Jakob Fugger of the Lily (German: Jakob Fugger von der Lilie; 6 March 1459 – 30 December 1525), also known as Jakob Fugger the Rich or Jakob II, was a major German merchant, mining entrepreneur, and banker. He was a descendant of the Fugger merchant family located in the Free Imperial City of Augsburg. He was born there and later was elevated through marriage to Grand Burgher of Augsburg (Großbürger zu Augsburg). Within a few decades, he expanded the family firm to a business operating in all of Europe. He began his education at the age of 14 in Venice, which also remained his main residence until 1487. At the same time, he was a cleric and held several prebends. American journalist Greg Steinmetz has estimated his overall wealth to be around 2% of the GDP of Europe at that time, the equivalent of around $400 billion adjusted to 2015.
The foundation of the family's wealth was created mainly by the textile trade with Italy. The company grew rapidly after the brothers Ulrich, Georg and Jakob began banking transactions with the House of Habsburg as well as the Roman Curia, and at the same time began mining operations in Tyrol, and from 1493 on the extraction of silver, and copper in the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary. As of 1525, they also had the right to mine quicksilver and cinnabar in Almadén.
After 1487, Jakob Fugger was the de facto head of the Fugger business operations which soon had an almost monopolistic hold on the European copper market. Copper from Hungary was transported through Antwerp to Lisbon, and from there shipped to India. Jakob Fugger also contributed to the first and only trade expedition to India that German merchants cooperated in, a Portuguese fleet to the Indian west coast (1505–1506), as well as a failed 1525 Spanish trade expedition to the Maluku Islands.
With his support of the Habsburg dynasty as a banker, he had a decisive influence on European politics at the time. He financed the rise of Maximilian I and made considerable contributions to secure the election of the Spanish king Charles I to become Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Jakob Fugger also funded the marriages which later resulted in the House of Habsburg gaining the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary.
Jakob Fugger secured his legacy and lasting fame through his foundations in Augsburg. A chapel funded by him and built from 1509 to 1512 is Germany's first renaissance building and contains the tombs of the brothers Ulrich, Georg and Jakob. The Fuggerei, which was founded by Jakob in 1521, is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use. The Damenhof, part of the Fuggerhäuser in Augsburg, is the first secular renaissance building in Germany and was built in 1515.
At his death on 30 December 1525, Jakob Fugger bequeathed to his nephew Anton Fugger company assets totaling 2,032,652 guilders. He is among the most well-known Germans and arguably the most famous citizen of Augsburg, with his wealth earning him the moniker "Fugger the Rich". In 1967 a bust of him was placed in the Walhalla, a "hall of fame" near Regensburg that honors laudable and distinguished Germans.
Background, education and early years in Venice
Jakob Fugger was born the tenth of eleven children to Jakob Fugger the Elder (1398–1469) and his wife Barbara Bäsinger (1419–1497), daughter of Münzmeister Franz Bäsinger. The Fugger family had already established themselves as successful merchants in the city. Hans Fugger, grandfather of Jakob Fugger, had taken up residence in Augsburg in 1367, became a burgher through marriage and acquired considerable wealth by trading textiles with Italy. A few years before his death his son Jakob Fugger the Elder was already one of the richest citizens of Augsburg.
Jakob's older brothers Ulrich (1441–1510) and Georg (1453–1506) created the basis for the rise of the company in Europe. Around 1470 they founded manufactories in Venice and Nuremberg, then important centers of trade. Jakob Fugger's brothers Andreas and Hans both died young in Venice. His brother Markus was a cleric and from 1470 on a writer in a papal chancery in Rome where he died in 1478. His brother Peter died in an epidemic in Nuremberg in 1473.
Loans given to Emperor Frederick III and supplies given to his entourage by Ulrich Fugger were the reason for the family being granted the lily coat of arms in 1473. The "of the lily" (German: von der Lilie) naming after this coat of arms distinguishes this line of the Fugger family from the "of the doe" (German: vom Reh) branch.
Until 2009 historians assumed that Jakob Fugger, who was a minor order at the age of 12, had lived as a canon in a church located in Herrieden. A document from the Austrian state archive has now shown that Jakob Fugger was already representing his family business in Venice in 1473 at the age of 14. Other research showed that Jakob Fugger spent the years between 1473 and 1487 mostly at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, the house of German merchants in Venice. Venice being one of the most important centers of trade at the time proved to be an ideal environment for Jakob Fugger's education in banking and the metal trade. His long residence in Italy also helped bring the renaissance style to the German region, with his funding the construction of the first buildings of this style that originated in Italy. Legal and architectural structures of Venice also had a significant influence on the funding of the Fuggerei which was similar to the social housing of Venice.
Beginnings of the mining and metal trade
Jakob Fugger laid the foundation of his mining business in Salzburg. He provided loans to the independent silver mine owners in the Salzburg Slate Alps which had constant need for new capital. Instead of receiving the usual documents acknowledging debt, he demanded "Kuxe", which essentially made him a shareholder in the mines. Through this he forced more and more mine operators in the area of Gastein and Schladming to sell their silver directly to the Fugger family instead of intermediary traders.
Jakob Fugger was responsible for his family's business in Augsburg, Tyrol, Venice and Rome. Around 1485 the family also founded manufactories in Innsbruck (since 1510 in Hall, since 1539 in Schwaz). Through a small loan he there first came into contact with Archduke Sigismund, a member of the Habsburg family. The archduke had as the sole owner of the Tyrol property rights handed out permissions for mining operations to private investors which in return had to pay a share of their profits to Sigismund. Despite this income he was constantly short of money owing to a lavish lifestyle, several illegitimate children and his extensive construction projects. A responsibility to pay the amount of 100,000 guilders of war reparations to Venice was eventually financed by Jakob Fugger. In 1488 the total debt already amounted to more than 150,000 guilders. Notable was the form of payment: Instead of paying the Fürst directly the Fugger family paid the money to his creditors as well as providing the wages for the royal court and craftsmen. Fugger met an engineer by the name of Jan Thurzo, and they formed a powerful copper company in the neighbouring town of Banská Bystrica in 1495. In 1517 the Fugger family financed more than half of Tyrol's public budget. As a result, they were at times entitled to all the silver and copper out of Tyrol.
Relationship with Maximilian I
The expansion of high-risk, albeit very lucrative, business connections to Maximilian I was undoubtedly promoted by Fugger. In his view, the House of Habsburg was bound to be the dominant power and dynasty within the German region, and as such should receive his financial and political support. Jakob Fugger met the young Roman-German king for the first time in 1489 at a Frankfurt fair.
At that time, his plans for the independent Duchy of Tyrol had been agreed upon with the king's chancellor, Johann Waldner. On 16 March 1490 Sigismund and the Tyrol Estates came together with King Maximilian also present. The archduke had to resign under the pressure from the estates, who accused him of mismanagement, and his possessions fell to the king. Maximilian then promised to repay all loans of its predecessor to Jakob Fugger.