4. John Bowen $40 Million
John Bowen (? – 1704) was a pirate of Créole origin active during the Golden Age of Piracy.He sailed with other famous contemporaries, including Nathaniel North (who would succeed him as captain of Bowen’s final ship, the Defiant) and George Booth, who was his captain when he was a crewman aboard the Speaker. Over a four-year period, Bowen took about £170,000 in goods and coinage and retired to Bourbon for a brief period of time before his death in 1704.
3. Thomas Tew $103 Million.
He embarked on two major piratical voyages and met a bloody death on the second journey, and he pioneered the route which became known as the Pirate Round. Many other famous pirates followed in his path, including Henry Every and William Kidd.
Much of what is known about Tew is derived from Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pirates, which is a mixture of fact and fiction. When reading about Thomas Tew, it is important to be able to distinguish between truth and story. Captain Johnson said, “Tew, in Point of Gallantry, was inferior to none.”
