David Ricardo had a varied upbringing. He was born in 1772 and was the third of 17 children. His parents were very successful and his father was a wealthy merchant banker. They lived at first in the Netherlands and then moved to London. David himself had little formal education obviously not a modern role model and went to work for his father at the age of 14. However, when, at the age of 21, he married a Quaker against his parents wishes he was disinherited and so set up on his own as a stockbroker. He was phenomenally successful at this and was able to retire at 42 and concentrate on his writings and politics. Whether there are any morals to be drawn from this tale, we leave you to decide

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