The concepts, in the real world.
Theory is easy to nod along to and hard to apply.
These cases highlight the moments the market tested it for real: the booms, the busts, the frauds, and the famous trades, each one taken apart with primary sources and a clear view of what happened and why it mattered.
Every study shows the IWP Concepts at work and links to every idea it touches, so you watch the same principles you are learning play out with real money on the line.
The 2008 Oil Price Spike
2008 oil spike: how crude rocketed to a record $147.27 a barrel in July 2008, then crashed below $40 by December. See what drove…
The 2013 Bitcoin Bubble
2013 Bitcoin bubble explained: two booms took BTC from about $13 to a spike near $266, then above $1,100, before a long crash…
The 2017 Crypto and ICO Bubble
2017 crypto bubble explained: Bitcoin ran from near $1,000 to $19,783, ICOs raised billions, then prices collapsed about 80% into…
The 3D-Printing Stock Bubble (2012-2015)
3D printing stock bubble explained: how 3D Systems, Stratasys, ExOne and Voxeljet soared on additive-manufacturing hype, then…
The AI Stock Boom (2023-2024)
AI stock boom explained: how ChatGPT, Nvidia's data-center surge, and Magnificent Seven concentration reshaped the S&P 500, and…
The Baltic Dry Shipping Bubble (2007-2009)
Baltic Dry Index bubble: how dry-bulk freight soared to a record 11,793 in May 2008, then crashed about 94% to 663 by December.…
The Beanie Babies Bubble (1995-1999)
Beanie Babies bubble explained: how Ty Inc engineered scarcity, why early eBay flippers paid hundreds for a $5 plush, and how the…
The British Bicycle Mania (1895-1898)
Bicycle mania swept 1890s Britain as cycle shares trebled then fell 73 percent. Learn how Dunlop, promoter Ernest Terah Hooley,…
The BRIC and Emerging-Markets Mania (2007)
BRIC mania saw money flood emerging-market funds from 2003 to 2007 on the BRIC story, then the 2008 crash sank the MSCI EM index…
The British Canal Mania (1790-1797)
Canal Mania gripped 1790s Britain as canal shares soared then crashed when war and a credit crunch hit in 1793. Learn how…
The Cannabis Stock Bubble (2017-2019)
Cannabis stock bubble explained: how Canada's 2018 legalization drove Tilray to a $300 intraday spike, sparked a $4B…
The 2007 Chinese Stock Bubble
China stock bubble 2007: how the Shanghai Composite surged past 6,124, PetroChina topped $1 trillion, and the index then crashed…
The Chinese Garlic Bubble (2009-2011)
Chinese garlic bubble explained: how stimulus liquidity, a supply cut, and a swine-flu rumor sent prices up tens of times in a…
The 1990s Comic-Book Speculation Bubble (1990-1996)
Comic book bubble of the 1990s: how variant covers, polybags and #1 gimmicks turned X-Men #1 and the Death of Superman into hype,…
The 1960s Conglomerate Boom (1965-1969)
Conglomerate boom of the 1960s let ITT, LTV and Litton inflate earnings per share by buying low-P/E firms with stock. Learn the…
The 2021 Crypto and NFT Bubble (2020-2022)
Crypto bubble 2021 explained: Bitcoin near $69,000, a $3 trillion market cap, the Beeple NFT and Bored Ape mania, then the 2022…
The Dot-Com Bubble (1995-2000)
Dot-com bubble explained: how the Nasdaq rose 570%, peaked at 5,048 in March 2000, then crashed 78% by 2002 as firms like…
The Lithium and EV Stock Bubble (2020-2023)
EV stock bubble explained: how near-zero rates, climate optimism, and SPACs lifted Tesla, EV startups, and lithium prices, then…
The Everything Bubble (2020-2022)
Everything bubble explained: how near-zero rates, QE and stimulus lifted stocks, housing, bonds and crypto together in 2021, then…
The Florida Land Boom (1920-1926)
Florida land boom of the 1920s: how Miami lots flipped on paper binders, peaked in 1925, then collapsed under a rail embargo, a…
The Go-Go Mutual-Fund Mania (1966-1969)
Go-Go years saw star managers like Gerald Tsai chase performance in glamour stocks, then funds lost up to 90% in the 1969-1970…
The 1980 Gold Bubble
Gold bubble 1980 explained: how gold spiked to a record $850 fix on Jan 21, 1980, why Volcker's rate hikes broke it, and why the…
The Hong Kong Property Bubble (1995-2003)
Hong Kong property bubble explained: how a dollar-pegged credit boom peaked in 1997, then fell nearly 70% by 2003 and buried…
