Timothy Dexter was an illiterate having only attended school to grade two (2).
He married into money and the prestige that came with it.
The investments he made came from resentful people who only wished to see him fail. However, by a twist of fate all of the tips turned out to be very lucrative for Mr. Dexter.
The book is more deciphered then read. It has no punctuation till the last 2 pages where he placed all the punctuation marks and directed the reader to "Sprinkle them where ever you see fit"