Life
Schapiro was born in Riga, Latvia (part of Imperial Russia at that time) into a prosperous family of Jewish traders which left at the time of the Russian Revolution when he was eight years old, and soon settled in England. He was educated at Clifton College in England and at various universities, including the Sorbonne in Paris.
After graduating, Boris joined the family horse trading and meat business. He worked there until, in his forties, he decided to retire and capitalise on his love of gambling by becoming the banker of a baccarat syndicate at Crockford's, the gaming club in London. During World War II Schapiro, who was fluent in Russian, German and French, put these linguistic skills to use in the Army Intelligence Corps.
Schapiro had an early marriage to a Russian woman. He later married a second time, to Helen, in 1970.
Read more about this topic: Boris Schapiro
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