Charlie Chaplin beat Wall Street in 1929

r
renqiulan
楼主 (文学峸)

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

 

 

 

 

盈盈一笑间
Charlie Chaplin was a successful investor in 花儿街!
盈盈一笑间
It's a bit of a surprise to know it for the first time
盈盈一笑间
Thanks for sharing 秋兰。 good night.
r
renqiulan
Hi, 盈盈! I like 花儿街. Thank you and goodnight!
C
CBA7
Charlie Chaplin, a tramp-turned investor, a self-made man,
C
CBA7
the legendary comedian had the last laugh. Very impressive!
C
CBA7
I believer our【Poem Reading Tuesday】will never be
C
CBA7
【Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929】, Hahaha!
r
renqiulan
Hi, 小西!Thank you for chiming in!
C
CBA7
秋兰好文,谢谢分享!See you Tuesday :)
r
renqiulan
Tuesdays are blessed, thanks to you.
C
CBA7
Hi, 秋兰,thank you for sharing!
C
CBA7
Thank you for the blessings!
C
CBA7
So, the good news from Wall Street in 1928 seemed to be
r
renqiulan
Poetry is now everyone's date because of you.
C
CBA7
fake news?
r
renqiulan
False hope, I would say.
C
CBA7
秋兰过奖了,it's due to everyone's love for poetry :)
r
renqiulan
小西, you're running a dating platform for poetry.
C
CBA7
Yeah, that's the right word for it. Thanks.
C
CBA7
Hahaha, I'm employed by poetry?! My pleasure :)
C
CBA7
Like other MYSJ friends, I love your book reviews on Sundays
C
CBA7
谢谢秋兰,晚安!
r
renqiulan
Muses have you as their matchmaker. I'm proud of you!
r
renqiulan
太感谢小西了,晚安!
C
CBA7
Thank you for your kind words and encouragement.
r
renqiulan
谢谢!
r
renqiulan
It was a mirage, after all.
r
renqiulan
Your contribution made a difference.
r
renqiulan
These Sunday posts just carry my thoughts as a reader.
蓝灵
Indeed he was.
蓝灵
Me too.
蓝灵
It's very nice of renqiulan.
蓝灵
花儿街, 华尔街,哈哈哈!
蓝灵
+100
蓝灵
Pretty cool.
蓝灵
He was a very brainy comedian.
蓝灵
Yes, let's have "an interflow of ideas."
蓝灵
Don't worry about it, 小西。
蓝灵
Poetry Day.
蓝灵
Nicely put.
蓝灵
It makes sense to me.
蓝灵
Poetry is a magnet to us.
蓝灵
+100
蓝灵
May your wish come true.
蓝灵
In this case, no news was good news.
蓝灵
Right.
蓝灵
So we're reading your mind.
蓝灵
Probably a facade.
r
renqiulan
Chaplin was not blind to the writing on the wall.
r
renqiulan
He was under the radar when it came to his investment.
r
renqiulan
You are welcome, 盈盈 !
r
renqiulan
Yes, it's a rags-to-riches story.
r
renqiulan
He had been a real-life tramp.
r
renqiulan
Yes, he was.
r
renqiulan
Good Tuesdays.
r
renqiulan
You have earned it.
r
renqiulan
Poetry is like a flower that needs pollinators.
r
renqiulan
No doubt.
r
renqiulan
Please feel free to do so.
r
renqiulan
Yes.
r
renqiulan
It depends.
蓝灵
I wonder what's the secret of Chaplin's success as a tramp

in his movies.

r
renqiulan
He was streetwise enough.
蓝灵
How did he charm his audience?
r
renqiulan
He knew how to make his audience burst out laughing when the

climax demanded a happy ending. 

 

蓝灵
But people were in tough times.
r
renqiulan
Charlie let them project their pains and hopes on him.
蓝灵
A good laugh is not a bad idea, I guess.
r
renqiulan
I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, 蓝灵!
蓝灵
Haha! You're too humble to let praise go to your head.
r
renqiulan
It's a delight to imagine I'm eating humble pie.
蓝灵
Your humility is beyond cure. Good night, renqiulan!
r
renqiulan
I like your brutal honesty. Goodnight, 蓝灵!
r
renqiulan
Poetry Day will go on, come what may.
C
CBA7
I was just kidding :)
盈盈一笑间
:))
盈盈一笑间
也简称花街,或者墙街。LOL
暖冬cool夏
Chaplin must he a very wise man to make the right decision!
暖冬cool夏
Thanks for sharing!
r
renqiulan
Thank you, 暖冬!Yes, in all fairness, Chaplin was a
r
renqiulan
well-read investor with well-thought-out plans.
r
renqiulan
You're welcome!