A comprehensive study of Britain's 250 richest people in history,
from the time of William the Conqueror to the present. In this
book, Philip Beresford, the author of The Sunday Times annual 'Rich
List' and history expert William D. Rubinstein, have turned their
attention to the wealthiest individuals in British history,
revealing how they made their fortunes, the role played by luck,
contacts and violence, and how successful they were in hanging on
to their gains. People like: - William of Warenne, the Earl of
Surrey in the 1050s, who if he were alive today would be worth
nearly GBP74bn - over three times richer than Britain's current
richest man (steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal). - Archbishop Thomas
Beckett, who took 250 servants with him on a visit to Paris in
1158, and was worth over GBP24bn. Not that his fortune was much use
when he was murdered in his own cathedral on the orders of Henry
II. - Robert Spencer, forebear of Princess Diana, who made a
fortune in the wool trade, owned vast tracts of land in the colony
of Virginia. and accumulated a fortune equivalent to GBP19bn in
today's money.- John Scott, a celebrated gambler whose skills and
luck helped him to a GBP500,000 (GBP3.1bn) fortune. "As rich as
Scott" was a popular saying of eighteenth century society. The
authors provide a fascinating account of personal wealth and
influence, noting how, throughout history, the opportunities for
aggrandising wealth have been changed by technology, demographics,
taxation, politics and war. If you are interested in business,
society and the shifting patterns of advantage then you will find
this book absorbing, intriguing and insightful.
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