Richard, Earl of Cornwall

Richard, Earl of Cornwall was the second son of King John (r. 1199-1216) and the younger brother of Henry III (r. 1216-1272). Although he was born rich he made himself even richer to the extent that he was able to buy himself the Crown of Germany.

Between 1227 and 1238 Richard frequently opposed his brother, King Henry III by joining the barons in several crises but never proceeding to rebellion and always making Henry pay heavily for reconciliation. He also made three very successful marriages, each with great dowries. His first married in March 1231 to Isabel Marshal, the wealthy widow of the Earl of Gloucester. His second marriage was in November 1243 to Sanchia of Provence, the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. His third and final marriage was with Beatrice of Falkenburg. On their wedding day, 16 June 1269, Beatrice was 15 years old while Richard was 60 years old.

Richard’s wealth also came from Cornwall’s lucrative tin mines and, from 1247, from re-minting of the coinage, from which he made £20,000. His wealth was so immense that he was able to buy the Crown of Germany by buying the votes of three of the electors for £28,000. However, his title never held much significance.

At the time of his death Richard was said to be worth £50,000, about 1.35% of net national income at the time, what would make him worth about £14.3 billion in 2010.