John Law: the gambler who broke France

Those who would meddle with a nation's money supply to ward off default would do well to heed a warning from history. Seán Keyes looks at the troubled life of economist John Law.

In 1720, John Law was lucky to escape Paris with his life. His investment scheme had made him one of the richest men in France. But it collapsed and when it did, it ruined the entire nation. With a mob behind him baying for blood, he stole away to Brussels with one exquisite diamond - the last remnant of his enormous fortune.

It wasn't the first time that Law had been forced to run for his life. In 1697, aged 26, he had fled London. At the gaming tables of society London, he had flirted with the future Countess of Orkney. Her husband challenged him to a duel. Law won, killing the husband, but earning himself a death sentence. He sprung jail and stole off to the continent. There, his attention was drawn to mathematics, banking and gambling.

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Sean Keys graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with a BA in economics and political science and, in 2009, from University College Dublin with an MA in economics. His MA thesis was on the likely effects of deficient eurozone governance structures.