Basil Zaharoff

Basil Zaharoff was a Greekborn arms dealer and industrialist. One of the richest men in the world during his lifetime, Zaharoff was variously described including merchant of death and mystery man of Europe. His success was forged through his cunning, often aggressive and sharp business tactics. These included the sale of arms to opposing sides in conflicts, sometimes delivering fake or faulty machinery, and reportedly sabotaging trade demonstrations.

Basileios Zacharias was the only son and eldest of four children of a Greek merchant, born in the Turkish town of Mula. The Russiansounding surname Zaharoff was adopted by his family when they lived in Russia as exiles following the antiGreek Easter pogroms of 1821. The family returned to Ottoman Empire in the 1840s and, by 1855, had returned to Constantinople living in the Greek neighbourhood of Tatavla.

Source: Wikipedia