The paper deals with the main stages of the formation of the theory of human capital in works of L. Walras, J.M. Clark, F. List, D. Ricardo, and J. McCulloch who showed the influence of the theories of marginal utility, supply and demand, costs, etc. on the development of human capital. The source of the nation's wealth is "mental capital", i.e. discoveries, inventions, achievements in science and art. G. McLeod emphasized the importance of employee competence, A. Marshall introduced the concept of "personal capital".The essence of human capital is understood ambiguously: a) it is a person as a set of characteristics, b) only his ability to work. The transition to innovative production, an increase in the share of intellectual, highly professional labor costs, etc. contributed to the formation of a full-fledged (classical) theory of human capital. In parallel, the institutional theory of human capital was formed, in which a special role was given to the social environment. On its basis, the foundations of other areas of human capital theory were laid, such as the economy of education, knowledge, and intellectual property. Human capital has been interpreted in an expanded way