The World’s Richest Trader In the 17th Century Was An Indian.

The 16th and 17th centuries belonged to India and China. It was when these two countries accounted for more than 33% of the World’s GDP. It was also when Indian bankers, merchants and traders were some of the richest men on the planet. Seth Virji Vora, Jagath Seth, Lala Chunnilal, Shantidas Jhaveri and Dadda Bankers were the 16th and 17th centuries’ richest men.

The British East India Company records show the wealthiest trader in the world during the 17th century was an Indian. His name was Seth Virji Vora. Seth Virji’s control over the markets of Surat and Gulf countries was famous around the world.

Seth Virji Vora was an Oswal Jain. He made his vast fortune from money lending and trading in commodities like Spices, Cotton, clothes, Gold and Silver. During the early 1600s, his net worth was 80 Lakh rupees, equivalent to at least a few hundred billion dollars today.

Seth Virji Vora used to buy the entire stock of commodities like spices, cotton and tea at a time. When the supply dried up, he used to release the commodities and decide their price. He was also known for outbidding any competitor by paying higher prices for spices and other commodities.

Seth Virji Vora was the biggest lender of money to British and Dutch East India Companies. The records of the East Indian Company shows, during the 17th century, no man in the world could lend money as much as Sethi Virji could do. East India Company often took money to finance their trades in Asia and Europe.

Seth Virji Vora was a prominent banker to the Mughal Empire. Seth Virji lent lakhs of rupees to the Mughal Empire to finance their military operations and foreign trades. Even after his death, his grandson Seth Nanachand continued to lend money to Mughals.

Seth Virji Vora was known for his wealth all over Europe and Asia. Before Rockefeller, Rothschild, Vanderbilt and Carnegie, the Indian merchant and trader Virji Vora was the definition of wealth and monopoly.