[rebuilder]

That's interesting - I definitely have heard it taught the way Wikipedia has it. But I suppose some website here or there doesn't really count as much of a source when we're talking of events so far in the past. Maybe someone can provide a primary source or two?

[CapriciousCptl]

Hmm, I dug further. The story probably comes from Plutarch (Lives), "[Crassus] would buy houses that were afire, and houses which adjoined those that were afire, and these their owners would let go at a trifling price owing to their fear and uncertainty"[1].

Plutarch was closer to Crassus than I am so I guess I can't argue.

[1] https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/plutarch/...