15. The Roman Republic’s Richest Man Took Avarice to New Heights (or Depths)
Marcus Licinius Crassus (115 – 53 BC) was the Roman Republic’s richest man. As an ally of the dictator Sulla, Crassus started on the road to wealth by buying the confiscated properties of executed enemies of the state in rigged auctions, for a fraction of their value. Crassus even had the names of those whose property he coveted added to the lists of those slated for execution and confiscation of property. He continued to amass wealth and property after Sulla’s death, including a scheme involving a private firefighter company. Rome’s buildings were fire-prone, so when one broke, Crassus would rush in and offer to buy the burning property then and there at a knockdown price – a literal fire sale. Soon as an agreement was reached, Crassus’ firefighters would spring into action to control the fire and rescue the property for its new owner.
By the 70s BC, Crassus was Rome’s richest man, and he leveraged his wealth into political power by sponsoring politicians such as Julius Caesar, whose political rise he financed. Eventually, Crassus entered into a power-sharing agreement with Caesar and Pompey the Great known as “The First Triumvirate”, by which the trio divided the Roman Republic amongst themselves. However, the one thing Crassus wanted that his fellow Triumvirs had but he did not was military glory. Unlike Pompey’s and Caesar’s brilliant military records, Crassus’ only military accomplishment had been to crush Spartacus’ slave uprising, and that did not count for much in Roman eyes. As seen below, Crassus’ quest for military glory led him to an ignominious end.
