Hugh Audley

Hugh Audley, also known as The Great Audley, came from a family of London mercers, and made a name and wealth for himself as a lawyer and moneylender. Eventually he became a leading 17th century English moneylender.

In 1603 Audley was admitted to the Inner Temple and had became a clerk of the Court of Wards and Liveries, a position for which he allegedly paid £3000 and held it until it was abolished in 1660. Audley exploited his position for personal gain, and was rich enough to afford the loss of more than
£100,000, which he is said to have suffered by the suppression of the court in 1646.

Audley was involved in large scale moneylending, and in the time of his death he was owed around £30,000. Profits earned from his moneylending activities, Audely invested in land, often taking advantage of the financial distress of its owners. Known as a tough moneylender, his business methods were described in a book called “The Way to be Rich, According to the Practice of the Great Audley” (1662).

He died in 1662 in London. At his death Audley's wealth was around £400,000 or over £11.6bn in 2010's money.