In 1683, 12-year-old John Law inherited an estate from his father, an Edinburgh goldsmith. Within a few years, the young Law was enjoying London's highlife and paying the price, with his legacy quickly running low. His solution? Learn how to gamble scientifically. This he did with startling thoroughness, visiting Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Venice, Genoa; learning their economic systems and en route gaining a reputation as a state-of-the-art Enlightenment cad--liaisons, duelling, haute couture and, of course, the cards. His success in bluffing and bargaining at the card table put another idea in his head: why should banks issue paper money, to combat the endemic, persistent need for gold and silver? After persuading Louis XV, Law introduced this system to a private bank in France; his success grew with the first multinational trading company, the Mississippi. But, of course, with every boom there's a crash , and Law's had been the mother of all booms.