Editing Fugger family (section)

=== Jakob Fugger "the Rich" ===
[[File:Albrecht Dürer 080.jpg|thumb|[[Jakob Fugger]], "the Rich" (1459–1525), by [[Albrecht Dürer]]]]
Ulrich's youngest brother [[Jakob Fugger]], born in 1459, was to become the most famous member of the dynasty. In 1498, he married Sibylla Artzt, Grand Burgheress to Augsburg, the daughter of an eminent [[Grand Burgher]] of Augsburg ({{langx|de|Großbürger zu Augsburg}}). They had no children, but this marriage gave Jakob the opportunity to elevate to Grand Burgher of Augsburg and later allowed him to pursue a seat on the city council ({{lang|de|Stadtrat}}) of Augsburg. He was elevated to the nobility of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in May 1511, made [[Imperial Count]] in 1514, and in 1519, led a consortium of German and Italian businessmen that loaned [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] 850,000 [[Italian coin florin|florins]] (about 95,625 [[Troy ounce|oz(t)]] or 2974&nbsp;kg of gold) to procure his election as [[Holy Roman Emperor]] over [[Francis I of France]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Brechin |first=Gray A. |author-link=Gray Brechin |title=Imperial San Francisco: urban power, earthly ruin |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |year=1999 |isbn=0-520-22902-9 }}</ref> The Fuggers' contribution was 543,000 florins.

In 1494, the Fuggers established their first public company. Jakob's aim was to establish a copper [[monopoly]] by opening foundries in [[Hohenkirchen]] and [[Fuggerau]] (named for the family, in [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthia]]) and by expanding the sales organization in Europe, especially the [[Antwerp]] agency. Jakob leased the copper mines in [[Neusohl|Besztercebánya]] in the [[Kingdom of Hungary]] (today [[Banská Bystrica]], [[Slovakia]]) in 1495, eventually making them the greatest mining centre of the time.

At the height of his power Jakob Fugger was sharply criticized by his contemporaries, especially by [[Ulrich von Hutten]] and [[Martin Luther]], for selling [[indulgences]] and [[benefices]] and urging the Pope to rescind or amend the prohibition on the [[usury|levying of interest]]. The imperial fiscal and governmental authorities in [[Nuremberg]] brought action against him and other merchants in an attempt to halt their [[monopoly|monopolistic]] practices.

In 1511, Jakob deposited 15,000 florins as an endowment for some [[almshouse]]s. In 1514, he bought up part of Augsburg and in 1516 came to an agreement with the city that he would build and provide a number of almshouses for needy citizens. By 1523, 52 houses had been built, and the [[Fuggerei]] had come into existence. It is still used today.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123025158419834413 |title=In This Picturesque Village, the Rent Hasn't Been Raised Since 1520 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=26 December 2008 |first=Mike |last=Esterl |access-date=3 August 2017 |archive-date=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812062645/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123025158419834413 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Jakob died in 1525. He is considered to be one of the richest persons of all time,<ref>{{cite news |title=Jakob Fugger II (1459–1525) |url=http://interactive.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/mill-1-timeline-fugger.htm |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=29 November 2009 |archive-date=7 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907052111/http://interactive.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/mill-1-timeline-fugger.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and today he is well known as Jakob Fugger "the rich". At its peak his wealth is estimated to be 2% of Europe's GDP.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Steinmetz |first=Greg |title=Opinion: 7 money-making lessons from the richest man who ever lived |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-money-making-lessons-from-the-richest-man-who-ever-lived-2017-05-02 |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=MarketWatch |language=en-US |archive-date=21 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921035408/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/7-money-making-lessons-from-the-richest-man-who-ever-lived-2017-05-02 |url-status=live }}</ref>