Many Founding Fathers were wealthy from inheritance and land.Wikimedia Commons
- Business Insider decided to look at how some of the Founding Fathers made their wealth for Independence Day.
- George Washington, who was the wealthiest president before President Donald Trump, inherited a lot of his wealth and owned a lot of land.
- Founding Father John Jay came from a wealthy family of merchants.
- However, many of the founders, including Washington and Thomas Jefferson, also derived a large part of their wealth from the horrors of slavery.
July 4 is when Americans celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, after representatives from the 13 original colonies severed ties with Britain in 1776.
Although independence is recognized on this day, Business Insider's Áine Cain wrote that the actual signing of the declaration by all the Continental Congress delegates was probably not completed until much later, according to Emily Sneff, research manager of the Declaration Resources Project at Harvard University. Most of the signers did not sign until August 2, according to Cain's reporting.
For this federal holiday, Business Insider decided to examine how some of the Founding Fathers, including some who signed the Declaration of Independence, made their wealth. Many of the founders we looked at inherited family land that contributed to their large net worth.
As an unfortunate consequence of one of the darkest elements of the nation's history, many of the founders were wealthy from their ownership of slaves. For instance, Thomas Jefferson is estimated to have owned between 150 to 200 slaves, which largely contributed to his overall wealth, according to Politifact.
Read on to find out how some of the most prominent Founding Fathers made their fortunes and, when reasonably reliable data is available, their estimated peak net worth.