Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.

In the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Patrick Miller.

Samuel Zimuri is probably a name you've never heard before.

But between 1920 and 1950, he was one of the most powerful, wealthy, and important men in

America. By the time of his death, he'd single-handedly assassinated a governor,

overthrown a foreign government, and installed his own puppet president. He'd used his influence

to cause NATO to vote in favor of making Israel a recognized state.

He convinced the U.S. government to take action against Guatemala by falsely claiming that they were a Soviet satellite.

And he did a lot more besides that.

So who was he?

And how did he get to be so wealthy and powerful?

Bananas.

The term banana republic was not invented by the clothing brand no it was coined in the

early 1900s to describe the actions of men like samuel zimurray who went into central american

countries bought up large swaths of land and then rung tax concessions out of the local politicians

by bribing them. If they refused,

then Sam the Banana Man would send his own paramilitary force of mercenaries and his own PR men to

stir up revolution, and then, after they did the revolution, force out the current leadership

and install someone much more pliable to his banana interests. But it's important to note that Samuel

Zemurie didn't start on top. He was born in Russia to Jewish parents who fled to the American

South to avoid persecution. His dad actually died in Russia, and this left Samuel as the sole

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