John Richards was an inspiration.

He started out life as a servant, but as the years would show, he was born to climb the

social ladder.

He had a knack for relationships, it seems.

Over the course of his life, he made powerful friends.

He in his time as a servant, he overheard enough conversations about the inner workings

of power that he got a feel for the ebb and flow of it all.

He gained the approval of his superiors and the respect of his peers.

Whatever the case, John was making a move that few men dared.

He was climbing.

It didn't hurt that he married into the Winthrop clan, whose esteemable name carried the

legacy of a Puritan leader who had founded it all.

But John was no slouch.

He swiftly picked up the skills of the favorite game of the Boston Elite, land speculation.

He saved up his money and then began to purchase property, the first being Aerosick Island

off the southern coast of Maine.

By the age of 48, he had one of the largest property holdings of anyone in Massachusetts.

For all of that, it's safe to say that few individuals in the Boston establishment

were as inspiring as John Richards.

But it went beyond wealth.

Or maybe that hard-earned fortune unlocked new opportunities.

Money, after all, pairs very nicely with power.

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