The Irish Property Bubble (1997-2008)
Irish property bubble explained: how Celtic Tiger credit quadrupled house prices, then crashed 54 percent, sank the banks, and…
Japan's Asset Price Bubble (1986-1991)
Japanese asset bubble explained: how the Nikkei hit 38,915 in 1989 and land prices quadrupled, then both collapsed into Japan's…
The Japanese Art and Trophy-Asset Bubble (1987-1990)
Japanese art bubble explained: how bubble-era money bought record Van Goghs and Rockefeller Center, then collapsed as Japan's…
Meme-Stock Mania (2021)
Meme stock mania in 2021 sent AMC, BlackBerry and others soaring as Reddit traders, free apps and stimulus cash collided with…
The Mississippi Bubble (1719-1720)
Mississippi Bubble explained: how John Law's 1719 paper-money scheme drove Compagnie des Indes shares from 500 to about 10,000…
The Nifty Fifty Bubble (1969-1973)
Nifty Fifty stocks like Polaroid and Avon hit 50-90x earnings, then crashed 60-90% in 1973-1974. Learn what the one-decision…
The Poseidon Nickel Bubble (1969-1970)
Poseidon bubble explained: how a 1969 nickel find sent an Australian share from roughly 80 cents to about $280, then collapsed…
The British Railway Mania (1844-1847)
Railway Mania swept 1840s Britain as railway shares soared then crashed about 66%. Learn how partly-paid shares, calls, and…
The Rare-Earth Metals Bubble (2010-2012)
The rare earth bubble of 2010-2012 saw prices spike on China supply fears, sent Molycorp from a $14 IPO to $79, then collapsed.…
The Roaring Twenties Bull Market (1921-1929)
Roaring Twenties stock market boom: how the Dow rose six-fold from about 63 in 1921 to 381 in 1929 on margin debt, investment…
The Shanghai Rubber Bubble (1909-1910)
Rubber stock bubble 1910 explained: how soaring rubber prices and margin loans inflated Shanghai shares, then a mid-1910 crash…
The Saudi Tadawul Crash (2005-2006)
Saudi stock crash 2006: how the Tadawul TASI peaked near 20,635 in February then fell about 65 percent, wiping out millions of…
The Solar (PV) Stock Bubble (2007-2012)
Solar stock bubble of 2007-2008 explained: how oil, subsidies and a silicon crunch sent panel makers soaring, then a Chinese glut…
The Souk al-Manakh Crash (1982)
Souk al-Manakh was Kuwait's unregulated stock market that crashed in 1982 when postdated checks worth about $94 billion bounced…
The South Sea Bubble (1720)
South Sea Bubble explained: how a 1720 debt-for-shares scheme drove the stock from about £128 to £1,000, then crashed, ruining…
The SPAC Boom (2020-2021)
SPAC boom explained: 248 blank-check IPOs in 2020 and a record 613 in 2021 raised over $240 billion, then de-SPAC busts at Nikola…
Sports-Card Speculation Bubbles (1988-2022)
Sports card bubble history: how the junk wax era buried millions in worthless cardboard, then the 2020-2021 boom set seven-figure…
The 1970s Stamp Investment Mania (1975-1981)
Stamp investment bubble explained: how 1970s inflation pushed money into rare stamps, prices rose roughly eight-fold by 1980,…
The Taiwan Stock Bubble (1986-1990)
Taiwan stock bubble: how the TAIEX rose twelvefold to 12,495 by February 1990, fueled by trapped savings and retail mania, then…
The Telecom and Fiber-Optic Bubble (1998-2002)
Telecom bubble explained: how 1996 deregulation drove a fiber-optic glut, why most cable sat dark, and how the 2000-2002 bust…
Tulip Mania (1636-1637)
Tulip mania peaked in winter 1636 and broke in February 1637. See the sourced timeline, the Alkmaar bulb prices, and why…
The Unicorn Startup Bubble (2020-2022)
Unicorn bubble explained: cheap money and crossover funds minted record startups above $1B in 2021, then 2022 rate hikes forced…
The 2007 Uranium Price Bubble
Uranium bubble 2007 explained: how the U3O8 spot price rocketed near $136 a pound in June 2007 on a supply shock and fund…
The 1950s Uranium Mining Bubble
Uranium bubble explained: how 1950s AEC bonuses, Charlie Steen's Mi Vida strike, and worthless penny stocks fueled a Salt Lake…
The US Housing Bubble (2002-2007)
US housing bubble explained: how cheap credit, subprime lending, and securitization pushed home prices to a 2006 peak before a 27…
The Vietnam Stock Bubble (2006-2008)
