who were the knights templer? did they have vast riches?

Answer 1

Hugh de Payens founded the Knights Templar in about 1118-1119, with only a handful of men, to provide armed escort for pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. Over the years they grew in numbers and stature, and were the first to provide an international banking service.
http://www.adambennington.com/military_orders/templars.html

On Friday 13th 1307, Philippe le Bel of France "arrested, simultaneously, all the Templars in France in a carefully planned operation. The Templars were alerted, and their fleet (which was greater than that of any nation) departed from France with all their wealth stowed on board, and was never again to be seen in Europe."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A272558

There are many sites concerning the Templars and their treasures. Some believe the treasure is in the Money Pit, Oak Island.

http://altreligion.about.com/library/bl_templars.htm
http://www.masonicinfo.com/nationaltreasure.htm

Answer 2

The Knights Templar, was one of the most famous of the Christian military orders. It existed for about two centuries in the Middle Ages, created in the aftermath of the First Crusade of 1096 to ensure the safety of the large numbers of European pilgrims who flowed toward Jerusalem after its conquest.Though the primary mission of the Order was a military one, only a small percentage of its members were actually at the front lines, while many others were involved in developing a financial infrastructure to support the warrior branch. The Order also innovated ways of generating letters of credit for pilgrims who were journeying to the Holy Land, which involved pilgrims depositing their valuables with the Order before setting off on the journey. This may have been the first form of checking put into use. From this mixture of donations and shrewd business dealing during the 12th and 13th centuries the Order acquired large tracts of land both in Europe and the Middle East, built churches and castles, bought farms and vineyards, was involved in manufacturing, import and export, had its own fleet of ships, and for a time even owned the entire island of Cyprus.


Templars being burned at the stakeAfter Jerusalem was lost to Saladin in the late 1100s, the Crusades gradually wound down and European support for the Order began to falter. In the early 1300s, King Philip IV of France (also known as "Philip the Fair") was in desperate need of money to continue his war with the English. On Friday, October 13, 1307 (a date possibly linked to the origin of the Friday the 13th legend), Philip had all French Templars simultaneously arrested, charged with numerous heresies, and tortured by French authorities nominally under the Inquisition until they allegedly confessed. This action released Philip from his obligation to repay huge loans from the Templars and justified his looting of Templar treasuries. In 1312 due to public opinion and scandal, and under pressure from King Philip (who had been responsible for maneuvering Pope Clement V into the Vatican), Clement officially disbanded the Order at the Council of Vienne. Even though all their lands were supposed to be turned over to the Hospitallers, Phillip retained a great deal of the Templar assets in France. Some other European leaders followed suit in an effort to reduce the amount of Church-owned lands and property. In 1314 three Templar leaders, including Grand Master Jacques De Molay, Hugh De Perault and Godfrey De Goneville were burned alive at the stake by French authorities after publicly renouncing any guilt.