Lorenzo the Elder is remembered in business for decisions whose consequences outlived the decade that made them.
The record lists Lorenzo the Elder as Italian banker.
Lorenzo the Elder was born at Florence in 1395.
Commerce then ran on personal credit, family networks and letters that took weeks to arrive; trust was the scarcest asset.
He worked as banker and diplomat.
What a company leaves behind is usually infrastructure, habit and employment rather than a name.
Lorenzo the Elder died in 1440, aged 45. What remains is the enterprise and its consequences, which is the only durable measure of a commercial life.
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