In the 1930s, Louis Rothschild, the Jewish heir to the Austrian branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty, was worth about 2 billion shillings, or $10 billion in today's money. During World War II, Rothschild refused to leave Austria, which prompted the Nazis to capture him, believing they could leverage the businessman's life to gain access to his billions. After being held for 14 months, the Rothschild family gave the Nazis $21 million, which equals about $400 million in today's money in exchange for the safe return of Rothschild. It was the largest ransom for a single individual in history.