The House of Fugger is a German family that was historically a powerful group of European bankers. They were important members of the trading elite in Augsburg during the 1500s and 1600s, and they also worked as international bankers and investors. Along with the Welser family, the Fuggers controlled much of Europe’s economy in the 1500s and gained great wealth. They had almost complete control over the European copper trade.

This banking family replaced the Medici family, who had great influence across Europe during the Renaissance. The Fuggers took over many of the Medici’s properties and political power. They were closely connected to the House of Habsburg, a powerful royal family, and helped fund their rise to global power. Unlike many other wealthy families in German cities, such as the Tuchers, the Fuggers did not switch to Lutheranism, as described in the Augsburg Confession. Instead, they stayed loyal to the Roman Catholic Church, which kept them close to the Habsburg emperors.

Jakob Fugger, known as “the Rich,” was made a noble by the Holy Roman Empire in May 1511. He received the title of Imperial Count of Kirchberg and Weissenhorn in 1514. Today, he is considered one of the wealthiest people in history, with a net worth of over $400 billion when adjusted for the size of Europe’s economy at the time. Although the family’s business ended in 1657, they remained wealthy landowners and ruled the County of Kirchberg and Weissenhorn. The Babenhausen branch of the family became princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803, and the Glött branch became princes in Bavaria in 1914.

History

The founder of the Fugger family was Hans Fugger, a weaver who lived in Graben, near the city of Augsburg in Germany. The family’s last name was originally spelled "Fucker." The first known record of the family appears in 1367, when Johann’s son, also named Johann (or Hans), moved to Augsburg. A local tax register simply noted, "Fugger has arrived." He married Klara Widolf and became a citizen of Augsburg. After Klara’s death, he married Elizabeth Gattermann. He joined the weaver’s guild and by 1396, he was listed among the highest taxpayers in the city. He also started a business as a merchant in addition to weaving.

Hans’s eldest son, Andreas Fugger, was a merchant in the weaving trade. He was nicknamed "Fugger the Rich" after buying land and other properties. The Fugger family listed and counted a large number of Asian rugs, which was unusual at the time. Andreas’s son, Lukas Fugger, was granted a golden deer on a blue background as his family crest by Emperor Frederick III. He was nicknamed "the Fugger of the Deer." He later went bankrupt. His descendants later moved to Silesia. Today, members of the "Fugger of the Deer" branch are descendants of Matthäus Fugger (1442–1489/92).

Hans’s younger son, Jakob the Elder, started another branch of the family. This branch grew steadily and became known as the "Fuggers of the Lily" after their family crest, which featured a flowering lily on a gold and blue background. Jakob was a master weaver, a merchant, and an alderman. He married Barbara Bäsinger, the daughter of a goldsmith. His wealth grew, and by 1461, he was the twelfth richest person in Augsburg. He died in 1469.

Jakob’s eldest son, Ulrich, took over the business after his father’s death. In 1473, Ulrich provided new clothing for Frederick, the son of Maximilian I, and his entourage during a journey to Trier to meet Charles the Bold of Burgundy and arrange the marriage of the young prince to Charles’s daughter, Maria. This began a long and profitable relationship between the Fugger family and the Habsburgs.

With the help of their brother in Rome, Marx, Ulrich and his brother George managed money transfers to the papal court for selling indulgences and securing Church positions. From 1508 to 1515, they rented the Roman mint. Ulrich died in 1510.

In 1487, the Fuggers made their first loan to Archduke Sigismund, using silver and copper mines in Tyrol as security. This marked the start of the family’s involvement in mining and precious metals. The Fuggers also mined in Silesia and owned copper mines in Hungary. Their trade in spices, wool, and silk reached nearly all parts of Europe.

Jakob Fugger, born in 1459, became the most famous member of the family. In 1498, he married Sibylla Artzt, the daughter of an important Augsburg citizen. Though they had no children, this marriage helped Jakob become a respected member of Augsburg society and later allowed him to join the city council. He was made a noble of the Holy Roman Empire in 1511, an Imperial Count in 1514, and in 1519, he led a group of German and Italian businessmen who loaned Charles V 850,000 florins (about 95,625 ounces or 2,974 kilograms of gold) to help him become Holy Roman Emperor. The Fuggers contributed 543,000 florins.

In 1494, the Fuggers created their first public company. Jakob aimed to control the copper trade by building foundries in Hohenkirchen and Fuggerau (named after the family in Carinthia) and expanding their sales network in Europe, especially in Antwerp. In 1495, Jakob rented copper mines in Besztercebánya (now Banská Bystrica, Slovakia) and eventually made them the largest mining center of the time.

At the height of his power, Jakob Fugger faced criticism from people like Ulrich von Hutten and Martin Luther for selling Church indulgences and pushing the Pope to allow interest on loans. Authorities in Nuremberg tried to stop his business practices, which they considered unfair.

In 1511, Jakob donated 15,000 florins to build almshouses for poor people. In 1514, he bought part of Augsburg and agreed to build homes for needy citizens. By 1523, 52 houses were built, creating the Fuggerei, which still exists today. Jakob died in 1525 and is considered one of the richest people in history. At his peak, his wealth was estimated to be 2% of Europe’s total GDP.

