author
Jacques Necker
1732–1804
A Swiss-born banker who became Louis XVI’s most famous finance minister, he stood at the center of France’s financial crisis on the eve of the Revolution. His rise, dismissal, and recall made him one of the most talked-about public figures of his age.
1 Audiobook
Of the importance of religious opinions
by Jacques Necker
About the author
Born in Geneva in 1732, Jacques Necker built his fortune in banking before moving into French public life. He became director-general of finances under Louis XVI and was widely known for trying to steady a monarchy burdened by debt, especially after France’s costly involvement in the American War of Independence.
Necker was unusual for his time because he cultivated public opinion as well as court politics. His published account of royal finances brought him enormous fame, and his dismissal in July 1789 helped inflame the already tense mood in Paris just before the fall of the Bastille.
Although celebrated by many contemporaries as a reformer, he could not resolve the monarchy’s deep financial and political troubles. He left office during the early Revolution and spent his later years at Coppet, where he died in 1804. He is also remembered as the father of Germaine de Staël, one of the most influential writers and thinkers of her generation.