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15 Wealthy & Wicked Slave Owners You Never Learned About

Trista July 11, 2025 11 min

1. Stephen Duncan

dr. stephen duncan by joseph h. bush — He owned 15 cotton and sugar plantations, served as President of the Bank of Mississippi, and held major investments in railroads and lumber. Source: Joseph H. Bush / Wikipedia

Stephen Duncan was once the wealthiest cotton planter in the antebellum South, amassing immense riches through the labor of over 2,200 enslaved people across Mississippi and Louisiana. His vast holdings and calculated investments made him a powerhouse in Southern economics, yet his story rarely surfaces in mainstream history. Duncan’s influence extended far beyond his plantations, shaping regional commerce and politics while the human cost of his empire remains overlooked. Source

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Trista

1. Stephen Duncan

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