There, the Sun King recorded all revenues and expenditures with his own hand. This is where the little red housekeeping book comes in. Not forgetting the unsettled accounts, amounting to 9.5 million livres. The day he got arrested, the entire income of the current year was already spent, plus 26 million livres in advance of the 1662 state budget. Hardly surprising considering the fact that Fouquet had pocketed almost half of the French state revenue over the course of several years.įouquet left behind debts, heavy debts. The man who had built the castle Vaux-le-Vicomte spent the last 16 years of his life in a cell in the fortress of Pignerol. And the King decreed that his former Minister of Finance should be imprisoned for the rest of his life. Together, they covertly worked towards Fouquet’s fall.įamous d’Artagnan came in person to arrest Fouquet. He had a knack for numbers, and he had noticed that Fouquet had secretly caused a massive deficit. Nevertheless there was a second one: Colbert. Even after the death of Mazarin, Fouquet still felt safe in his office because he absolutely was sure that he was the only one who could make sense of that complicated number jumble. By that, the real state income remained a mystery, while there was no getting through the mess of local and national taxes, customs and fees anyway. He borrowed money from private investors and paid back the loans with dear interest when the taxes had been paid.
Mazarin wasn’t really interested in how Fouquet acquired that money.įouquet resorted to a popular trick. He was the protégé of Cardinal Mazarin who conducted government affairs on behalf of Louis XIV.īoth men deemed it important that there was always sufficient money available to pay the current expenses. There was the Minister of Finance, Nicolas Fouquet, for instance. The courtiers of course took advantage of that. When he came to power, he was a little boy of only four years. Louis XIV had not always been the Sun King. You will be surprised when you hear his name.
I know of a ruler who balanced his state budget by means of a housekeeping book bound in red leather. Well, keeping books of account is an effective means of preventing debts, and for this I can give you a historic example. The fact that 10 percent of all Germans are in debt may have something to do with this. Only 18 percent of German households are said to account on a cash basis. You will be surprised when you hear his name - It was Louis XIV of France, the Sun King.Īlright, I’ve just installed this new app in order to monitor my expenses. She knows of a ruler who balanced his state budget by means of a housekeeping book bound in red leather.
Keeping books of account is an effective means of preventing debts, and for this Ursula Kampmann can give you a historic example.
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