Fugger Bank Detail

About Fugger Bank Detail

The Fugger banking house of Augsburg dominated European finance in the early 16th century. Jakob Fugger the Rich expanded the family business from textiles into mining, banking, and trade. The Fuggers financed the Habsburgs, popes, and the election of Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor. They pioneered international banking with branches across Europe. The Fugger newsletters, distributed to clients, were an early form of financial journalism. The familys wealth peaked at over 2 percent of European GDP. Jakob Fugger died in 1525. The Fugger company went bankrupt in 1647 during the Thirty Years War. The Fuggers social housing in Augsburg, the Fuggerei, charges 0.88 euros per year rent and still operates today.