Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, writer, architect and Founding Father who had an inflation-adjusted peak net worth of $212 million.

Thomas Jefferson served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809 after previously becoming the nation's first secretary of state and second vice president. He is best remembered as the principal author of the "Declaration of Independence," which declared that "all men are created equal" and established the philosophical foundation of the American Revolution.

During his presidency, Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the territory of the United States, and authorized the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He also championed religious freedom, helped establish the Democratic-Republican Party and founded the University of Virginia. Outside politics, Jefferson was a prolific inventor, book collector, agricultural experimenter and largely self-taught architect who spent decades designing and rebuilding Monticello.

Jefferson's legacy is also defined by profound contradictions. He was one of America's most influential advocates for individual liberty, yet he enslaved more than 600 people over the course of his life and depended on their labor to support his lifestyle. Although he was one of the wealthiest presidents in American history at his financial peak, extravagant spending and poor financial management eventually left his estate overwhelmed by debt.

Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743, at the Shadwell plantation in colonial Virginia. His father, Peter Jefferson, was a planter, surveyor and landowner, while his mother, Jane Randolph Jefferson, belonged to one of Virginia's most prominent families.

When Thomas was approximately two years old, his family moved to Tuckahoe, a plantation along the James River. Peter Jefferson had been appointed guardian of the orphaned children of William Randolph, the property's owner. Thomas spent roughly seven years at Tuckahoe and received some of his earliest education in a one-room schoolhouse built by his father.

Peter died when Thomas was 14. Jefferson inherited approximately 5,000 acres of land, including the property that became Monticello, as well as dozens of enslaved people. The inheritance immediately placed him among Virginia's landed elite.

Jefferson attended the College of William & Mary, where he studied mathematics, philosophy, science, literature and classical languages. He later studied law under George Wythe, one of colonial America's most respected legal scholars, and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1767.

In 1772, Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton, a wealthy young widow. The marriage brought him additional land and enslaved people, but it also left him responsible for substantial debts attached to the estate of Martha's father.

Thomas and Martha had six children, though only two daughters survived to adulthood. Martha died in 1782 at the age of 33. Jefferson never remarried.

Jefferson began constructing Monticello in 1769 on land he had inherited from his father. The name means "little mountain" in Italian. He repeatedly expanded, redesigned and rebuilt the residence over the following four decades, drawing inspiration from classical Roman architecture and buildings he had seen in France.

Monticello became both Jefferson's private home and a physical expression of his intellectual interests. The estate included gardens, workshops, agricultural operations, libraries and living quarters for members of Jefferson's family and the people he enslaved. He also owned Poplar Forest, a plantation and retreat near Lynchburg, Virginia.

Jefferson entered politics as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. His writings criticizing British rule attracted attention throughout the colonies, and he was selected as a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

In 1776, at the age of 33, Jefferson was assigned to a five-member committee charged with preparing a declaration explaining the colonies' decision to separate from Britain. Jefferson wrote the first draft of the "Declaration of Independence," which Congress revised before adopting on July 4, 1776.

Jefferson returned to Virginia and helped rewrite the state's laws. Among his most important accomplishments was the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which established protections against government-imposed religion and became an important influence on the First Amendment.

He served as governor of Virginia from 1779 to 1781, a difficult period during which British forces invaded the state. His handling of the crisis attracted criticism and temporarily damaged his political reputation.

Jefferson later wrote "Notes on the State of Virginia," his only full-length book. The work examined Virginia's geography, government, economy and natural resources, but it also contained racist theories about Black people that have become an important part of historical assessments of Jefferson.

Jefferson succeeded Benjamin Franklin as the United States minister to France, serving in Paris during the years leading up to the French Revolution. His time in Europe strengthened his interest in French food, wine, furniture, art and architecture, all of which contributed to his increasingly expensive lifestyle.

In 1790, President George Washington appointed Jefferson as the first United States secretary of state. Jefferson frequently clashed with Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton over the direction of the new nation. Hamilton favored a powerful federal government, a national bank and close commercial ties with Britain. Jefferson favored a more agricultural society, a narrower interpretation of federal power and sympathy toward revolutionary France.

