De Blank was promoted head of JWT’s Paris office, but he soon began to get itchy feet. When, in the mid-1960s, he was bequeathed a small legacy (said to be around £6,000) by his uncle, the Archbishop, he decamped to the roulette tables at Monte Carlo, put the lot on a single number — and won.
An unexpected legacy, worth perhaps a couple of suburban houses (my parents bought a large one for just that sum at that time) multiplied by 35 times (if I’ve got my roulette odds correct).
£6,000 would have been nice but wasn’t going to change his life. £210,000 would indeed change it.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Andrew M // Jan 5, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Anybody can start their own business; but it’s a damn sight easier when you have millions of pounds (in today’s money) backing you up.
2 bloke in france // Jan 5, 2013 at 7:46 pm
The clever part was not the visit to the casino.
It was leaving it.
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