Basil Zaharoff: The Original Merchant of Death
Basil Zaharoff is one of the most enigmatic and influential arms dealers of early 20th-century history, and particularly World War I. Intrigue, manipulation, and weapon sales marked his career, earning him the moniker “The Merchant of Death.” He appears in my historical novel, Roseleigh, as well. This article delves into Zaharoff’s background, his rise, and his legacy.
Early Life and Background
Zaharoff, born Basileios Zacharias, came from a Greek family in the Ottoman Empire. Reports vary as to whether they lived in the west coast town of Muğla or in Constantinople. Anti-Greek pogroms forced the family to move to Odessa, where they Russified their name. A few decades later, his family relocated to a rough neighborhood in the Ottoman capital.
As with many aspects of Zaharoff’s life, there are several versions of the facts of his early career. This gained him another nickname, “mystery man of Europe”. After some more-or-less unsavory jobs, and possible embezzlement, he moved to London in the early 1870s, and then to Athens in 1873. In 1883, in Galway, Ireland, he was a “Count,” luring young girls into emigrating to Massachusetts for factory employment.
Facing death if he didn’t vacate the country in 24 hours, Zaharoff fled to the United States himself. There he built a prosperous career selling sleeping cars. Here he gave himself yet another promotion to “Prince Zacharias Basileus Zacharoff”, also becoming known to his friends as Zedzed. When he married New York heiress Jeannie Billings in 1885, someone who knew him from England exposed him as a bigamist, and he went on the run from the law yet again.
By this point, Zaharoff was expert at using letters appearing to be from prominent individuals in society to advance his own social standing. He asserted connections to royalty and had a library of correspondence purported to have come from European dignitaries.
Zaharoff’s Rise to Prominence in Armaments
Although Zaharoff had been employed by arm manufacturer Thorsten Nordenfelt since 1877, it was simply one of his several jobs and schemes. But following the Billings scandal, he returned to his home region. There, turmoil in the Balkan states, Turkey, and Russia in the late 1880s opened a new market for Nordenfelt arms. Zaharoff was in a perfect position to get it done with his knowledge of the languages (he was said to speak 10) and politics of the region.
After Zaharoff repeatedly sabotaged Hiram Maxim’s attempts to sell his machine gun — despite its superiority to Nordenfelt’s — Maxim instead merged with Nordenfelt. Zaharoff continued as their main salesman, with a large commission. He used his wealth to buy up shares in the new company until he was an equal partner with Maxim.
The next hotspot Zaharoff targeted was Spain. The main reason was Spanish inventor Isaac Peral’s submarine — again a far superior product to what Nordenfelt was offering. Between 1886 and 1890, Zaharoff visited the country multiple times with three goals in mind: sabotaging Peral’s submarine, selling arms to the Spanish Army, and buying a munitions factory. He sold Maxim weapons as well as useless ones from his own company, Placencia de Armas Co. Ltd, during the Spanish–American War (April 21–December 10, 1898).
By 1897, the Maxim company had become significant enough that armament giant Vickers bought them out. Maxim and Zaharoff received significant cash and shares from the deal. He was just 48 years of age. Just as with the Maxim organization, Zaharoff began buying up shares, and when Maxim retired, Zaharoff became a member of Vickers’ board of directors.
World War I and the runup to it were a boon for Vickers and Zaharoff. Demand for weapons skyrocketed, and his influence reached new heights. The company’s output included 4 ships of the line, 3 cruisers, 53 submarines, 62 light ships, 2,400 cannons, 5,500 planes, 100,000 mines and over 120,000 machine guns.
All these sales of new armaments act as an opportunity for Ashcroft Stevens in my historical novel Roseleigh. He discusses a meeting with Zaharoff with his financial administrator, Ennis Dean:
“He agreed there’s a huge market for the small arms European armies are disposing of as they modernize. At one time, black market weapons went through Muscat, Djibouti, and then Marseille. But now, the US is open for that sort of business too. He gave me letters of introduction, especially for refurbishing specialists.”
Notable Deals and Tactics
Système Zaharoff refers to Zaharoff’s shrewd tactic of selling arms to multiple opposing sides in a conflict, ensuring continuous demand and fostering prolonged warfare. For instance, working for Nordenfelt, Zaharoff sold a submarine to Greece. Then he turned around and sold two to the Ottomans, telling them the Greek submarine was a threat to them. Next, he convinced Russia the Turks would have control of the Black Sea if they didn’t counter with their own submarines. This approach made him both fabulously wealthy and infamous.
Stevens and Dean discuss these deals in Roseleigh, my work of historical fiction:
“I […] admire his shrewdness. His submarine deal with the Greeks, Turks, and Russians was masterful.”
In addition to Système Zaharoff, his ability to manipulate political figures and influence military procurement decisions was unparalleled. Zaharoff cultivated relationships with key figures in governments and militaries across Europe, using bribery, blackmail, and his vast network of contacts to secure lucrative contracts. He also planted false information and used espionage to destabilize competitors, ensuring his dominance in the global arms market during WWI.