Vietnam stock bubble: how the VN-Index rocketed past 1,170 in 2007 on WTO euphoria and foreign capital, then crashed about 80% to…
The WeWork Valuation Collapse (2019)
The WeWork collapse saw a $47B startup pull its 2019 IPO in weeks after its S-1 exposed huge losses and self-dealing. See the…
The Wall Street Crash of 1929
1929 stock market crash explained: how the Dow lost 25% in four October days, then fell 89% by 1932, triggering the bank and…
The 1967 Sterling Devaluation
1967 sterling devaluation: how Britain cut the pound from $2.80 to $2.40 on 18 November 1967, why the fixed peg broke, and the…
The 1973-74 Oil Shock and Bear Market
1973 oil crisis: the OAPEC embargo quadrupled oil prices, sparked stagflation, and drove a 48% S&P 500 bear market. Learn what…
The 1976 UK Sterling Crisis and IMF Bailout
1976 IMF crisis: how a falling pound forced Britain to borrow a record $3.9 billion from the IMF, and why the gloomy Treasury…
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis
2008 financial crisis explained: how subprime mortgages, hidden leverage, and a funding freeze sank Lehman, forced an $85B AIG…
The 2010 Flash Crash
2010 Flash Crash explained: how a $4.1B algo sale sent the Dow down nearly 1,000 points in minutes, why HFT liquidity vanished,…
The September 2019 Repo Market Spike
2019 repo spike explained: overnight rates jumped from about 2% to roughly 10% on Sept 17, why bank reserves ran short, and how…
The Argentine Default of 2001
Argentine default 2001 explained: how a 1-to-1 dollar peg, a four-year recession, and the corralito bank freeze caused the era's…
The Asian Financial Crisis (1997-1998)
Asian financial crisis explained: how a 1997 Thai baht float spread to Indonesia, South Korea, and beyond, forcing over $117…
Black Monday 1987
Black Monday 1987 erased 22.6% from the Dow in a single session. See how portfolio insurance, program trading, and thin liquidity…
The Brazilian Real Crisis (1998-1999)
Brazil real crisis 1999 explained: how the Real Plan peg broke after Asian and Russian contagion, a $41.5B IMF rescue, and a…
The Brexit Market Shock (2016)
Brexit market shock of 2016: how the leave vote sank the pound to a multi-decade low, wiped roughly $2 trillion off global…
The 2015 Chinese Stock Market Crash
China stock market crash 2015 explained: how a margin-fueled bull peaked near 5,166, lost over 40%, sparked a global Black…
The Continental Illinois Bailout (1984)
Continental Illinois was the 1984 bank rescue that coined too big to fail. Learn how an energy-lending bank ran out of funding…
The COVID-19 Market Crash (2020)
COVID-19 crash explained: how the S&P 500 fell about 34% in just 33 days, triggered four circuit breakers, and rebounded to…
The Credit-Anstalt Collapse (1931)
Credit-Anstalt collapse explained: Austria's largest bank revealed losses that wiped out its capital in May 1931 and set off a…
The Cyprus Bail-in (2013)
Cyprus bail-in of 2013 explained: how an oversized banking sector collapsed, why uninsured depositors took a 47.5% haircut, and…
The Dubai World Debt Standstill (2009)
Dubai debt crisis 2009 explained: how Dubai World sought a standstill on $26B of debt, jolting global markets until a $10B Abu…
The End of Bretton Woods (1971-1973)
End of Bretton Woods: Nixon closed the gold window in 1971, ending dollar-gold convertibility at $35 and breaking the fixed-rate…
The China Evergrande Property Crisis (2021-2024)
Evergrande crisis explained: how China's most indebted developer ran up $300 billion in liabilities, defaulted in 2021, and was…
The Banking Panics of the Great Depression
Great Depression bank runs explained: three waves of panics from 1930 to 1933 shut roughly 9,000 banks, shrank the money supply…
The Greek Debt Crisis (2010-2018)
Greek debt crisis explained: how a 2009 deficit revision triggered three bailouts, the largest sovereign debt restructuring ever,…
The Herstatt Bank Failure (1974)
The Herstatt Bank failure of 1974 created the concept of FX settlement risk and led to the Basel Committee. Learn how one…
The Iceland Banking Collapse (2008)
Iceland banking collapse explained: how Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing grew to roughly 10x GDP, failed in a week, and…
