Vasile Lupu (1595–1661) is a Moldavian Voivode (Prince) between 1634 and 1653.

Surnamed "the wolf", Vasile Lupu secures the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and manages to hold it for twenty years.

Vasile is the son of an Albanian adventurer and a Moldovian heiress.

He is a capable administrator and a brilliant financier and soon is the richest man in the Christian East.

Judiciously placed gifts keep him on good terms with the Ottoman authorities.