableware looked like? I've been to the Naples museum and seen fantastic drinking cups (more like chalices) adorned with olive leaves and olives, which were out of this world to see. Know of any other places that are good?

[@augustinep6193]

Good video.

[@VascovanZeller]

Similarly to what you did for the collosseum, I'd be interested to see how these rich Romans compared to today's billionaires!

[@maxasaurus3008]

Can’t wait for the new book! The last one was great!

[@lolyourdumb]

Max why you want to know about romans

[@maxasaurus3008]

@@lolyourdumb gives me something to do while I wait in line for methadone.

[@DakotaFord592]

The main reason why I think of the Babylon empire on a regular basis.

[@snotnosewilly99]

In about the 1850s Napoleon III ate off of a very expensive aluminum plate while his generals had to eat off of gold plates. ( Pure aluminum was more expensive than gold until big hydro-electric generators were created.)

[@grumbogee1772]

nice to know things havent changed.

[@BenjaminIMeszaros]

The new book is so close!!!

[@redheat66]

i have pre order the new book! yes sir! yes eys

[@toldinstone]

Much appreciated!

[@frankie137137]

absolute banger

[@eagle-tn6br]

Thank you sir

[@TheGrapplingLabBJJ]

Neat!

[@leeskirs8855]

These videos are so good. They are short enough to hold attention but interesting enough to want more. Keep it up my man. Also how were these guys counting all this money without computers? Would it take them all day to count out 70 million? And how often were there inaccuracies in counting money?

[@kevinnorkus1842]

There is a gentleman that ordered very expensive bottle of wine in New York City at a very famous restaurant which was $25,000 a bottle for this rare vintage. He then open the bottle of wine and poured it on a salad for dressing! Talk about dressing it up😅😅😂

[@Stop4MotionMakr]

I would kill for a season of Bling Empire: Ancient Rome

[@TheRedname]

2:30 Where did you source this map for ancient trade routes? I'd love to have a better look at it.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

You missed Romans love for horses, chariots and races. Not to mention insane love for gambling that comes with it. They weren't really much different from today's "elites".

[@TXMEDRGR]

Some things never change.

[@dumoulin11]

4:42 "at home with Agrippina" LOL

[@RickLowrance]

Amazing.

[@tomholroyd7519]

You get a chariot!

[@HouseJawn]

Why were fish so expensive when rome is on a peninsula and next to a massive sea? Not sure if that price is accurate 🤔

[@barrymoore4470]

It was the species of fish that made the difference in cost. Rarer species, even in a seafaring civilization, would have been considered more desirable, at least for wealthy gourmands wanting to show off.

[@dougdraper7076]

@toldinstone Why do you only refer to Sestertius, as opposed to Aureus and Denarius? Or am I misunderstanding? Also, you mention an Aristocratic commander that took 12,000lb silver dishes wherever he went. How did he transport something so heavy?

[@kanrakucheese]

And yet the same elites who spent these crazy sums also frequently had issues paying their soldiers (and other employees) what they had already agreed to pay them. Ecclesiastes 1:9

[@MustafaAlmosawi]

When will your book come out as an Audiobook?

[@SobekLOTFC]

Wake up, bro- new TiS just dropped 😊

[@leggonarm9835]

And we think the wealth dispersity is crazy now.

[@lildonibae]

I thought about it again today, I think it’s becoming an addiction…

[@thesnowfox7262]

As far as I've read, in the late republic a political career and campaign could bankrupt a man easily: especially Aedlies who were expected to spend lavish sums during their terms. The end of the social war which granted citizenship to all the inhabitants of Italy only worsened it, since a lot more people could now run for and be elected for Roman offices, which the peak was obviously the consulship. The number of all other offices increased throughout the years (especially during Sulla's term) but only 2 people could be elected to the consulship each year. That's why I at least think that the republican regime crashed down not because of a lot of Romans loosing their farms and migrating to the city, but rather on the fact that there were a ton of nobilites and wealthy men running for office and not many offices available (especially the consulship) When Sallust describes Catilina's "first" conspiracy (which most likely did not happen) he pretty much describes a regular consulship campaign the way I see it. Sure, there were "rules" against bribery and what not, but they were rarely enforced, especially when the difference between a pact of "amicitia" and a pact of "factio" is very liquid in my opinion.

[@jessevance7252]

Something’s never change it seems

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

Sees Dr Ryan has a new book out Anakin: *This is where the fun begins*

[@TheRealMjb2k]

It’s a little shocking how somewhat similar the lives of the rich Roman’s are to the rich of today. Spending 4x the average salary on a dinner for the Romans is like going to a michelon star Restaurant and spending $3k for a birthday dinner. I guess it’s not quite the same but the reasons people spend money, food, real estate, assets, remains the same as it did 2k years ago, at least somewhat.

[@arturocevallossoto5203]

However, wealth disparity in Roman times was even greater than it is today. We are getting there but we haven't yet reached the "Quadrillionaire" era.

[@ytrew9717]

So strange, the building/tower Villa Gordiani is the exact replica of a Tower in Perigueux, France (they said it was a religious temple, now I'm doubting it really was (also because the level of sciences in France is very low)

[@karmaarachnid8345]

0:45 From what I've read the red mullet was not prized for being particularly delectable. They were prized as a spectacle because a live red mullet deprived of oxygen will slowly change to many different colors as it flops around dying under glass at a banquet. The fact that they were heavily overfished and needed to be kept alive to be entertaining is what made them so expensive.

[@colemanstarr5404]

Wonderful people.

[@MoRoKeiFrOd]

The lick

[@Chicken-Emperor]

Have you had a bump in subscribers since the Roman Empire viral meme thing?