Long before the Medici family were Popes, Princes and Dukes, they were wealthy bankers. Through their Medici Bank, founded by Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici, they became the premier banking house in Europe in the Middle Ages, long before the Rothschilds showed up…
Indeed, it was Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici who laid the foundations for the bank that would one day be used by the Church, most major European noble and royal families and most of Italy’s merchant class!
Michael Schmitz is the deputy editor of Finance Friday. Before that, he served as a real estate agent, selling luxury homes, he now has a portfolio of homes worth $12 million!
Before the Medici family rose to power in the early 15th century, the Peruzzi family was one of Florence’s two premier banking families (alongside the Bardi) that helped pioneer the modern world of banking! Alongside Read more…
Although the Medici are today recognized as the most important banking dynasty to come out of Medieval Florence, before them the Bardi family were the most important bankers in Florence. Ruined by an unsecured loan Read more…
Most famous for their ownership of the Guinness Brewery, which they subsequently sold off, the Guinness family have become arguably one of the most powerful Anglo-Irish families in history, owing to their involvement in numerous Read more…