The Indian Balance-of-Payments Crisis (1991)
India 1991 crisis explained: how reserves fell to weeks of imports, why the RBI airlifted gold to London, and how default risk…
The Japan Banking Crisis (1997-1998)
Japan banking crisis 1997 explained: how Sanyo, Hokkaido Takushoku, and Yamaichi failed in November, sparking a credit crunch and…
The Latin American Debt Crisis (1982-1989)
Latin American debt crisis explained: how petrodollar loans, Volcker's rate shock, and Mexico's 1982 default triggered a lost…
The Lebanese Financial Collapse (2019-2023)
Lebanon financial collapse explained: how a dollar peg, Ponzi-like bank deposits, a 2020 default, and a 98% currency crash wiped…
The Mexican Peso Crisis (1994-1995)
Mexican peso crisis explained: how the 1994 devaluation, dollar-indexed tesobonos, and capital flight forced a near-$50 billion…
The Nordic Banking Crisis (1991-1993)
Nordic banking crisis explained: how late-1980s deregulation fueled a credit and property boom that broke major banks in Sweden,…
The Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837 explained: after Jackson killed the national bank, a land and cotton boom collapsed, banks suspended specie, and a…
The Panic of 1857
Panic of 1857 explained: the Ohio Life failure, the SS Central America gold loss, and the telegraph that spread a national bank…
The Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873 explained: Jay Cooke and Company collapsed on unsold railroad bonds, the NYSE shut for ten days, and a brutal…
The Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893 explained: over-leveraged railroads collapsed, roughly 575 banks failed, and a gold-reserve crisis drove the worst…
The Panic of 1907
Panic of 1907 explained: a failed copper corner sparked runs on New York trust companies, J.P. Morgan led a private rescue, and…
The Penn Central Collapse (1970)
Penn Central bankruptcy in 1970 was the largest in US history and froze the commercial paper market. Learn how a rail failure…
The Russian Financial Crisis (1998)
Russian financial crisis 1998 explained: the August 17 ruble devaluation, GKO default, and 90-day debt moratorium that sank…
The Savings and Loan Crisis
Savings and loan crisis explained: how surging interest rates, deregulation, and fraud sank over 1,000 US thrifts and cost…
The UK Secondary Banking Crisis (1973-1975)
Secondary banking crisis explained: how the 1971 credit boom and a 1973 property bust sank UK fringe banks and forced the Bank of…
The Silicon Valley Bank Collapse (2023)
Silicon Valley Bank collapse explained: the $209B failure, bond losses from rate hikes, a $42B deposit run, the FDIC takeover,…
The Spanish Banking Crisis and Bankia (2012)
Spanish banking crisis explained: how a 2000s property boom funded by regional cajas collapsed into Bankia's 2012 rescue and a…
The Sri Lanka Sovereign Default (2022)
Sri Lanka default 2022 explained: how foreign debt, a 2019 tax cut, COVID, and a fertilizer ban drained reserves into the…
The Swiss Franc Shock (2015)
Swiss franc shock explained: on January 15, 2015 the SNB scrapped its 1.20 euro floor, the franc surged about 30%, and FX brokers…
The Turkish Lira Crisis (2018-2023)
Turkish lira crisis explained: how foreign-currency debt, deficits, and rate cuts as inflation rose drove the lira down over 40%…
The UK Gilt / LDI Crisis (2022)
UK gilt crisis 2022 explained: how a mini-budget spiked gilt yields, triggered an LDI doom loop in pension funds, and forced a…
The 2011 US Credit Downgrade
US credit downgrade 2011: how a debt-ceiling standoff pushed S&P to cut the United States from AAA to AA+, plus the $2 trillion…
Venezuela's Hyperinflation (2016-2021)
Venezuela hyperinflation hit the world's largest oil reserve holder after 2014's price crash. Learn how money printing and policy…
Volmageddon (2018)
Volmageddon hit on February 5, 2018, when the VIX doubled and the XIV inverse-VIX ETN lost about 96% overnight. Learn how the…
The Weimar Hyperinflation (1921-1923)
Weimar hyperinflation in 1923 destroyed Germany's mark, with the dollar reaching trillions of marks. Learn how reparations and…
The Zimbabwe Hyperinflation (2007-2009)
Zimbabwe hyperinflation peaked in November 2008 near 79.6 billion percent a month. Learn how land reform and money printing…
