The merchant of death who became rich by alienating countries
Basil Zaharoff, born in the Ottoman Empire, was the world's most important arms dealer of his time.
With a cover of greenish tones, The headless ear It is an album of the adventures of Tintin that appeared in Catalan in 1965, thanks to the translation of the brilliant Joaquim Ventalló and under the seal of Juventud, the publishing house of Josep Zendrera Data (to whom we dedicate a profile in this series). The story takes place in the republics of Nuevo Rico and San Teodoro, two fictional Andean countries in Latin America. One of the characters featured is an enigmatic businessman named Basil Bazaroff, who may seem like a figment of Hergé's imagination, but is actually a reflection of a real-life figure: the arms dealer Basil Bazaroff, the most important businessman in the world at the time.
Of Greek family and born in the Ottoman Empire, Zaharoff spent his adolescence in Istanbul, where he worked as a tour guide. sui generis, because he dedicated himself to bringing thrill-seeking foreigners to the neighborhood where prostitution flourished. Some biographies implicate him in acts of arson, carried out with the intention of charging for putting out supposedly random fires. What is certain is that he caused more than a few headaches for his family.
It seemed that his life would be more orderly when he began working for his uncle's textile business, and even more so when he moved to London to study in 1866. But the good news didn't come true because, back in England, where he had been combining his studies with representing his uncle's business since 1870, he was denounced by the latter for defrauding him. Once over this ordeal, Zedzed—as those close to him called him—settled in Athens under a false name.
In the Greek capital, he befriended a journalist who introduced him to the arms manufacturer Thorsten Nordenfelt. Our protagonist convinced Nordenfelt to grant him the commercial representation of his company in the Balkans, which marked Zaharoff's entry into the arms world and laid the foundation for his fortune. The firm grew with the addition of new partners until 1895, when it was acquired by the British Vickers Company, a true giant of the time.
During the turn of the century, Zaharoff perfected the method that bears his name, which consists of increasing tension between two rival countries and then selling arms to both. He did this between the various Balkan territories and also between Turks and Greeks and between Russians and Japanese. Some authors also consider him the instigator of the Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay. There is no doubt that the method worked.
An accelerated love life
His love life was also hectic and tinged with betrayal. His first wife was Emily Burrows, the daughter of an English builder, but he abandoned her to marry (without a divorce, in other words, committing bigamy) a wealthy American heiress. This marriage also didn't last long, and soon afterward he met the Spanish aristocrat María del Pilar de Muguiro y Beruete, who was married to Duke Francisco María de Borbón y Borbón. They remained lovers until the Duke died in 1923, at which point they made their relationship official. He spent his final years, now a widower, in the Principality of Monaco, where he controlled the Grand Casino and the Société des Bains de Mer.
Returning to business, what exponentially increased Zedzed's fortune was the outbreak of the First World War, a conflict in which he played a significant role, both as an arms dealer—always working for Vickers—and collaborating with British intelligence services. He negotiated for Greece to join the Allies—a side he supported—while also pulling strings to force the Ottoman Empire to leave the Quadruple Alliance (an entity that brought together the German and Austro-Hungarian empires and the Kingdom of Bulgaria, in addition to the Turkish Empire).
His life was always shrouded in shadow and mystery, with many uncertainties surrounding what was real and what was fictional. He is credited with seven nationalities and nearly 300 decorations from different countries. A clear example of the enigma surrounding his life is the fate of his fortune: while experts estimated that he earned $1.2 billion during World War I alone, the truth is that his inheritance was very small. No one knows what happened to such a vast fortune, or if it ever really existed.