Masters in Business At The Money: How Greed Became a Virtue
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Sep 24, 2025 
Join Paul Vigna, a Wall Street Journal reporter and author of "The Almightier," as he explores how greed transformed from a societal vice into a celebrated virtue. Delve into the historical roots of this shift, tracing back to 15th-century Florence and the Medici family's 'beneficial greed.' Vigna discusses Protestantism's embrace of wealth as divine favor, capitalism's rise fueled by self-interest, and the implications of money as a new societal faith. The conversation also touches on the ethical stakes of debt and capitalism's dual nature of fostering abundance while exacerbating inequality.
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Greed's Intellectual Roots Are Medieval
- The idea that greed can be beneficial traces back centuries earlier than the 1980s, to 1420s Florence.
- Poggio Bracchiolini explicitly wrote that "avarice sometimes is beneficial," prefiguring modern praise of self-interest.
Medici Wealth Fueled Renaissance Public Works
- Cosimo de' Medici used his banking wealth to sponsor art, architecture and public works that boosted Florence's culture.
- His example showed how personal enrichment could translate into civic influence and cultural investment.
Reformation Reframed Wealth As Approval
- Protestant thinkers like John Calvin reframed wealth as a sign of divine favor and legitimated diligent wealth creation.
- This moral shift normalized pursuing profit as compatible with religious virtue and social good.