The 1MDB Scandal (2009-2018)
1MDB scandal explained: how about $4.5 billion vanished from a Malaysian state fund, how Goldman Sachs and Jho Low were tied to…
The Adelphia / Rigas Fraud (1998-2002)
Adelphia fraud explained: how the Rigas family hid $2.3B in off-balance-sheet debt, looted a cable giant, forced its bankruptcy,…
The Allen Stanford Ponzi Scheme (1990s-2009)
Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme: how Stanford International Bank sold about $8 billion in fake high-yield CDs, the 110-year sentence,…
The Amaranth Advisors Collapse (2006)
Amaranth Advisors collapse explained: how a $9.2B hedge fund lost about $6.6B on concentrated natural-gas spread bets in…
The Archegos Collapse (2021)
Archegos collapse explained: how Bill Hwang used hidden total return swaps to build a $36B book that imploded in 2021, costing…
The Barings Bank Collapse (1995)
Barings Bank collapse explained: how trader Nick Leeson hid GBP 827 million in losses in error account 88888 and sank a…
The BCCI Collapse (1972-1991)
BCCI scandal explained: how a fragmented global bank hid fraud, laundered drug money, and lost billions before regulators shut it…
The Bear Stearns Collapse (2008)
Bear Stearns collapse explained: the 2007 hedge fund failures, the March 2008 liquidity run, the $2-then-$10 JPMorgan rescue, and…
The Bre-X Gold Fraud (1993-1997)
Bre-X gold fraud explained: how a Calgary penny stock claiming 70M ounces at Busang hit a C$6B value, then collapsed when the…
The Celsius Network Collapse (2022)
Celsius Network collapse explained: how an 18% crypto-yield lender froze withdrawals in June 2022, left a $1.2B hole, and sent…
The Cendant / CUC Fraud (1995-1998)
Cendant fraud explained: how a decade of fake profits at CUC erased $14B in one day in 1998, jailed two chairmen, and set a…
The Charles Ponzi Scheme (1919-1920)
Charles Ponzi scheme explained: how the 1920 Boston fraud promised 50% in 45 days on postal coupons, took in about $15 million,…
The Credit Suisse Collapse (2021-2023)
Credit Suisse collapse explained: how scandals, a deposit run, and lost confidence forced a CHF 3B UBS rescue in 2023 and wiped…
The Daiwa Bank Scandal (1984-1995)
Daiwa Bank scandal explained: how trader Toshihide Iguchi hid $1.1 billion in losses for 11 years, the cover-up, and why US…
The Enron Scandal (1997-2001)
Enron scandal explained: how off-balance-sheet entities and mark-to-market accounting hid losses, erased $60B of equity, and…
The Equity Funding Fraud (1964-1973)
Equity Funding fraud explained: how a Los Angeles insurer faked tens of thousands of policies, inflated assets toward $2 billion,…
The FTX Collapse (2019-2022)
FTX collapse explained: how Sam Bankman-Fried moved over $8 billion of customer deposits to Alameda, triggered a bank run, and…
The Greensill Capital Collapse (2021)
Greensill collapse explained: how a supply-chain finance lender backed by SoftBank and Credit Suisse imploded in 2021 once its…
The HealthSouth Fraud (1996-2003)
HealthSouth fraud explained: how a $1.4B earnings overstatement grew to $2.7B, why CEO Richard Scrushy was acquitted, and how he…
Ivan Boesky and the 1986 Insider Trading Scandal
Ivan Boesky insider trading scandal explained: how the 1980s arbitrageur paid $100M, wore a wire against Michael Milken, and…
The Allfirst / Rusnak FX Fraud (2002)
John Rusnak fraud: how an Allfirst currency trader hid about $691 million in yen losses with fake options for five years, the…
Kidder Peabody and the Joseph Jett Affair (1991-1994)
Kidder Peabody Jett booked hundreds of millions in phantom Treasury STRIPS profits before the 1994 collapse. See the accounting…
The Knight Capital Glitch (2012)
Knight Capital glitch explained: how dead Power Peg code fired millions of orders in 45 minutes, lost about $440 million, and…
The Lehman Brothers Collapse (2008)
Lehman Brothers collapse explained: the Repo 105 accounting trick, the failed September 2008 rescue, the $639 billion bankruptcy,…
The JPMorgan London Whale (2012)
London Whale was JPMorgan's 2012 trading blowup, a $6.2 billion loss in its London CIO. Learn how hidden bets and breached risk…
The LTCM Collapse (1998)
