User talk:SPQRfan

I am an amateur historian, and a huge fan of Wiki's rich historical trove. Reading about Marcus Licinius Crassus; I wonder if his name was shortened over time to be used as the derogatory term "Crass" in common usage. He is widely known as the richest man in history due to his estimated $1.179 trillion United States fortune (31 US Dollars/1 Roman Sesterce in 1828). Crassus started life wealthy through inheritance, but his accumulation of unimaginable wealth was through unscrupulous means. Ancient Rome in 53 BC was ruled by the ruthless, it was the age of Julius Caesar and Crassus was a contemporary. When a fire broke out in the city of Rome, estates were left to burn to the ground to contain the blaze. Crassus would buy the imperiled estates as they burned way below market value and utilize his 500 man fire fighting brigade to contain the blaze. The re-sale of the real estate provided for such lavish wealth that at one time he was worth as much as Rome's treasury. Crassus also had the nasty habit of getting people killed for their fortune by getting them convicted of crimes requiring the death penalty, and claiming the estates after their death. The term "Crass" as it fits someone rich and unscrupulous in attaining their wealth seams to fit this historical figure appropriately. Comments welcome