If you’re asked to name the world’s wealthiest people, you’ll likely cite Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. Well, you aren’t exactly wrong going with traditional sources such as the Forbes Billionaire List.

However, some individuals aren’t on this list but control an immeasurable amount of dark wealth.

The following ten individuals and families control a vast amount of wealth but for some reason, they choose to remain a secret.

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Number 1- Rothschild Family.

With a valuation of over $2 trillion, the Rothschild family is the wealthiest family in the world and also one of the best-kept wealth secrets.

This family’s empire began with Mayer Rothschild back in the 18th century when he established banking and finance houses in Germany.

With the help of his five sons, the Rothschild bank became the first to transcend borders.

With the careful cultivation of this wealth, the Rothschilds benefited immensely during the French revolution by funding and providing materials to Austria.

They would later evolve into a multi-national group and become a chief financier of war and industry.

Of the five sons, Nathan Rothschild would go on to become the most successful, establishing the central banking structure we use today.

Number 2- Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president is the world’s wealthiest and most powerful man, and according to some financier estimates, is worth more than Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos combined, with a value of around $200 billion.

According to Bill Browder, former CEO of Hermitage capital management, Putin has hired over 10000 officials with instructions to kill, kidnap, and extort money from citizens by seizing their properties. Also, Putin uses his political clout to coerce Russian investors into signing over the vast holdings of their companies to him.

However, seeing as most of this wealth is ill-gotten, Putin cannot reveal his real wealth to avoid the risk of seizure.

Number 3- Carlos Slim Helu.

According to some sources Slim is worth $61.2 billion making him the sixth wealthiest man in the world.

This is the first time that Carlos has been out of the top five in nearly a decade.

However, his actual net worth could reach $129 billion given the control he has over the Mexican economy.

Carlos Slim Helu owns over 200 companies, and it’s projected that roughly 40% of the Mexican stock exchange comprises of companies that are under his control.

Additionally, Mexico has come to be known as ‘Slimlandia’ signifying the influence Slim Helu has on the average Mexican.

It’s quite difficult for a Mexican to spend a day without contributing to Carlos’ wealth. They’re born in his hospitals, drive on his roads, and use his telecommunication services.

Number 4- Ratan Tata.

Head of the TATA group of companies, Ratan Tata is currently valued at only $1 billion. However, this does not reflect his real net worth.

It’s mind-boggling how the head of one of the world’s top companies according to market capitalization and reputation, is not amongst the world’s wealthiest.

The TATA group runs 96 companies of which 28 are publicly listed companies.

These businesses also span all infrastructure industries like banking, steel, chemicals, hotels, power, and textiles.

Number 5- The House of Saud.

It’s not known as Saudi Arabia for no reason. It’s named after the Saud family that has ruled the country from the 18th century.

The family is valued at $1.4 trillion owing to its control of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves.

Number 6- Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

To paint a more realistic picture of the kind of obscene wealth we’re dealing with here, this Sultan owns over 600 Rolls-Royce automobiles and has the world’s largest private residence with 1788 rooms.

Hassanal Bolkiah is the Sultan of Brunei, and most of his wealth is from gas and oil sales.

Back in the 90s, Hassanal Bolkiah was the world’s richest man worth $40 billion, but this has since reduced to $20 billion in recent years.

Number 7- Hosni Mubarak.

Another authoritarian dictator, Hosni Mubarak amassed a vast amount of wealth worth between $40 and $70 billion, during his 30-year rule as the president of Egypt.

This sum is comparable to the value of other gulf country leaders. He didn’t squirrel away this much wealth from his salary as he earned a measly $808 a month in 2007 and 2008.

Number 8- Bashar Al Assad.

We all know a bit about the lifetime leader of Syria. Bashar Al Assad, owing to the ongoing crisis to the country.

Al Assad is estimated to be worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, but this is only his realizable assets.

The actual figure goes well beyond this seeing as Assad and his close friends controlled over 60% of the country’s assets during peacetime.

Number 9- Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Un is said to be worth around $5 billion. This might not be so noteworthy compared to other individuals on this list but it’s still a massive net worth as North Koreans earn an average of $1800 per year.

This wealth was discovered back in 2013 through a joint investigation by South Korea and America.

Number 10- Isabel dos Santos.

The eldest daughter of Angola’s longtime president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Isabela dos Santos is Africa’s wealthiest woman valued at $3.6 billion.

Back in 2012, Forbes valued her at $500 million but only last year her valuation increased to over $3 billion.

This was not from savvy investment decisions but rather due to her father transferring stakes in several Angolan companies to her.

Of her over $3 billion net worth, two thirds, or $1.8 billion corresponds to stocks in the Portuguese oil and gas company Galp.