How Shakespeare Did Money

About his prosecution, Ms Archer told the BBC: “It’s one of the things that we’ve forgotten about Shakespeare.

“As well as writing for people who were experiencing hunger, he was exploiting that need himself.

“He was using his role as a playwright and the public playhouses, gathering coin, in order to take advantage of the market when it’s at its most profitable, and selling food at inflated prices to secure the long-term future for his family.”

Over the course of 15 years, William Shakespeare bought and hoarded grain, malt, and barley so he could resell it at inflated prices to his neighbors, which researchers say he did to ensure that his family would not go hungry. [via]

Previously: Karl Marx


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