Lorenzo de Tonti

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Lorenzo de Tonti (* around 1602; * probably 1684 ) was a Neapolitan banker . He is considered to be the inventor of the tontine , a kind of pension insurance with gambling-like elements.

Live and act

Little is known about the life of Lorenzo de Tonti. He was born around 1602 (according to other sources, however, around 1620). Tonti was the governor of Gaeta . He was a respected Neapolitan banker and was married to Isabelle di Lietto.

Probably in Gaeta 1649 or 1650 son Henri de Tonti (1649-1704) was born, who later went to North America and in 1686 made a decisive contribution to the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi Valley. Shortly before or shortly after the birth of their son Henri, the family left their homeland to avoid persecution due to their involvement in an unsuccessful uprising against the Spanish occupation in Naples. The family moved to Paris . Another son, Alphonse de Tonti (* around 1659, † 1727), who contributed to the first European settlement in Detroit, was born in Paris around 1659 .

Tonti gained a politically influential position at the courts of Paris. He was promoted by Cardinal Mazarin , successor to Cardinal Richelieu. Mazarin was responsible for the French finances, which was a matter of concern at the time. An inefficient tax system and high military spending were to blame. As attempts to raise taxes resulted in rebellions in the late 1640s, Mazarin sought other ways to clean up the finances.

Tonti provided Mazarin with the following idea: citizens should be invited by the state to contribute money to a joint fund, from which they in turn receive regular pension payments for life. If individual claimants die, the remaining claimants receive higher payments. If all claimants have died, all of the remaining capital reverts to the French state. Tonti is considered to be the inventor of the tontine , an early form of pension insurance with gambling-like elements. The year 1653 is given as the date of invention. However, his invention was not entirely new, as a similar system called montes pietatis (a kind of dowry insurance) had already existed in Italy.

Tonti was able to win the "Sun King" Louis XIV for his new idea, but not the French parliament. On the one hand, the resemblance to a game of chance met with reservations, on the other hand, the obvious concerns arose immediately that the citizens participating in the insurance could kill each other, as this would allow them to increase their own pension claims.

Tonti was thrown into the Bastille in 1668 under unexplained circumstances , from where he was released seven years later, but robbed of his influential position. He probably died in 1684.

So it happened that Tonti did not see it again when the first tontine was launched in France in 1689, long after it was introduced in the Netherlands in 1670.

With this tontine France collected funds for the Palatine War of Succession against Britain, the Netherlands and Habsburg Austria. However, much less money was raised than planned. The war lasted nine years and resulted in heavy losses for France as well.

Trivia

A hedge fund , the Lorenzo Tonti hedge fund from Axis Capital Management , has been named after Tonti.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ got01.dial.pipex.com ( Memento of the original from August 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.got01.dial.pipex.com
  2. ↑ See entry in the Encyclopedia of Arkansas
  3. ↑ Alphonse de Tonti in the English language Wikipedia
  4. ↑ History of annuities . ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Totalreturnannuities.com @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.totalreturnannuities.com
  5. ↑ Rebecca Knight: Article. In: Financial Times , March 4, 2005.
personal data
SURNAME Tonti, Lorenzo de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Neapolitan banker
DATE OF BIRTH around 1602
DATE OF DEATH around 1684