How to Make Money

Summary

Ancient Romans liked money. But how did they make a living and sometimes even become rich? The Roman economy was dominated by agriculture, but it was surprisingly modern in many ways: the Romans had companies with CEOs, shareholders, and detailed contracts regulated by meticulous laws; systems of banking and taxation; and a wide range of occupations, from merchant and doctor to architect and teacher. The Romans also enjoyed a relatively open society, where some could start from the bottom, work, invest, and grow rich. How to Make Money gathers a wide variety of ancient writings that show how Romans thought about, made, invested, spent, lost, and gave away money.



The Roman elite idealized farming and service to the state but treated many other occupations with suspicion or contempt, from money lending to wage labor. But whatever their attitudes, pecunia made the Roman world go round. In the Satyricon, Trimalchio brags about his wealth. Seneca accumulated a fortune—but taught that money can't buy happiness. Eumachia inherited a brick factory from her father, married well, and turned to philanthropy after she was widowed. How to Make Money also takes up some of the most troubling aspects of the Roman economy, slavery and prostitution, which the elite deemed unrespectable but often profited from.