High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Basil Zaharoff,GCB, GBE (October 6, 1849 – November 27, 1936), born Zacharias Basileios Zacharoff, was an arms dealer and financier. Although he often lied about his origins, he formally became a French citizen in 1908, and worked for the Vickers munitions firm from 1897 to 1927.