When a pirate grows rich enough, they make him a prince.

The line expresses a cynical view of legitimacy: wealth and power can launder criminality into respectability. “Pirate” stands for an outlaw who takes by force; “prince” for an accepted ruler. The implied mechanism is social and political hypocrisy—once someone accumulates enough resources, institutions that once condemned him may instead reward, ennoble, or ally with him. In Martin’s work this idea resonates with feudal politics and realpolitik, where titles and honor often follow power rather than virtue. More broadly, it comments on how history can reframe conquest and plunder as statecraft when the victor becomes part of the ruling order.