famous investors who died broke- part 5- fini

famous investors who died broke- part 5- fini

fiction
edward w pritchard

Now that we have examined the three stages of American risk taking represented by the gambler, the stock speculator, and the entrepreneur, perhaps our pundit, mentioned at the beginning of the story will now break his silence and a make a comment on which is the most appropriate field of endeavor for Americans to enter to reinvent themselves. The word pundit is from the Hindu, there pandit, a very wise person,

The pundit might site Hindu philosophy and observe that life is lived in stages. Beginning with the student and ending with the ascetic. All our three examples, Charles Deville Wells, Jessie Livermore and William Durant seemed to lead full lives, at times blessed and maybe cursed at the end. Perhaps that is all that can be wished on someone. They lived life to the fullest took great risks and accepted their eventual fate come what may.

What should we Americans now do with our debts, legacy of the latest boom/bust cycle, that is holding us from reinventing ourselves, finding new cheese or moving on to the next stage of our lives. It's a philosophical choice with no right answer. Should we be like the musicians Vivaldi and Mozart live well and die buried in an unmarked grave. Or should we follow the middle way, like most of us do, and avoid risk, stay at a long time job, receive the pension, take the sure thing, over insure ourselves so that we have that coveted comfortable retirement.

Many Americans will be facing a personal debt crisis as we stay mired in a deflationary economy over the next few years a legacy of fifty years of inflation and expansion in the American economy. The debt from the long boom is due. America has been on interest only with mortgages and credit cards and student loans but the entire bill is due soon.

How will we approach the new normal.