The famous French satirical writer, Voltaire, was worth $500,000 at the age of 40. But he did not earn his money from books.
Voltaire acquired most of his wealth by lending money to needy noblemen. He would lend an heir to an estate a large sum on condition that he would pay him annually 10 percent interest on the amount as long as both of them lived. The heir would be neither required nor allowed to pay off the principal, and the agreement ended only when Voltaire died. Voltaire picked only younger men and, because of his tubercular appearance, had no difficulty in getting clients. It is said that when a prospective buyer hesitated, Voltaire would cough in a way that always closed the deal.*
著名法國諷刺作家伏爾泰四十歲時，財產已有五十萬元，但可不是憑著作賺來。
伏爾泰賺錢的主要辦法，是借錢與貧困的貴冑。他會向貴族之財產繼承人借出大筆金錢，條件是雙方有生之年，對方須每年付他百分之十的利息，但不必也不得償還本金，而這協議將於伏爾泰去世之後終止。伏爾泰專挑貴冑之年輕者借錢，由於他一副癆病樣子，找顧客毫不困難。據說，假如所覓顧客猶豫不決，伏爾泰會猛烈咳嗽，一定得償所願。*
*伏爾泰一六九四年出生，一七七八年去世，享年八十有四。