The Quintessential Banker

The famous French satirical writer, Voltaire, was worth $500,000 at the age of 40. But he did not earn his money from books. He made most of it by lending money to needy noblemen.

He would lend an heir to an estate a larger sum on condition that he would pay him 10% interest on the amount as long as both of them lived. The heir would be neither required nor allowed to pay off the principal; and the agreement ended only when Voltaire died.

Voltaire picked only younger men and, because of his tubercular appearance, had no difficulty in getting clients. It is said that when a prospective buyer hestitated, the satirist would cough in a way that always closed the deal.

--Edmund Fuller (ed.), "2500 Anecdotes for All Occasions"