Barnato traded his business to Rhodes for social-club entry
Evidence
Barnato sold his shares to Rhodes in order to be introduced to the Kimberley Club. “This is no mere money transaction,” Rhodes is reported to have told Barnato, “I propose to make a gentleman of you.” Barnato enjoyed his life as a gentleman for eight years and then committed suicide. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2346
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- CANDY: The darkly funny detail — selling a fortune to join a club, then suicide — is a memorable anecdote for the economic-history chapter.