History of Finance in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: April 26, 2026

Finance is the study of resources and their management, enabling entities to consume and save over time. Key concepts include income, money, assets, and liabilities. As a field of study within business administration, it involves planning, organizing, leading, and controlling an organization's resources to meet its objectives. The discipline encompasses personal, corporate, and public finance, reflecting the breadth of financial activities within financial systems.

1900: Louis Bachelier's doctoral thesis

In 1900, Louis Bachelier's doctoral thesis, which is considered the first scholarly work in financial mathematics, was defended.

1938: DCF valuation formula articulated

In 1938, the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuation formula was articulated. This formula is widely applied in business and finance, to get the value of the firm. The firm's forecasted free cash flows are discounted to the present using the weighted average cost of capital for the discount factor.

2022: ESG Assets Under Management Reach US$30.3 Trillion

In 2022, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations became integral to investment analysis and portfolio management, with sustainable finance representing a growing segment of global capital markets, reaching US$30.3 trillion in assets under management globally.