The chapter “the Wizard of Finance” centers on the life of Mr. Tomlinson and his family. Mr. Tomlinson who used to be a regular farmer suddenly becomes very wealthy. The central idea of the story is the man who simply does not know what to do with all the money at his disposal. People’s attitude to money never changed over time, it is now as it was centuries ago – people want to gain and have as much of it as possible and believe that wealth is the ultimate key to their happiness. However odd it might seem, for Mr. Tomlinson money is nothing but a burden, he is not used to it and he feels that all the wealth is only making him unhappy.
He feels like a fish out of water, the fancy hotel where he rents a suite for thousand dollars a night, expensive clothes, restaurant meals are only making it worse. Furthermore, the money changes Mr. Tomlinson perception of the world when he now wants to buy only the ‘best’ books for his mother which are more expensive that those she used to read. He starts putting price on objects which are invaluable such as art.
He is not the only one who feels out of place, his mother and his wife are also experiencing all the ‘hardships’ of being rich. Mr. Tomlinson’s son, once a hardworking farm boy, slowly becomes engrossed into laid-back and lazy way of life which saddens his father. As it has always been and as it is now, people with wealth are always popular with everyone and Mr. Tomlinson enjoys false friendship of various businessmen, politicians, teachers, and even priests who are all after the money he possesses. They flatter and praise him, and turn his ignorance into creativity and ingenuity. In fact, friendship for them is just a façade behind which they hide their true intentions which are to get as much money from him as possible.
Mr. Tomlinson’s nickname, the Wizard of Finance that was given to him by the people of Plutoria suggests that he is an expert in financial issues, in reality, the reverse is true. Mr. Tomlinson is a man who had spent his entire life working on a farm has absolutely no idea how to handle and manage the finances. However, the people of Plutoria are absurdly convincing him that his knowledge and shrewdness has made him who he is now.
The reader may only guess how Mr. Tomlinson came in possession of the great fortune. The same is true about the people around Mr. Tomlinson. They spread numerous rumors and discuss possible ways that made Mr. Tomlinson a rich man. The press plays a significant role in the story of Mr. Tomlinson as it spreads all sorts of stories relating to his fortune. The publications in the press contradict each other and it is impossible to trace the origin of all the wealth. It is worth noting that the ways in which the press worked back in 1914 and now haven’t changed a bit. Rich and famous are always the center of attention for newspapers and illustrated magazines and Mr. Tomlinson is a perfect example of media attitude to the rich. It is worth noting that the stories of Mr. Tomlinson circulating in the press are absurd and ridiculous.
The author puts forward an idea that oftentimes the press is not to be trusted and we need to understand that each publication will present different versions of one and the same story. The author makes a comparison of Mr. Tomlinson’s fortune to Aladdin’s palace, this metaphor illustrates the magic regarding how Mr. Tomlinson acquired his wealth Aladdin was also a poor man who knew little what to do with his money.
The events depicted in the story may be closely linked to present days. When Mr. Tomlinson makes up his mind to lose his money he engages in all sorts of dangerous financial schemes, he buys stocks and bonds knowing little to nothing about the stock market. The only thing he knows is that the stocks may go up or down and that seems enough for him to make an investment decision. It should be noted that stock purchase deals are popular even 100 years from the time the book was written. If one was given to read the lines from the book where Mr. Tomlinson discusses purchasing company shares with his mother, they may be easily associated with present days as little has changed since that time. The easiest way for a person to lose his money is to pursue the dreams of getting rich fast through stock market deals.
The main idea behind Mr. Tomlinson’s stories centers on money and people’s attitude to it. The chapter shows that often people’s values are false and insincere and most of them care mostly about what you have and not who you are. The author touches upon pressing social and economic issues of that time. Although written a century ago, most of the problems and issues raised in the book are of great relevance in present days.
The chapter ‘safe as houses’ in the book “The Ascent of Money” focuses primarily on the property as the fundamental asset. The author chooses to speak mainly of the US and Great Britain and uses these countries to illustrate numerous examples relating to the property market and its development stages. Property has always been a highly valued asset and an indicator of wealth and well-being, the author traces various attitudes to property ownership from the late 18th century to present days.
The author mentions various people living in different times who have made fortunes selling and buying property starting from the second Duke of Buckingham and to present-day tycoons.
The author elucidates on the financial schemes which merged property market with bonds, stocks, and securities issued as collaterals. The chapter mentions a major mortgage crisis in 2007 when people lost billions of dollars and hundreds of companies vanished from the property market.
The chapter presents the views and ideas of prominent economists such as Hernando De Soto, who is valued by many of the world leaders and criticized by others. His ideas to turn property ownership into a global democracy are rather contradictory and deserve analysis.
The author concludes that stereotypes relating to property ownership are flawed and says that the property itself does not give you security, real security stems from a steady income. History examples with Duke of Buckingham who owned acres of land and ended up living in poverty or Detroit homeowners who had to leave their houses due to lack of income illustrate that property ownership is not necessarily the key to wealth generation.