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 £74bn - 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 £24bn. 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 £19bn in today's money. - John
Scott, a celebrated gambler whose skills and luck helped him to a
£500,000 (£3.1bn) 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.
