Charles Montpelier

Charles Montpelier (1862-1955) was a French-born Lovian businessman.

Early Businesses
In 1886, Montpelier started a bakery business in Paris. By the end of the year, his business had failed and he was nearly broke. In 1887, he opened a cafe, which was fairly popular. But he gambled away most of the money and the cafe went broke in 1890. In 1893, he started a car company, and he made 6 vehicles before he went broke. Montpelier inherited his father's fortune in 1895, and he started a book publishing company. He made a lot of money from it, and started a bank in 1901. In 1903, a few customers demanded large sums of money, but the bank was unable to pay it. So a run at the bank occurred and many customers wanted their money back. Montpelier was unable to pay it all back, but he still lost a lot of money. In the 1910s, he invested heavily in German and Italian businesses, but during World War I, he lost most of the money. In 1916, he proposed to the French Army a new concept for a fast firing machine gun. He received lots of government funds to build many guns. But, Montpelier had other plans. He sold his French properties, sold his publishing company, took all the government money and escaped to Lovia.

Business in Lovia
In Lovia, Montpelier began a mechanics shop, but it went broke in 1918. In 1919, he founded Brandy Montpelier and began to make the liquor. It was quite successful, and he earned lots of money.

Later Life
Montpelier was actively involved in his brandy company until the late 1920s. He retired comfortably to his estate in Clymene.