logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2025
47m 58s

How to Make Billions When the Bubble Bur...

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

The stock market was once a Wild West free-for-all. There were few rules or regulations. Investors were more or less gambling, or manipulating stocks to make a profit. This is the world Jesse Livermore came to dominate. He would often bet against the market, making money when businesses failed. 

By 1929, Livermore was rich and famous. And then the Wall Street stock bubble burst. Share prices went through the floor, fortunes disappeared, and lives were ruined. Many blamed Livermore, some even sent him death threats. But what of Livermore's fortune? Did he make the right calls during the Wall Street Crash?     

Write to us at businesshistory@pushkin.fm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Jul 8
The Factory That Was Wiped Off The Map (From Cautionary Tales)
Business History will be back on July 22nd - but here's an episode from another Pushkin Industries show we're sure you''ll enjoy, Cautionary Tales. A giant chemical plant near the small village of Flixborough, England, is busy churning out a key ingredient of nylon 6, a material ... Show More
38m 19s
Jul 1
The Nobel Winners Who Almost Crashed the Economy
John Meriwether assembled the smartest team on Wall Street. In the 1980s, he combed Harvard and MIT for geniuses to join him at Salomon Brothers and make the investment bank a fortune with arbitrage - the trick of buying an asset cheap in one place and quickly selling it for a pr ... Show More
47m 36s
Jun 24
A Store Owner You Can Trust: John Wanamaker, Returns and the Price Tag
Shopping used to be adversarial. Shoppers and store owners would bargain and haggle over prices. What one person got for $1, the next guy bought for £1.25. And there were no returns. It was unfair and stressful - and made shoppers distrustful that they were getting a good deal. J ... Show More
40m 27s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2019
Royal Treatment
Today, we meet a woman who survived a chilling ordeal, and take a look at a list of people that seems far too good to be true. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comJoin our Patreon for ad-free episodes!: https://www.patreon.com/grimandmildSee om ... Show More
9m 30s
Sep 2021
Steamy Beginnings
tail spinning
9m 55s
Mar 2021
What's For You Is For You
Are you down to chase your dreams? This week, OOD discuss manifestation, moving to LA, setbacks along the way and more. Plus, a listener writes in about a stubborn ghost.Need OOD’s advice? Send your dilemma to OODpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on social, @obamasotherdaughters on inst ... Show More
59m 5s
Nov 2021
Episode 20
On today's tapes...>> The Guest << Our storyteller attempts to help out their college friends.>> The Closet << It's hard to fall asleep in a new home. 
34m 58s
Nov 2023
True Lies
This week, the fellas are back discussing Alenka Zupančič's Problemi essay, 'Lying on the Couch'. How does the psychoanalytic framework allow us to make sense of culture and lying, what is the asymmetry of a truth and a lie, and what did we think of the new Beatles song? Mike is ... Show More
38m 42s
Jul 2023
Acting Out
Malcolm talks with Ben Naddaff-Hafrey, host of The Last Archive, about the forgotten origins of a major social science, the missing chapter in Ella Fitzgerald’s life, and what it all has to do with the prison just down the street from Malcolm’s office. Listen, and check out the b ... Show More
36m 34s
Nov 2021
Episode 21
On today's tapes...>> The Walk << While finding a new route for her daily walk our storyteller becomes a witness.>> Dark Hallway << Who doesn't like to mess with their younger sibling? 
26m 24s
Jun 2021
Episode 15
On today's tapes...>> Crematorium << Honest work doesn't always feel honest.>> Window Scratching << She was putting makeup on at her vanity set when... 
30m 20s