The Remarkable Story of Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski, the infamous poet and novelist, died with a net worth of $4 million.

Surprising, considering that the deadbeat poet spent nearly every dollar he had on cigarettes, alcohol, and hookers.

But the story of Charles Bukowski doesn’t start there. Rather, it starts with a man by the name of John Martin.

The Man Behind the Legend

John Martin was a wealthy entrepreneur. Even more so, he was a voracious reader.

Over the years, Martin managed to accumulate a vast library of books, including a rare collection of D.H. Lawrence first editions worth a small fortune.

One day, while flipping through an indie magazine, Martin landed on a column that caught his attention. He sat up in his chair, scouring the column word by word, reading it again, then a third time. He was captivated by the wildly vivid and prescriptive, yet direct and unpretentious nature of the piece.