It is about Jesse Livermore, who was a legend on Wall Street. Thanks to the stock market, he managed to earn millions of dollars, but he also faced great losses, leaving valuable lessons for all those interested in financial investment. His life is characterized by intensity, with ups and downs, he experienced completely extreme scenarios.
Both its successes and errors are exemplary lessons for anyone who wants to Learn to invest in the stock market. Highs, lows and risk management, analyzing their actions from another perspective, there is a lot that can be understood about this financial phenomenon.
What were the beginnings of Jesse Livermore like?
He was born July 26, 1877 in Shrewburry, Massachusetts. From a very young age, he demonstrated a great aptitude for mathematics and numbers in general. He left school at 14 to work as a Board Boy (Slater). His parents were farmers, Hiram and Ann Livermore worked hard to support the family.
It was his mother who saw in him a future different from working in the fields. Just at the age of 14 they decided to send him to work in the financial sector, leaving school. This is how he began to become a trading legend. Starting at the Paine Webber firm, his job was simply to update share prices on a blackboard so shareholders could follow the changes.
Then, began to observe the patterns of rises and falls of stockslearning the behavior of the market in a self-taught way. At the age of 15, with 5 dollars he performed his first operation. His result allowed him to triple his money. This led him to follow his intuition and continue trading.
Sometimes winning, and sometimes losing everything, his life became a financial roller coaster. In 1901 one of its first million-dollar operations occurred. He noticed the upward trend in the cotton sector and decided to invest more capital than he had been putting in previously. The move was a success, the price of cotton skyrocketed and he made a profit of $10,000.
Later, in 1906, a tragedy occurred, the San Francisco earthquake, which caused a total collapse in prices. There he saw another opportunity. Using the short selling method, he sold shares he didn’t own in the hopes of buying them when they fell further. He took a risk, but it paid off. Prices continued to decline and he made a significant profit. Approximately $250,000.
The following year he used a similar strategy. Seeing that the shares were overpriced and the correction was imminent, he shorted again and won again. This time, he won around 3 million dollars.
The crisis of ’29 and the great successes of Livermore
In 1929, the largest financial crisis of the 20th century occurred, while the majority of investors lost absolutely everything, the experienced Jesse Livermore continued to demonstrate how, with his long experience, this was another opportunity to make a fortune. Before the collapse, he saw it coming, and decided to short a bunch of stocksand Black Tuesday generated around 100 million dollars thanks to his intuition.
At that time, he was ranked as one of the richest men in the world. But just as he had the vision to win, out of nothing, more than 100 million dollars, he let himself be carried away by a life of banal luxuries that ended up putting an end to his abundance and leading him to ruin.
How Jesse Livermore lost his entire fortune
Between the purchase of luxurious properties, Rolls Royce, extra-large yachts, by 1934 he had assets of $84,000, but also debts. Those debts totaled 2.5 million dollars. That same year he was suspended from the Chicago Board of Trade. These mistakes showed how despite having the vision for trading, The financial waste ended up causing him to lose everything he had achieved.
After organizing ostentatious parties and indulging in every possible treat, no matter how extravagant, he ended up spending every penny he had earned and even taking on million-dollar debts, which complicated his life.
Its tragic end
His last days were marked by sadness and despair. He was penniless and emotionally troubled, overwhelmed and disappointed by his recent failures. In November 1940 he checked into the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York.
It was there, where On November 28, 1940 he decided to end his life. He left a note for his wife explaining his feelings and shot himself in the head, dying instantly.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
