Voltaire

The world might never have heard of Voltaire (1694-1778) as a writer if he hadn't been a math whiz.

François-Marie Arouet who wrote under the pseudonym Voltaire and even adopted it for every day use, was a French poet, prose writer, historian, satirist and philosopher.

Taking advantage of a government miscalculation in issuing a national lottery (the prize was much greater than the collective cost of the tickets), he formed a syndicate and bought up every ticket. His share made him independently wealthy and gave him time to write.

His success was assured by the Paris censors, who always banned his books and closed his plays.