The invention of the joint stock company in the seventeenth century was seminal event whose importance has often been understated. It made possible the collection of the savings of a large pool of individual savers and the channelization of these savings into vehicles for productive purposes. It thus made it possible for the fruits of the industrial revolution to be made available to industrial ventures and financed research and development and thus gave to society many of the benefits which we today take for granted but which have immeasurable improved the quality of our lives.