Why did Voltaire get rich?
Did you know, that the French educator Voltaire lived comfortably and was able to fully devote himself to creativity and philosophical reasoning thanks to winning the lottery? Yes, Yes, victories – famous pen pal Catherine the Great won more than once. And this was no coincidence. The sly man negotiated with astronomer Charles Marie de la Condamine to create a winning system with careful calculation of various possible combinations. The case of the duet of enterprising gentlemen was put on a grand scale: attracted donations from many people – so if you play, so big. As a result, this fraternity earned a lot of money every month.. When the organizers of the lotteries found out about the intrigues of Voltaire and his accomplices, it was decided to stop the draws immediately. But by that time Voltaire had already managed to put together a hefty fortune..
What do we have? Lotteries in Tsarist Russia
The first lottery draws were held in Russia during the reign of Emperor Peter I. This is understandable. The basis of the reforms of the enlightened king was the adopted traditions of European origin, and lotteries were no exception in this series. By the organizer “Russian fun” became a Russified German named Jacob Gassenus – watchmaker from Moscow. Hassenus was drawn as follows: who wants to pay money, two kids took out lottery tickets from a drawer, while Yakov unwrapped the pieces of paper and read, what was written in them. If there was a prize, then he was immediately handed to the lucky one. It's fair to say, that the first lotteries in Russia were unprofitable, and therefore did not receive distribution. Also, after a while they were completely banned, and attempts to carry them out were prosecuted. For the first time, the state lottery took place under Catherine II, when the empress was convinced, that holding lotteries, with the proper approach to them, can be a very profitable enterprise. In addition, a smart woman decided to monopolize this kind of public entertainment with the intention of replenishing the treasury.. Only the aura of the great ruler did not in any way affect the profitability of the enterprise., the treasury was not replenished, as a result of which it was decided to abandon the plan. Almost until the last century, lotteries in Russia were in disgrace, although the people were eager to participate in them ...
Casanova: lover of women and passion
Giacomo Casanov's love was legendary, safely survived to this day, but few know about his crazy passion for the lottery. When the schemer was forced to emigrate from Italy, then he decided to settle in France. However, upon arrival in Paris, Casanova was told, that the favor of the French authorities for such an ambiguous person will be guaranteed only if, if he can find funds to replenish the impoverished royal treasury. Casanova agreed after, how he managed to agree with King Louis XV about the organization of the lottery. The king liked the idea. After the actions taken, money flowed into the treasury like a river, and the kingdom paid off a huge part of the government debt. Casanova himself did not yawn either and became rich in the blink of an eye. All nothing, if not for women ... Without adultery, the most famous womanizer in history could not live a day, which was the reason for his flight from Paris. Surprisingly, but Casanova's attempts to arrange lotteries in England and Russia for some reason suffered a fiasco. Apparently, in France people are more reckless ...
