Chapter Two: Lesson 2
Whenever I hear one of these questions, I’m reminded of the
following story:The Richest Businessmen
In 1923 a group of our greatest leaders and richest businessmen
held a meeting at the Edgewater Beach hotel in Chicago. Among
them were Charles Schwab, head of the largest independent steel
company; Samuel Insull, president of the world’s largest utility;
Howard Hopson, head of the largest gas company; Ivar Kreuger,
president of International Match Co., one of the world’s largest
companies at that time; Leon Frazier, president of the Bank of
International Settlements; Richard Whitney, president of the
New York Stock Exchange; Arthur Cotton and Jesse Livermore,
two of the biggest stock speculators; and Albert Fall, a member of
President Harding’s cabinet. Twenty-five years later, nine of these
titans ended their lives as follows: Schwab died penniless after
living for five years on borrowed money. Insull died broke in a
foreign land, and Kreuger and Cotton also died broke. Hopson
went insane. Whitney and Albert Fall were released from prison,
and Fraser and Livermore committed suicide.I doubt if anyone can say what really happened to these men.
If you look at the date, 1923, it was just before the 1929 market crash
and the Great Depression, which I suspect had a great impact on
these men and their lives. The point is this: Today we live in times of
greater and faster change than these men did. I suspect there will be
many booms and busts in the coming years that will parallel the ups
and downs these men faced. I am concerned that too many people
are too focused on money and not on their greatest wealth, their
education. If people are prepared to be flexible, keep an open mind
and learn, they will grow richer and richer despite tough changes.
If they think money will solve problems, they will have a rough ride.
Intelligence solves problems and produces money. Money without
financial intelligence is money soon gone.