Sir Peter Warren

A Hornblower type, Peter Warren was born into a naval family in 1703. At the age of twelve, he joined the navy, and at eighteen passed the all-important lieutenant's exam. Through the 1720s and 1730s, he rose to command various naval ships in America and the West Indies. In 1744, he commanded a small squadron, which captured twenty valuable prizes, including one with cargo of £250,000. The squadron later moved to attack the French fort of Louisbourg, and the fort and a harbour full of ships fell to Warren in June 1745.

Canny Warren kept the French flag flying and as the port was a port of call for French ships returning from the West Indies, many came into the harbour to be captured by Warren's ships without a fight. He captured prizes with cargoes worth over £940,000 using these tactics. The lion's share of the prize money naturally went to Warren as senior officer. He was promoted to rear admiral after these successes and later retired to London to enjoy his spoils as an MP.

Warren was regarded as one of the richest commoners in the country, worth £500,000 when he died in 1752 of 'inflammatory fever'. This represented around 0.4% of the then £125m net national income. An equivalent figure today would be £4.4bn.