The Crash of 1929
By 1929, Charles Mitchell, president of National City Bank (later to become Citibank), had popularized the idea of selling stocks and high-yield bonds directly to small investors. Mitchell and a small group of bankers, brokers, and speculators rigged the stock market, got rich, and helped create that fabulous decade of economic prosperity.
Their accomplishments made them the folk heroes of their time. The crash of 1929 records the fateful year through the words and experiences of the descendants of these financial titans.
In 1929, when the market seemed to grow infinitely, there were few critics. Based on eight years of sustained prosperity, the president and economists confidently predicted that America would soon enter an era of no poverty, no depression—a “new era” in which everyone could get rich.
Instead, the rich get richer. Wall Street insider Jesse Livermore drives around town in one of six yellow Rolls-Royces. His daughter-in-law described his two yachts, his personal railroad car and five houses, including a Fifth Avenue apartment he bought for the theater.
