If a rich man was to fall down from his original class, in ancient times (court officials, aristocratic families, and squires), this could be achieved by violent means: smashing houses, looting gold, silver and jewels, killing descendants and servants. Later financial institutions like banks made bankruptcies caused by foreign violence less frequent (wars, looting). When the war comes, with a bank card, you can quickly transfer assets to another countries. But banks remain under political con...