Why are business people usually baddies when they appear in fiction? The latest is John Veals, a greedy London hedge fund manager. He gleefully wrecks the British financial system in A Week In December, a novel by Sebastian Faulks. All he needs to complete his villainy are moustachios to twirl. Veals and his cronies make such remarks as “shorting [shares] takes rugby-sized balls”. Real hedgies surely never say that. They must have some sense of irony.

Veals joins an extensive rogues’ gallery of business bad hats. A ranking of the wealthiest fictional characters, compiled by Forbes, lists a few. There is multimillionaire Scrooge McDuck, whose characterisation as a miserly waterfowl in a top hat does not bespeak respect for real wealth creators. There is energy boss C. Montgomery Burns, whose one-liners include “what good is money if you can’t inspire terror in your fellow man?” And there is Jabba the Hutt, a giant libidinous slug who, in truth, bears more resemblance to some politicians than any businessman.