Croesus the Banker

Croesus was the world's first large-scale banker. This was around 550 BC.

He had the first government-issued coin, with government-guaranteed metal content. Only these coins were acceptable as payment for taxes. The only way to get the coins was via a loan from the government, or when the government spent money.

Croesus had a monopoly on issuing money. He used that monopoly to build up incredible wealth. The Compound Interest Paradox made Croesus incredibly wealthy.

The people learned about the evil power of banking. That's why there's a prohibition on banking in the basic principles of Christianity and Islam. However, the actual reason for forbidding banking, the Compound Interest Paradox, was not directly mentioned. Thus, it was possible to keep people ignorant about how banking is used to hurt them.