Charlie Chaplin beat Wall Street in 1929
In Charlie Chaplin's autobiography I found a tramp-turned investor who refused to follow the Wall Street herd into a financial slaughterhouse---the stock market of 1929.
No wonder the legendary comedian had the last laugh. After all, he knew how to make his audience burst out laughing when the climax demanded a happy ending.
Back to reality, however, investors just began crying over the historic market crash. Chaplin was a rare exception. He kept his fortune. Actually his fortune was rising.
A self-made man, Chaplin was committed to a lifelong journey of acquiring investment knowledge and wisdom.
What had impressed Chaplin most was the book "Social Credit" (1924) by Major C.H. Douglas whose thesis was that boom or bust depended on the unemployment rates. How so? Well, in the final analysis, capital came out of wages. In other words, more capital would be gained when more wages were earned, and more capital would be depleted when more wages were lost.
To be employed or not to be employed, that's the question.
In 1928 there were 14 million Americans out of work despite an abundant supply of good news from Wall Street. Promptly Chaplin sold all his stocks and bonds for cash and fluid capital. Those who laughed at him ended up in tears or worse on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929.
Author: renqiulan