Those disagreements helped create America's first party system. Jefferson emerged as the leader of the Democratic-Republicans, while Hamilton became the intellectual force behind the Federalists.

Jefferson ran for president in 1796 but finished second to John Adams. Under the electoral rules then in effect, Jefferson became Adams' vice president despite representing the opposing political party.

Jefferson defeated Adams in the bitterly contested election of 1800. An Electoral College tie between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, forced the House of Representatives to decide the outcome. After dozens of ballots, Jefferson was selected as president.

His most consequential presidential achievement was the Louisiana Purchase. In 1803, the United States acquired approximately 827,000 square miles from France for $15 million. The purchase doubled the size of the country, even though Jefferson questioned whether the Constitution explicitly gave the president authority to acquire new territory.

Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly acquired western lands. Their expedition reached the Pacific Ocean and provided valuable information about the continent's geography, wildlife and Indigenous nations.

His administration also fought the First Barbary War against Tripoli after North African privateers targeted American shipping. Near the end of his presidency, Jefferson signed legislation prohibiting the importation of enslaved people into the United States, effective in 1808, although the domestic slave trade continued.

Jefferson's second term was less successful. Hoping to avoid war with Britain and France, he supported the Embargo Act of 1807, which severely restricted American foreign trade. The policy damaged the American economy, proved difficult to enforce and became deeply unpopular.

Jefferson enslaved more than 600 people during his lifetime, making slavery inseparable from both his wealth and his daily life. Enslaved workers constructed and maintained Monticello, cultivated his land, produced goods in his workshops and served his household.

Jefferson sometimes condemned slavery in writing, but he freed only a small number of the people he enslaved and did not use his political power to pursue nationwide emancipation. His financial records also show that he viewed enslaved people as valuable assets whose labor and sale could support his estate.

Historical, documentary and genetic evidence indicates that Jefferson fathered six children with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman at Monticello who was also the half-sister of his deceased wife. Four of Hemings' children survived to adulthood. Because Hemings was legally enslaved by Jefferson, their relationship existed within an extreme imbalance of power and cannot be understood as a relationship between equals.

Jefferson ranked third on our list of the richest American presidents of all time, behind George Washington and Donald Trump, with an estimated peak fortune equivalent to $212 million in modern dollars.

The foundation of Jefferson's wealth was the enormous portfolio of land and enslaved people he inherited from his father. His marriage, land acquisitions and other transactions further expanded his holdings.

Despite possessing valuable assets, Jefferson was frequently short of cash. His plantations did not generate enough income to support his spending, and he borrowed heavily while continuing to purchase luxury goods. He spent lavishly on French wine, furniture, artwork, books, clothing and construction projects. Some estimates place his wine spending at the modern equivalent of nearly $1 million per year during particularly extravagant periods.

Jefferson also constantly modified Monticello, imported expensive materials and maintained a large household filled with relatives, visitors and dependents. Poor agricultural returns, inherited obligations, unreliable debtors and the financial disruption caused by the Revolutionary War compounded his problems.

By the time Jefferson died, he reportedly owed more than $107,000, an enormous sum in the 1820s. His debts exceeded the practical value of the assets available to his heirs. Monticello, household furnishings, land and more than 100 enslaved people were eventually sold. Families who had lived together at Monticello were separated to satisfy Jefferson's creditors.

After leaving the presidency, Jefferson returned to Monticello. He sold his personal library of approximately 6,500 books to the federal government after British forces burned the Library of Congress during the War of 1812. Congress paid him $23,950 for the collection, but the proceeds did little to solve his long-term financial problems.

Jefferson devoted much of his retirement to establishing the University of Virginia. He helped select its location, designed its buildings, planned its curriculum and recruited faculty members. The university opened to students in 1825.

He also renewed his friendship with John Adams. The former political rivals exchanged hundreds of letters discussing history, religion, government and the meaning of the American Revolution.

Thomas Jefferson died at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the "Declaration of Independence." He was 83 years old. John Adams died later that same day.

Jefferson chose three accomplishments for his tombstone: authoring the "Declaration of Independence," writing the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and founding the University of Virginia. He did not include his presidency.