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15 Wealthy & Wicked Slave Owners You Never Learned About

Trista July 11, 2025 11 min

4. Joshua John Ward

brookgreen gardens32 — The Brookgreen Plantation, where Ward was born and later lived, has been preserved. In 1992, it was designated a National Historic Landmark District. The house and plantation are part of a nature and sculpture garden, Brookgreen Gardens. Source: Wikipedia

Dubbed the “King of the Rice Planters,” Joshua John Ward amassed a staggering fortune in South Carolina, controlling over 1,000 enslaved people. His sprawling rice plantations were notorious for their grueling labor and relentless exploitation. Ward’s success was built squarely on the backs of those forced to endure brutal conditions, yet his name is seldom found in textbooks. His legacy exposes the ruthless realities behind the South’s rice wealth, a chapter of history too often glossed over. Source