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| Jacob Fugger | |
 Jacob Fugger by Albrecht Dürer
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| Born | March 6, 1459 Augsburg |
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| Died | December 30, 1525 (aged 66) |
| Parents | Hans Fugger |
| Relatives | Anton Fugger, nephew |
Jacob Fugger (German: Jakob Fugger; 6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), sometimes known as Jacob Fugger the Rich, was a German banker and a member of the Fugger family.
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Biography
Fugger was born on 6 March 1459 in the Swabian town of Augsburg in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the son of Hans Fugger, a weaver who settled there in the late 15th century. A trader like his brothers, he learned double-entry bookkeeping in Venice. Inheriting his father's business of trading, Fugger expanded the family enterprise to the Adriatic Sea via the port of Venice.
At his death on 30 December 1525 Jacob Fugger bequeathed to his nephew Anton Fugger company assets totaling 2,032,652 guilders.1
Legacy
He was well-known throughout Europe, and used his eventual fortune to lend money to its rulers. Fugger often provided mercenary armies with monetary resources so they could wage war against one another.
Election of Charles V
Fugger provided Charles V with the money needed to bribe the seven electors to make him Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. Charles ennobled the family and granted them sovereign rights over their lands, including that of coining their own money. Jacob also secured the right to sell papal indulgences, which increased his already vast fortune tenfold.
References
- ^ "Anton Fugger". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2008-08-12.