Churchill received a military education. When he was in the army he found out that his pay was not enough to maintain himself and his horses. He was extremely well connected but not rich.
He had been working on a book, and his connections allowed him to be attached to the British military as a war correspondent. He was caught and interned, and suddenly he became famous because he escaped from prison and rode to safety by boarding a cargo train and hiding under the potato bags.

A reward of £ 25,- was offered for whoever captured him dead or alive. That fame, he thought, might allow him to get into politics. He ran for office and won. But at the time MPs were not salaried, and Churchill did not have the capital needed.

The sale of his book The River War and two books of war correspondence plus ten months' salary from the Morning Post amounted to £ 4,000,- on his savings account. Churchill decided to go on a lecture tour to make about about £ 100,- a night. For five months he toured all of England and many cities in the United States and Canada to tell the story of his escape.

When he had about £ 10 000,- set aside, he was able to take up his seat as a member of the British Parliament.

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(with data from Churchill's My Early Life)

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