LTCM collapse explained: how a Nobel-laureate hedge fund used about 25-to-1 leverage and convergence bets that ended in a $3.6…
The Luckin Coffee Fraud (2019-2020)
Luckin Coffee fraud explained: how the Chinese chain faked $300M of 2019 sales, drew a Muddy Waters short report, paid $180M to…
The Madoff Ponzi Scheme (1990s-2008)
Madoff Ponzi scheme explained: how fake statements showed $64.8B against roughly $17.5B of real principal, why the SEC missed it,…
The MF Global Collapse (2011)
The MF Global collapse in 2011 saw Jon Corzine's $6.3B European debt bet trigger a liquidity run, a bankruptcy, and a $1.6…
Michael Milken and the Drexel Junk Bond Scandal (1986-1990)
Michael Milken Drexel scandal explained: how the junk bond king built the high-yield market, pleaded guilty to six felonies, paid…
The Mt. Gox Collapse (2011-2014)
Mt Gox collapse explained: how the top bitcoin exchange lost about 850,000 coins, froze withdrawals, filed for bankruptcy in…
The Olympus Scandal (2011)
Olympus scandal explained: how a new British CEO exposed a $1.7 billion scheme to hide losses for two decades, who was convicted,…
The Parmalat Scandal (1990s-2003)
Parmalat scandal explained: how Italy's dairy giant faked a 3.95 billion euro Bank of America account, hid a 14 billion euro…
Peregrine Financial and Russell Wasendorf (1992-2012)
The Peregrine Financial fraud concealed a $215 million customer-fund hole for 20 years. Learn how Russell Wasendorf forged bank…
The Phar-Mor Fraud (1985-1992)
Phar-Mor fraud explained: how phantom inventory hid roughly $500M in losses, bankrupted a discount drugstore chain, jailed Mickey…
Galleon Group and the Raj Rajaratnam Insider Trading Case
Raj Rajaratnam insider trading case explained: how FBI wiretaps caught the Galleon hedge fund founder, his 11-year sentence, and…
The Refco Collapse (2005)
Refco collapse in 2005 wiped out a top US futures broker two months after its IPO when CEO Phillip Bennett hid $430 million in…
The Satyam Scandal (2003-2009)
Satyam scandal explained: how founder Ramalinga Raju faked Rs 5,040 crore of cash, confessed in 2009, and was jailed seven years…
Sunbeam and Chainsaw Al Dunlap (1996-2002)
Sunbeam accounting fraud explained: how Al Dunlap faked a turnaround with bill-and-hold sales and cookie-jar reserves, and the…
The Terra/LUNA Collapse (2022)
Terra Luna collapse explained: how the UST algorithmic stablecoin lost its dollar peg in May 2022, erased about $40 billion, and…
The Theranos Fraud (2013-2018)
Theranos fraud explained: how a $9B private startup faked a one-drop blood test, raised $700M, and ended in an SEC settlement and…
The Three Arrows Capital Collapse (2022)
Three Arrows Capital collapsed in 2022 after concentrated crypto bets on Terra, GBTC, and staked ETH triggered margin calls,…
The Toshiba Accounting Scandal (2008-2015)
Toshiba accounting scandal explained: how Japan's industrial giant overstated profit by 151.8 billion yen from 2008 to 2014, who…
The Tyco Scandal (1995-2002)
Tyco scandal explained: how CEO Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark Swartz took ~$150M in secret loans and bonuses, and were convicted…
The Valeant Scandal (2014-2016)
Valeant scandal explained: how a drug-pricing roll-up and a secret pharmacy, Philidor, inflated revenue, drew a $45M SEC penalty,…
The Waste Management Fraud (1992-1998)
Waste Management fraud explained: how executives inflated earnings $1.7B by stretching truck depreciation, the record auditor…
The Wells Fargo Fake Accounts Scandal (2011-2016)
Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal explained: how sales pressure spawned ~3.5M unauthorized accounts, a $185M settlement, a Fed…
The Wirecard Fraud (2015-2020)
Wirecard fraud explained: how a DAX payments giant faked EUR 1.9bn of cash, why auditors and BaFin missed it, and the lessons for…
The WorldCom Fraud (1999-2002)
WorldCom fraud explained: how capitalizing line costs faked about $11B of profit, caused the largest US bankruptcy, jailed its…
The ZZZZ Best Fraud (1982-1987)
ZZZZ Best fraud: how teenage Barry Minkow faked insurance contracts to take a carpet cleaner public, then was convicted in 1988…
Ackman's 2020 COVID Hedge