Zaharoff and Women
Yet another way Zaharoff secured lucrative deals was through women. “Women are the best allies. They can make a man do what you yourself alone can never convince him is the right policy,” he declared. He knew that to establish relationships at the highest level of the political-military apparatus, he needed to flatter the wives and mistresses of officials.
His first marriage at 23 was to Emily Burrows, daughter of a Bristol, UK builder. In the near term, he used her money to set up shop in Cyprus just as the Suez Canal was reinvigorating British interest in the island. Some say she later became Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s mistress, opening doors for Zaharoff.
During his sojourn in the USA, Zaharoff charmed Italian Adelina Patti, the greatest operatic soprano of her day, into endorsing his sleeping cars during her visits to St. Louis in the 1880s. His association with the infamous madam Pearl Clifford scandalized Missouri, but it was likely another source of influence for his business dealings. He undertook his bigamous marriage to Jeannie Billings to gain access to her $150,000 inheritance and future expectations.
Much of Zaharoff’s success in Spain can be put down to his amorous relationship and marriage — once her husband died — to María del Pilar Antonia Angela Patrocinio Fermina Simona de Muguiro y Beruete, 1st Duchess de Villafranca de los Caballeros. Daughter of a prominent banker and previously married to a cousin of the King of Spain Alfonso XII, the future Lady Zaharoff was one of the richest women in Spain. Her high social standing granted Zaharoff access to Spain’s elite circles, enabling much of his success in the region.
In the historical fiction of Roseleigh, Ashcroft and Dean also refer to Zaharoff’s affair with the Duchess:
“Did he tell you stories about his sexual appetites? He credits his business success to his prowess in bed.” Dean tittered and Ashcroft suppressed a sneer.
He nodded. “The man has quite the ego. He was in the right place at the right time — that Bourbon Duchess opened a lot of doors for him. Being the head of sales for Vickers hasn’t hurt either.”
His relationship with the Russian prima ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska extended his reach into Czarist high society, allowing him to influence key WWI decisionmakers… with substantial bribes.
Amassment and Loss of Wealth
It’s difficult to calculate what kind of riches Zaharoff had as he routinely exaggerated them. According to him, he owned “four black diamonds that played a celebrated part in the Turko-Russian War.” He would also introduce himself saying “I am Sir Basil Zaharoff: I have sixteen millions!”
Zaharoff’s business ventures went far beyond armaments into banks, oil, and media. In 1920, he became involved in the Anglo-Persion Oil Company, which eventually became BP. With the purchase of L’Union Parisienne des Banques, a bank historically connected to heavy industry, he was able to exert more control over his financial arrangements. He also purchased two French newspapers, Excelsior, and L’Echo de Paris, which allowed him to manipulate the media. He even was part owner of the Monte Carlo Casino. Some estimate his gains from WWI alone at $1.2 billion.
He also became a philanthropist, though it must be said, often to burnish his image. In order to ensure France would have the best possible representation at the 1916 Olympics in Berlin, Zaharoff donated £20,000. Although the war caused the games to be canceled, the teams had the funds distributed to them. His assistance to the Allies is estimated to have amounted to £50 million. According to reports, Zaharoff left an envelope containing a million francs for war widows on French Prime Minister Aristide Briand’s desk. He also personally funded Greece’s futile war with Turkey.
After Zaharoff’s death, his wealth appeared to have melted away. The value of his will was only £193,103, significantly lower than $1 million. Even his significant charitable efforts don’t explain it, and he had all his papers and diaries burned. Did he hide it or spend it? Or was the rumor of his billion-dollar fortune another myth Zaharoff himself perpetuated?
Zaharoff’s Legacy and Impact
Today Zaharoff’s legacy is mainly as a man who employed unscrupulous means to perpetuate conflicts and profit from human suffering. The media portray him as an arch-villain, with characters such as Basil Bazaroff in Hergé’s Tintin and the Broken Ear and Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series being influenced by him.
History paints a less black-and-white picture. In the years 1916–17, he was actively engaged in covert negotiations to persuade Greece to join the Allies in the war effort. With Lloyd George’s authorization, he also negotiated with the Ottoman Empire to defect from the Germans, including offering £10 million in gold as an inducement. Several nations honored Zaharoff for his contributions during the war. French President Raymond Poincaré signed a decree appointing Zaharoff a Commander of the Legion of Honor and King George V invested him with the Grand Cross of the most Honorable Order of the Bath.
Still, many arms dealers have adopted Zaharoff’s tactics of manipulating political landscapes, using bribery and corruption, and playing multiple sides. Zaharoff’s moniker “Merchant of Death” has come into general use to describe arms dealers who profit from war.
What do you find most intriguing about Basil Zaharoff? I look forward to hearing from you in the comments.
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Notes & References
Greg Beyer, “Basil Zaharoff: How to Play Both Sides, Sell Weapons and Get Rich,” The Collector, October 24, 2023.
Cecil Bloom, “A Conspiracy of Silence? Lloyd George and Basil Zaharoff,” (PDF) Journal of Liberal History, Spring 2015.
Mike Dash, “The mysterious Mr. Zedzed, the wickedest man in the world,” A Blast from the Past, February 16, 2012.
Tristan Gaston-Breton, “Basil Zaharoff,” Les Echos, July 29, 2009.
