8 richest men = 1/2 world population wealth

Historically, maybe this has always been true.  I can imagine a combo of King of this, Emperor of that, Pharoh of where-ever....could be as rich as half the world's population at lots of points in time. Assuming wealth was measured in gold, armaments, fancy chariots, and Super-VIP pit seats at Fare Thee Well Gladiator Arena.

Since, according to the article, the circle of ultra rich keeps getting smaller, when will just ONE guy be richer than ALL the rest of the world...and what happens then?

They start in the 11 century..... (the article is dated 2014)

THE RICHEST PEOPLE BY CENTURY

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/12/richest-people-century/

"18th century

Stephen Girard – Worth approximately $105 billion

This was a tough century because several moguls amassed their wealth in the 18th century, but continued to accumulate into the 19th century. The French-born, naturalized American who personally underwrote and saved America from financial collapse during the War of 1812 seems as a good of a choice as any. He owned many ships and fleets, making him responsible for most of the trade that came into the major of ports of late 18th century America. Considered the fourth-richest American ever, he had no children and left much of his money to his adopted hometown of Philadelphia.

19th century

The Rothschild family – Worth approximately $350 billion

As a family of London-based bankers, this fortune can not be attributed to one person (though Nathan Mayer was the wealthiest of the four original brothers). It all began with them helping to finance the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), which led to their first billion. From that point on, they (combined) likely amassed the largest private fortune in modern history. This dynasty continues to this day in Europe with valuable real estate and energy investments, with some economists believing the Rothschild family wealth actually totals one trillion dollars combined.

20th century

John D. Rockefeller – Worth approximately $340 billion

As the 19th century turned into the 20th century, the greatest commodity in the world wasn’t land or people or harems, but oil. And J.D. Rockefeller was an oil man who reaped the rewards of it. He is generally considered to have been around the third richest man ever (when normalizing for inflation).  As the head of Standard Oil, there was a point where he oversaw over ninety percent of the world’s oil production. If that wasn’t enough, in 1911, when the Sherman Antitrust Act broke up Standard Oil into 34 separate companies, Rockefeller actually made an extra $900 million. All in a rich guy’s day of work.

21st century

Muammar Gaddafi – Worth approximately $200 billion

We are only 14 years into the century, but the richest person of the 21st century is considered to be about the eighth richest person in all of history, give or take. And it isn’t Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi ruled over an oil rich country for 34 years before being ousted and, then, killed. Upon his death, much to the surprise of many, billions upon billions of dollars were found in various accounts of his across the globe. In the few years since his death, so far nearly $200 billion dollars have been found in secret bank accounts, real estate holdings, and other investments. No matter whether he acquired it legally or not, money is money and Gaddafi secretly had the most of any known person so far this century."