John Holles, 1st Earl of Clare

John Holles inherited his wealth from his grandfather in 1591. The origins of family’s wealth dates back to John’s great-grandfather, of Warwickshire origin, who made his fortune as a London Mercer, and bought Haughton in northern Nottinghamshire in 1537.

John Holles further increased his wealth in 1591 when he married Anne Stanhope, an heiress with more land in Nottinghamshire. During the reign of Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603), he fought against the Armada, in Ireland and against the Ottomans in Hungary. He became Baron Holles of Houghton for a payment of £10,000 in 1616 and the Earl of Clare in 1624, for a further fee of £5,000.

At the time of his death, Holles was worth £150,000, about 0.46% of net national income of £32m at the time. In 2010 that would be worth £5.1 bn.