Who was the world's first millionaire and was he/she american?

Answer 1

No, from uk

Answer 2

Maybe not the world's first millionaire, since some currency is so undervalued at 10s of thousands of a particular currency to equal 1 US Dollar. But the man often regarded as America's First Millionaire was Elias Hasket Derby. He was the wealthiest shipping merchant of Salem MA and a man who pioneered US International trade.

Answer 3

Probably since by millionaire you are inferring someone with a million dollars. If I was in Vietnam where the exchange rate is $1 to 16,000 VND I could become a millionaire quite quickly. Wouldn't you argue that the Egyptian Pharoahs were millionaires... they did build the pyramids. Or do you have to go back to some caveman who found a million shells or killed 10 wooley mammoths and with them a million calories of food?

It is all relative. You could rephrase and say who was the first person with a million US dollars. (or British Pounds, etc.)

Answer 4

The first person in the US to be a millionaire was Elias Derby.
As the other answerers have pointed out, "millionaire" refers to someone with a million dollars, which is US currency. It doesn't mean the same thing in other cultures modern or ancient.

http://www.msp.umb.edu/firsts.html

Answer 5

Many uber rich Egyptians during their last 1000 year reign, also the many uber rich Romans during their millennium, and the some Persians were extremely wealthy in that 400 BC time frame . . . on an equivalent basis, they had more $$$$$$ than Bill Gates & Warren Buffet.
Moving onto Europe in the last 2 milleniums, same.

Answer 6

I think there were millionaires way before America was born. Think of the pharoahs of Egypt or the kings and sultans of ancient times, etc.

Answer 7

The guy who had 1 million in the first ever currency!

Answer 8

My guess is that it was some royal and therefore not an American.

Answer 9

PROBABLY JOB IN BIBLICAL DAYS....................