Review of GUIDO ALFANI, As Gods Among Men. A History of the Rich in the West, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2023 & Oxford, 2024. Pp. 440. Hbk $ 35.00, £ 30.00. ISBN: 9780691215730

The idea that Guido Alfani developed in this book of Princeton University Press is great: an original history of the wealthy across the ages. The title is inspired by Nicole Oresme who, in the MiddleAges, thought that excessive accumulation would have made the rich “as gods among men” making the social unbalanced. The book represents an outstanding interplay between history of some previously poorly studied facts and history of ideas con- nected to wealth and economic theories. The text is very rich and interest- catching. It represents an excellent reading for all, keeping at the same time the rigour of scientific woks.