How to Build (and Destroy) a Dynasty
Lessons from the making of the Medici…
IMPORTANT: If you’re a regular reader, scroll down to the end of this email for an important update about our June publication schedule.
Things are a bit different this month — plus we’ve got one last opportunity for you to join us in Rome!
How do you build a dynasty? It’s a question that’s being asked now more than ever.
As the postwar attitude of “I’m not leaving wealth to my kids” comes under increasing criticism, new thinkers are rising up to provide resources that encourage the healthy retention and stewardship of wealth across generations. For why should you gain wealth if not to pass it down to your children? Indeed, why build anything at all if it’s not meant to last?
But while many are asking the question of how to build a dynasty, few are asking how to destroy one — despite the fact that the latter is arguably a more important question.
For while generating wealth is difficult, squandering it is easy. Thus the aspiring noble must be ever on-guard against tendencies which actively undermine, if not outright destroy, his ambitions to create and pass down generational wealth.
When we look back on history, we see that the rise and fall of the Medici family is one of the most spectacular examples of both how to build and how to destroy a dynasty. The family’s story starts with the founding of the Medici bank in 1397, sees them rise to power and become Grand Dukes of Tuscany, and then gradually decline and go out with a whimper in 1743 as the last member of the family dies childless.
But in the 346 years between those two dates, the Medici did the extraordinary — they survived multiple exiles and Hollywood-worthy murder plots; supported artists such as Brunelleschi, Donatello, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Galileo; and produced no less than four popes and two French queens.
Core to the Medici’s success was their ability to pass down a strong family culture, and their later failure to do so became the reason for their downfall. For anyone interested in building their own dynasty, therefore, the Medici are a great family to turn to in order to learn from their successes and failures alike.
Where to Start with the Medici?
In lieu of my standard Tuesday article, today I want to share with you a brief list of resources to help you explore the incredible story of this world-famous (yet simultaneously little-known) family — the most iconic in Renaissance Italy.
I’ve recently been invited on multiple podcasts to discuss what you can learn from the Medici. Here are links to those appearances, and a brief description of what we cover in each one:
1) The Medici Family: Principles for Familial Thriving Over Centuries
Last week I was invited on The Old World with Will Tanner for a conversation about the rise and eventual fall of the Medici.
This podcast episode is a great place to start if you want to better understand the aspects of family culture that the Medici prized and passed down over generations. Will also inquired as to specific reasons for the Medici’s downfall, which allowed for a great discussion on the struggles of both achieving and maintaining elite status.
2) Inheritance, Power, Culture: Lessons in Nepotism & Patronage from Europe's Most Powerful Banking Family
invited me on his Becoming Noble podcast to discuss how the Medici won the trust of Europe’s most powerful men and navigated the tensions between faith, art, and power to become the ‘Godfathers of the Renaissance’.This episode is ideal if you’re interested in the interplay between beauty and power that so characterized both the Medici family and broader Renaissance Italy.
3) Cosimo de’ Medici: Life Lessons from the Godfather of the Renaissance
This one is special because it’s a conversation between me and
(co-author of INVICTUS) from nearly a year ago, long before we knew we’d eventually start this publication.If you want to learn about the early years of the Medici (in particular their exile from Florence in 1433 and their cunning return to power a year later) this is a great episode to listen to.
This conversation was originally recorded as a Space on X and is available for replay here.
Important June Update
Our publication schedule in June is going to look a bit different than usual as we are hosting not one, but two summer retreats in Italy.
Our normal INVICTUS schedule includes a free article on Tuesday, and members-only articles on Thursday and Saturday. With that in mind, here are the changes you can expect for this month:
-Week of June 2nd: Normal publication schedule
-Week of June 9th: No Tuesday article (Evan leading Bergamo retreat)
-Week of June 16th: No Saturday article (James in Italy for retreat)
-Week of June 23rd: No articles (Evan and James leading INVICTUS retreat in Rome!)
Additionally, we will be taking a break from our Thursday live streams on X for the duration of this month.
Last Chance to Join Us in Rome!
We’ve just had a spot become available for our INVICTUS retreat to Rome, so if you still want to explore the Eternal City with us, now is your chance.
Click here to learn more about the retreat and reply to this email if you’d like to join us.
That’s all for now. Thanks as always for reading, and we’ll chat again soon.
Ad finem fidelis,
Evan