50 Wallenstein
of wrongdoing, carefully noting that the exchequer had in fact suffered
no loss thereby, so that he commended Wallenstein for his gesture and
exempted him from any possible future claims over these matters.^24
People of the time will not have been aware of even the outline of
Wallenstein’s financial strategy in the way it is set out above. Instead they
will have seen a relatively unknown newcomer quickly become both
politically important as second only to Liechtenstein in the control of
Bohemia, and also fantastically rich through the purchase of unheard-of
amounts of land. They will not have known the extent of his indebted-
ness and will probably have believed him to be wealthier than he actu-
ally was, particularly in the earlier years, while few are likely to have
understood the mechanisms whereby he was able to buy so much so
rapidly. Hence they assumed the answers to lie in underhand financial
dealing and the use of improper influence. Envy and the resentment
always present when a new man breaks into the upper levels of the
establishment found expression in so many malicious rumours and
complaints that after a time they acquired the status of ‘well-known
facts’, to a degree which subsequent historians have often found dif-
ficult to resolve.
Doubtless Wallenstein did make use of any influence he had and took
advantage of whatever opportunities presented themselves. In this he
was far from alone, as there were many other purchasers of confiscated
properties, but he was vastly more successful. Among those who were
much more influential and initially much richer, it is reported that
Liechtenstein bought ten estates and that Eggenberg bought eight.
Martinitz and Slavata, the victims of the defenestration, as well as sev-
eral senior army officers, were also among the purchasers, a number of
whom, unlike Wallenstein, also received additional properties or rebates
on their purchase prices as rewards for their services.^25 However in
contrast to the piecemeal approach of these other purchasers the basis
of Wallenstein’s rise into the ranks of the super-rich was what in the
modern world would be termed a comprehensive and well-thought-out
business plan. His key talent was his ability to think on a bigger scale
than others. Hence he recognised the unique opportunity created by
the confiscation and sale of so much land, in response to which he
devised a strategy of buying as much as possible, not at random but in
such a way as to create an integral block which could be managed as a
territory rather than just a cluster of estates. His boldness was that he
committed his resources completely to it, using them not just to fund
a few purchases but to create a multiplier effect through very large
borrowings. His skill was that he was able to carry through such a large