Jakob’s successor was his nephew Anton Fugger, born in 1493. Anton married Anna Rehlinger and died in 1560. In 1525, the Fuggers received income from Spanish knightly orders and profits from mercury and silver mines. However, the wealth from Tyrolean and Hungarian mines declined, and Anton expanded trade to Peru and Chile, and started mining in Sweden and Norway. He was involved in the slave trade from Africa to America but was more successful in the spice trade and importing Hungarian cattle. Eventually, he had to give up some mining rights.

In 1530 and 1531, the Fuggers had exclusive rights to trade through the Strait of Magellan, but they never used this route for Asian trade. Later, the Manila galleon trade across the Pacific began without Fugger involvement.

After Anton’s nephew Johann Jakob faced difficulties, Anton’s eldest son Markus continued the business successfully, earning about 50,000,000 ducats from mercury production at Almadén between 1563 and 1641. However, the Fugger company ended completely after the Thirty Years’ War, when Leopold Fugger returned Tyrolean mines to the Habsburgs in 1657.

The Fugger family’s burial chapel in St. Anne’s Church in Augsburg, built in 1509, is the first example of Renaissance architecture in Germany. It features memorial tablets in

Family members

• Hans (I.) Fugger (born in 1367 in Augsburg, died in 1408) Family crest for the "Fugger of the Deer" branch Andreas Fugger (1394–1457), founder of the "Fugger of the Deer" branch Jakob Fugger (born in 1430) Lukas Fugger (born in 1439–ca. 1512) Matthäus Fugger (born in 1442) Sebastian Fugger (born in 1470/72) Andreas Wilhelm Hieronimus Fugger (1507–1573) Georg Wilhelm Sebastian Raymund Fugger (1547–ca. 1600) Ulrich Fugger (1524–1586) Hans Fugger (born in 1443) Gastel Fugger (1475–1539), awarded the title of noble in 1529 Wolfgang Fugger (1519/20–1568) Johann Christoph Fugger (1561–1612) Family crest for the "Fugger of the Lily" branch Jakob Fugger the Elder (1398–1469), founder of the "Fugger of the Lily" branch Ulrich Fugger the Elder (1441–1510), head of the Augsburg company Ulrich Fugger the Younger (1490–1525) Georg Fugger (1453–1506), head of the Nuremberg company Raymund Fugger (1489–1535), awarded the title of Imperial Count of Kirchberg, Weissenhorn, and Marstetten in 1535 Johann Jakob Fugger (Hans II. Jakob) (1516–1575) Sigmund Friedrich Fugger (1542–1600), bishop Georg Fugger (1518–1569) Philipp Eduard Fugger (1546–1618) Octavian Secundus Fugger (1549–1600) Ulrich (III.) Fugger (1526–1584) Anton Fugger (1493–1560), awarded the title of Imperial Count in 1530 Markus (III.) Fugger (1529–1597), founder of the Marx Fugger and brothers company Hans (III.) Fugger of Kirchheim and Glött (1531–1598) Markus (IV.) Fugger (1564–1614) Jakob (IV.) Fugger (1567–1626) Christoph Fugger (1566–1615) Carl Ernst Fugger (1559–1640) Otto Heinrich Fugger, Count of Kirchberg ("Ottheinrich") (1592–1644), general Jakob (III.) Fugger (1542–1598), Lord of Babenhausen, Wellenburg, and Boos Johann Fugger the Elder (1583–1633) […] Anselm Maria Fugger von Babenhausen (1766–1821), awarded the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803 Jakob Fugger "the Rich" (1459–1525), head of international activities, awarded the title of Baron in 1511, awarded the title of Imperial Count in 1514

• Ulrich Fugger the Elder (1441–1510)
• Georg Fugger (1453–1506)
• Raymund Fugger (1489–1535)
• Anton Fugger (1493–1560)
• Hans (III.) Fugger (1531–1598)
• Christoph Fugger, as depicted by Christoph Amberger in 1541

Acquisitions

• Kirchberg and Weißenhorn, along with Wullenstetten and Pfaffenhofen (Roth) (1507)
• Schmiechen (1508)
• Biberbach (1514)
• Gablingen (1527)
• Mickhausen (1528)
• Burgwalden (1529; Burgwalden [de], located in Landkreis Augsburg, Bavaria)
• Oberndorf an der Donau (1533)
• Lands in Hungary (1535)
• Pflege Donauwörth (1536)
• Glött (1537)
• Babenhausen und Brandenburg (1539)
• Pleß (1546)
• Rettenbach (1547)
• Lands in Alsace (1551)
• Kirchheim (1551)
• Duttenstein Castle, near Dischingen (1551; Schloss Duttenstein, located in Landkreis Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg)
• Eppishausen (1551)
• Niederalfingen (1551)
• Stettenfels Castle (1551; Burg Stettenfels, located in Landkreis Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg)
• Reichau, near Boos (1551)
• Kettershausen und Bebenhausen (1558)

The following historic buildings are still owned by the Fugger family:
• Fuggerhäuser in Augsburg
• Fuggerei in Augsburg
• The castle at Babenhausen, Bavaria
• Wellenburg Castle in Augsburg
• The castle at Kirchheim in Schwaben
• Kirchberg Castle at Illerkirchberg