Shakespeare was well-known in London as a playwright and actor in his lifetime. But in Stratford he might well have been known as that guy who keeps buying all the houses. By 1597, hed made enough money to buy the second-largest house in the town, and he expanded his portfolio in the early 1600s. He bought up many houses in and around the town, and rented them out for extra income. At this time, he wasnt even living in Stratford permanently, and he wasnt to move back until 1613. It seems that he simply enjoyed having a side business to make a bit of money. Its unlikely that he became obscenely rich so its slightly surprising that Shakespeare would get into the property game. But he did so to such an extent that some believe he would have been known in Stratford as a property magnate first, and a playwright second. And the kid who knocked up that nice Hathaway girl third.
