When Calouste Gulbenkian died in 1955 at the age of 86, he was the richest man in the world, known as 'Mr Five Per Cent' for his personal share of Middle East oil. The son of a wealthy Armenian merchant in Istanbul, for half a century he brokered top-level oil deals, concealing his mysterious...

Parents and childhood -- Dunfermline and America -- Pittsburg and work -- The telegraph office -- Railroad service -- Superintendent of the Pennsylvania -- Civil war period -- Bridge-building -- The iron works -- New York as headquarters -- Business negotiations -- The age of steel -- Partners,...