John Law the financial genious crook, responsible for the Mississipi Scheme and the Fiat Money based on Credit

John Law (1671 - 1729), born in a scottish banking family, was an adventurer, gambler and financial genius Crook.

After the death of his rich father, he became addicted to gambling losing most of the wealth of his family and was involved in many love affairs, one of which was fatal to him as he killed an offended husband in a duel in England. Law was emprisoned but he managed to escape from England and travelled to France.

After the wars of Louis XIV in France, which ruined the country, Law proposed to Philippe d'Orléans, the regent of France, to appoint him as Controller General of Finances to create the Banque Générale Privée ("General Private Bank"), with the purpose of developing the use of paper money. Three quarters of the capital consisted of government bills and government accepted notes.

Through this bank, John Law would invest in shares of companies involved with French Colonies - like the Mississippi Company - for which he was granted trade monopoly of the West Indies and North America.

He also obtained later that the notes would be guaranteed by the king - i.e. by people tax - when the bank became the Banque Royale (Royal Bank) in 1718.

Nevertheless, John Law used Marketing Schemes to exaggerate the stock market values of the companies which exploited Louisania - in half a year shares would rose from 500 livres to 15,000 livres - and when the bubble burst, he was dismissed by Philippe II and then fled from France.

Posterity seems to have forgotten that he was mostly a gambler and a crook as some makes him the father of finance, responsible for the adoption of paper money or bills in the world today.