Ackman 2020 hedge explained: how Pershing Square turned about $27M of CDS premiums into roughly $2.6 billion as COVID-era credit…
Andrew Hall, the Oil Trader
Andrew Hall oil trader: the "God of Crude" whose bullish Phibro bets, a $100M bailout-pay row with the Obama pay czar, and US…
Benjamin Graham, Father of Value Investing
Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, survived the 1929 crash, wrote Security Analysis, ran Graham-Newman, taught…
Bill Gross and PIMCO (1987-2014)
Bill Gross PIMCO story: how the Bond King built the world's largest bond fund, peaking near $293B, then lost it after a 2011…
Bill Miller's Streak and the 2008 Unraveling (1991-2008)
Bill Miller streak explained: how he beat the S&P 500 for 15 straight years to 2005, then lost roughly 55% in 2008 on big bank…
Black Wednesday (1992)
Black Wednesday, 16 September 1992: the UK crashed out of the ERM as George Soros shorted the pound. Learn how the Bank of…
Warren Buffett's 2008 Crisis Deals
Buffett 2008 deals explained: how Berkshire Hathaway bankrolled Goldman, GE and others on 10% preferred terms during the crisis…
The Carl Icahn Activist Playbook (1980s-present)
Carl Icahn activist playbook explained: from the 1980s corporate raids and TWA, through greenmail and 13D campaigns at Apple,…
Charlie Munger, the Investor
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's partner and Berkshire vice chairman, ran a strong 1960s partnership and pushed value investing…
Dan Loeb and Third Point (1995-present)
Dan Loeb Third Point case study: how a $3.3M fund grew into a top activist, from the Star Gas and Yahoo letters to Sotheby's,…
David Einhorn and Greenlight Capital (1996-present)
David Einhorn Greenlight story: how the value investor built a fund on forensic short selling, called Allied Capital and Lehman,…
David Tepper's Bank Trade (2009)
David Tepper 2009 case study: how Appaloosa bought Bank of America and Citigroup at the bottom, read the government backstop, and…
Ed Thorp: The Quant Pioneer
Ed Thorp turned card counting and math into the first quant hedge fund, Princeton Newport Partners. Learn how a professor…
The GameStop Short Squeeze (2021)
GameStop short squeeze explained: how r/wallstreetbets, short interest above 100% of float, and a broker buy halt drove GME to an…
Howard Marks and Oaktree Capital (1995-present)
Howard Marks Oaktree built one of the world's biggest distressed-debt investors. See his memos, second-level thinking, 2008…
Howie Hubler and the Morgan Stanley Loss (2006-2007)
Howie Hubler ran the Morgan Stanley trade that shorted $2bn of subprime CDOs but sold $16bn of AAA protection, then lost a…
The Hunt Brothers Silver Corner (1979-1980)
Hunt brothers silver corner explained: how two Texans drove silver near $50, triggered Silver Thursday and a $1.7B margin call,…
Izzy Englander and Millennium Management
Izzy Englander Millennium grew from $35M in 1989 into an $80B+ pod shop. Learn how the multi-strategy model, tight risk limits,…
Jerome Kerviel and the Societe Generale Loss (2008)
Jerome Kerviel hid EUR 50bn in unauthorized index-futures bets at Societe Generale, causing a EUR 4.9bn loss in 2008. Learn the…
Jesse Livermore's 1929 Short
Jesse Livermore 1929: how the Boy Plunger reportedly made about $100 million shorting the Wall Street crash, then lost it all and…
Jim Chanos Shorting Enron (2000-2001)
Jim Chanos Enron short explained: how the Kynikos founder spotted a 7% return on capital and gain-on-sale accounting, and shorted…
Jim Rogers and the Commodities Bull
Jim Rogers investor profile: co-founding the Quantum Fund with Soros, his retirement at 37, the Rogers commodity index, and his…
John Arnold, the Natural-Gas Trader
John Arnold trader profile: how the Enron star built Centaurus, won big as Amaranth blew up, became a young billionaire, then…
John Bogle and the Vanguard Index Revolution
John Bogle Vanguard story: how he built a client-owned firm in 1974, launched the first retail index fund in 1976, and turned…
John Neff and the Vanguard Windsor Fund (1964-1995)
John Neff Windsor Fund record: how a low-P/E contrarian beat the S&P 500 over 31 years, turned $1 into about $56, and grew the…
John Templeton's Contrarian Record (1939-2000)
