Thales of Miletus

lived 585 BCE

When Thales of Miletus lived, there was a proverb to the effect that the poor philosophize because they're poor and have no recourse to feel better. Thales, a philosopher, took a bet that he could get rich quick. He hired all the olive presses in the city, then, when harvest time came around and people needed to press their olives, Thales could charge large sums for hiring out the presses he had hired. He got rich and told his peers, he still doesn't care about money as he has more important things to do, such as philosophy.

What links here

• Timeline of people born
• Empedocles (490–430 BCE)
• Heraclitus (535–475 BCE)
• Anaximander