By Steve Hargreaves @hargreavesCNN June 2, 2014: 6:18 PM ET
13. Henry Ford
13 of 20
Adjusted wealth*: $67.2 billion
Lived: 1863-1947
Ford's name is synonymous with his famous Model-T car and the automaking behemoth he founded, but his greatest contributions to the country were arguably two other ideas.
By combining the assembly line with interchangeable parts, Ford paved the way for goods of all types to be produced for a fraction of the cost. And by paying a generous $5 wage -- more than double the going rate at the time -- he enabled his workers to purchase the goods they produced.
First published June 2, 2014: 6:18 PM ET
Source: *Most nominal wealth estimates are from The Wealthy 100 by Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther, and include wealth at time of death, including bequests. Estimates were then calculated as a fraction of the overall economy at time of death by Sam Williamson of Measuring Worth, and then presented in 2013 dollars based on the size of the current U.S. economy. Estimates for Gates and Buffett provided by Wealth-X.
Biographical information from The Wealthy 100 by Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther, Encyclopedia Britannica, and The Prize by Daniel Yergin.
