Arthur Laffer: How a Napkin Sketch Altered Global Tax Policy Forever
In December 1974, at the Two Continents restaurant inside the Washington Hotel, a young University of Chicago economist…
Hetty Green: The Complex Reality of “The Witch of Wall Street”
Henrietta “Hetty” Howland Robinson Green (1834–1916) was an American financier who amassed an estimated $100 million to $200…
Charles Ponzi: The Charismatic Immigrant Behind History’s Most Famous Fraud
In 1903, a 21-year-old Italian immigrant named Carlo “Charles” Ponzi stepped off the S.S. Vancouver onto the docks…
John Bogle: The Consumer Advocate Who Democratized Wall Street
John Clifton “Jack” Bogle (1929–2019) was an American investor, author, and founder of The Vanguard Group. Recognized as…
Jim Simons: The Mathematician Who Cracked Wall Street
James Harris Simons (1938–2024) was an American mathematician, cryptanalyst, and hedge fund manager who fundamentally transformed modern finance.…
Benjamin Graham: The Intellectual Roots of the Man Who Invented Value Investing
Before Benjamin Graham published his seminal work in the 1930s, investing in the stock market was widely regarded…
Jesse Livermore: The Tragic Life of Wall Street’s Greatest Short Seller
In the autumn of 1929, as panicked crowds gathered outside the New York Stock Exchange to watch fortunes…
Muriel Siebert: The “First Woman of Wall Street” Who Fought for a Seat on the New York Stock Exchange
In 1954, Muriel “Mickie” Siebert arrived in New York City with a used car, a few hundred dollars,…
Nassim Nicholas Taleb: How a Lebanese Option Trader Built a Philosophy Around “Black Swan” Events
long before he became one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals, Nassim Nicholas Taleb spent two decades…
Hyman Minsky: The Ignored Economist Whose Theories Predicted the 2008 Financial Collapse
For decades, mainstream mainstream economics treated Hyman Minsky as a radical outsider. While the prevailing consensus insisted that…