John Templeton bought 104 cheap stocks in 1939, built the Templeton Growth Fund, and shorted the dot-com top. See how contrarian…
Julian Robertson and Tiger Management (1980-2000)
Julian Robertson Tiger Management rose from $8M in 1980 to a $22B peak on ~31% yearly returns, then closed in 2000 as value lost…
Ken Griffin and Citadel (1990-present)
Ken Griffin Citadel: how a Harvard dorm-room trader built a top hedge fund, gated investors after a 55% loss in 2008, and made a…
Keynes the Investor (1920s-1946)
Keynes investor record explained: how the economist nearly went broke speculating, then beat a falling UK market managing King's…
Kyle Bass and the Subprime Short (2006-2008)
Kyle Bass subprime short explained: how a Dallas manager founded Hayman Capital, shorted US mortgage bonds with credit default…
Mark Spitznagel and Universa Investments (2007-present)
Mark Spitznagel Universa Investments runs a tail-risk hedge fund that reportedly returned over 4,000% on hedge capital in Q1…
Michael Burry and the Big Short (2005-2008)
Michael Burry Big Short explained: how Scion Capital used custom credit default swaps to short subprime mortgages, survived…
Michael Steinhardt's Career
Michael Steinhardt ran a hedge fund from 1967 to 1995 at 24.5% a year net of fees. Learn his variant-perception edge, the 1991…
Nassim Taleb and Tail-Risk Hedging
Nassim Taleb turned options trading into a philosophy of risk. Learn his Empirica fund, the black swan idea, the barbell, and the…
Nelson Peltz and Trian Partners (2005-present)
Nelson Peltz Trian campaigns explained: the operational activist behind Heinz, Kraft, and DuPont, the record P&G proxy fight, and…
Paul Singer, Elliott, and the Argentina Holdouts
Paul Singer Elliott bought defaulted Argentine bonds, refused the restructuring, won US pari passu rulings, seized a navy ship,…
Paul Tudor Jones and Black Monday (1987)
Paul Tudor Jones Black Monday: how Tudor Investment was positioned short into the 1987 crash, reportedly gained about 62% in…
Paulson's Greatest Trade (2007)
Paulson subprime trade explained: how John Paulson used credit default swaps to short subprime mortgages, earned his firm $15B in…
Peter Lynch's Magellan Record (1977-1990)
Peter Lynch Magellan record explained: how he earned a reported ~29% a year from 1977 to 1990, grew the fund to about $14B, and…
Philip Fisher and the Birth of Growth Investing
Philip Fisher investor, father of growth investing: how Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, the fifteen points, scuttlebutt, and…
Ray Dalio and Bridgewater Associates
Ray Dalio Bridgewater grew from a 1975 apartment startup into the largest hedge fund. Learn the All Weather risk parity bet, Pure…
Renaissance Medallion and Jim Simons
Renaissance Medallion fund posted reportedly ~66% gross annual returns under Jim Simons. Learn how the secretive quant fund…
Seth Klarman and the Baupost Group (1982-present)
Seth Klarman Baupost story: how he built a value fund from $27M, wrote the cult book Margin of Safety, hoards cash, and bought…
Stanley Druckenmiller's Career
Stanley Druckenmiller compounded about 30% a year for nearly three decades with no down year, ran Soros's 1992 sterling trade,…
Steven Cohen, SAC Capital, and Point72
Steven Cohen SAC Capital pleaded guilty to insider trading and paid a record $1.8 billion, yet Cohen was never charged. How the…
The Sumitomo Copper Scandal (1985-1996)
Sumitomo copper scandal: how Yasuo Hamanaka cornered LME copper, hid a $2.6 billion loss revealed in 1996, drew a $150M CFTC…
T. Boone Pickens and Mesa Petroleum (1980s-2019)
Boone Pickens raider story: how the Mesa Petroleum founder chased Gulf Oil, Phillips, and Unocal, profited from his failed bids,…
Victor Niederhoffer's Twin Blowups (1997 and 2007)
Victor Niederhoffer, once the world's top-ranked hedge fund manager, blew up twice selling options. Learn how negative skew and…
The Volkswagen-Porsche Short Squeeze (2008)
Volkswagen short squeeze explained: how Porsche's hidden options stake left a tiny free float, sent VW to EUR 1,005, and cost…
Warren Buffett and the Berkshire Hathaway Story
Warren Buffett Berkshire story: how he turned a failing textile mill into a compounding machine using insurance float, See's…