Sir Charles Abney

Raised in the East Midlands, Charles Abney was the youngest son of a local knight. He went to London presumably seeking his fortune and married in 1668. His wife produced seven children of whom six died in infancy or early youth. She died in 1698, by which time Abney was heavily involved in finance, as one of the promoters of the Bank of England in 1694, and later as a founding director. His services here resulted in a knighthood conferred on him by William III.

Abney re-married in 1700. His second wife was co-heir to considerable London property, and with the death of her brother three months after her marriage to Abney, she inherited the entire estate.

Abney lived on until the then ripe old age of 83. His family fortune would have been worth around £250,000 we estimate, or about £3.3bn in today's terms.