Who is considered the richest person in the history of Ukraine?
Even the American billionaires Rockefellers could envy the wealth of one of the Ukrainian princes. Find out who is considered the richest Ukrainian in the history of Ukraine and how much money this person had
Even the most famous modern American billionaires, the Rockefellers, could envy the wealth that Prince Ostroh had in the late 16th century. According to RBK-Ukraine, citing a YouTube post by historian Oleksandr Alfyorov, he is considered the richest Ukrainian in the history of Ukraine.
Read more about the life and fortune of the richest person in the country's history in the article below.
Read about 12 archaeological treasures stolen from Ukraine by russia here.
The richest Ukrainian: what is known about Ostroh's wealth?
According to a historian, the richest Ukrainian of all time is Kostiantyn-Vasylii Ostrozkyi, the son of the famous Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi, who was one of the most prominent military leaders of the 16th century. It should be noted that the elder Ostroh was compared by his contemporaries to the strategists of antiquity, as he participated in successful campaigns against the Tatars and muscovites, and in total fought 65 battles, losing only 3 of them.
Kostiantyn Vasyl Ostrozkyi, photo: Wikipedia
According to Oleksandr Alfiorov, Kostiantyn Vasyl lived in 1526-1608 and was the owner of 80 cities, 40 castles, and 2760 villages. Prince Ostroh's annual income amounted to 19 million zlotys, or more than 50 tons of gold annually. In addition, the son of the great commander owned half of the Volyn Voivodeship.
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Where did the richest Ukrainian invest his wealth?
According to the historian, the prince spent most of his money on education, science, and support for Ukrainian culture. That is why Ostroh's reign is marked by a significant rise in Ukrainian culture. It is noted that this was due to the prince's attempts to make his residence a center of cultural resistance to Catholic and Uniate expansion.
It is important that Ostroh formed a kind of academy of Slavic and Greek scholars, publicists, theologians, and theologians, which included the brightest minds of the time. And it was thanks to the prince that a huge library was assembled in Ostroh, which included Greek and Western European theological books, reprints of ancient works, dictionaries, cosmographies, grammars, and more. In addition, with Ostroh's assistance, more than 20 publications were published in the local printing house, including the first complete text of the Bible in the Slavic language in 1580.