Jesse Livermore
American businesswoman and financier known as the richest woman in America during the Gilded Age.
via Wikipedia: Hetty Green · see source
Jesse Lauriston Livermore (July 26, 1877 – November 28, 1940) was an American stock trader regarded as a pioneer of day trading and the inspiration for the protagonist of Edwin Lefèvre’s classic book *Reminiscences of a Stock Operator*. At his peak, Livermore was among the wealthiest individuals in the world, yet at the time of his suicide, his debts exceeded his assets. Operating in an era of scarce financial transparency, slow stock quotes, and rampant market manipulation, Livermore relied on what is now called technical analysis to guide his trades. His principles, particularly regarding the influence of emotion on trading decisions, remain studied today.
Born into poverty in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Livermore learned to read and write by age three and a half. At 14, his father pulled him from school to work on the farm, but Livermore fled with his mother’s blessing. He found work as a board boy at a Boston PaineWebber office, posting stock quotes for $5 a week. At 15, he made his first profit—$3.12—by betting on five shares of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad at a bucket shop, which took wagers on price movements without actually trading stocks. By 16, he quit his job and traded full-time, earning roughly $200 weekly at Boston bucket shops, earning the nickname “The Boy Plunger.” He brought $1,000 home to his mother, repaying the $5 she had given him, though she disapproved of his “gambling”; he insisted he was “speculating.”
Between ages 18 and 20, Livermore turned $1,000 into $10,000 in trading profits, but his consistent success led to bans from most Boston bucket shops. He used disguises and false names to continue, but eventually faced a city-wide ban. In 1900, at 23, he moved to New York during a bull market, turning $10,000 into $50,000 in five days at Harris, Hutton & Company. However, in May 1901, he lost everything shorting a correction due to slow ticker tape updates. He borrowed $2,000 from Edward Francis Hutton and returned to bucket shops in St. Louis. His first major win came in 1901 at age 24, when he bought Northern Pacific Railway stock, turning $10,000 into $500,000.
In 1906, while vacationing in Palm Beach, Livermore took a massive short position in Union Pacific Railroad on the advice of Thomas W. Lawson, the day before the San Francisco earthquake, netting $250,000. He later lost $40,000 after Edward Hutton convinced
- field
- Stock trading
- nationality
- American
Verified Timeline
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Jesse Lauriston Livermore
- Birth Date
- 1877-07-26
- Birth Place
- Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
- Death Date
- 1940-11-28
- Death Place
- New York City, U.S.
- Death Cause
- Suicide by gunshot
- Other Names
- Boy Plunger / The Wolf of Wall Street / The Great Bear of Wall Street
- Occupation
- Stock trader · investor
- Spouse
- Nettie Jordan · 1900 · 1917 · end=divorced / Dorothea "Dorothy" Wendt · 1918 · 1932 · end=divorced / Harriet Metz Noble · 1933
- Children
- 2
- Relatives
- Brandi Love (great-granddaughter)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Green was born in 1834 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the daughter of Edward Mott Robinson and Abby Howland, the richest whaling family in the city. At age two, she was sent to live with her grandfather, Gideon Howland, and her Aunt Sylvia. By age six, she was reading financial papers to her father. At 13, she became the family bookkeeper. In her late teens, she attended multiple boarding schools and finishing schools, simultaneously assisting her father with the family business. When she turned 20, her Aunt Sylvia pressured her to find a spouse; she moved to New York but returned months early with no wedding prospects, having spent only $200 of her $1,200 budget and investing the remainder in high-quality bonds. Her father encouraged her marriage to Edward Henry Green with the stipulation that Green would not inherit Hetty's money. In May 1865, they announced their engagement, but soon both her father and Aunt Sylvia died. Most assets were placed in trust, entitling Hetty only to the income. She initiated a court case, Robinson v. Mandell, disputing Sylvia's will; the court ruled the addendum and signature were forgeries, and she settled for approximately $600,000. Exhausted from lawsuits, the couple moved to London, marrying on July 11, 1867. Their children, Ned and Sylvia, were born in London.
Reader's Guide
Green followed a contrarian investing strategy: "I buy when things are low and nobody wants them. I keep them until they go up and people are crazy to get them. That is, I believe, the secret of all successful business." She invested the interest from her father's trust fund in Civil War bonds, which paid a high yield in gold, augmented by railroad stocks. Her annual profits during her first year in London amounted to $1.25 million, and the most she ever earned in a day was $200,000. She said, "I believe in getting in at the bottom and out on top. I like to buy railroad stocks or mortgage bonds. When I see a good thing going cheap because nobody wants it, I buy a lot of it and tuck it away." Her discounted greenbacks, bought during the Civil War, increased in value when Congress passed legislation in 1875 backing them with gold. She stated, "Before deciding on an investment, I seek out every kind of information about it." After the 1885 collapse of John J. Cisco & Son, of which Edward was a partner, Edward had $700,000 in debt; Hetty's $500,000 represented one-quarter of the bank's assets. The bank refused to allow her to transfer her $26 million in stocks, bonds, mortgages, and deeds until Edward's debt was paid. In the end, Hetty made the transfer and paid off her husband's debt.
Did You Know?
- Green was known as the "Queen of Wall Street" for lending freely at reasonable interest rates during financial panics.
- She was later called the "Witch of Wall Street" and was named the "greatest miser" by the Guinness Book of World Records.
- At age two, she was sent to live with her grandfather and aunt, and by age six she was reading financial papers to her father.
- Her annual profits during her first year in London amounted to $1.25 million, and she once earned $200,000 in a single day.
- The court case Robinson v. Mandell, which she lost, remains notable as an early example of the forensic use of mathematics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jesse Livermore?
Jesse Livermore was an American stock trader widely regarded as a pioneer of modern day trading. He rose to become one of the wealthiest individuals in the world during his career in the early twentieth century.
What was Jesse Livermore's field or role?
Livermore worked as a stock trader, specializing in short-term market speculation and helping to establish the practices we now recognize as day trading. His nationality was American, and he operated primarily in U.S. markets.
How does Jesse Livermore's story end?
Despite having once held enormous personal wealth, Livermore ultimately died by suicide while still carrying debts that exceeded his remaining assets. His final years were marked by financial ruin rather than the fortune he had once commanded.
Why is Jesse Livermore important to trading history?
He is credited with popularizing rapid, short-horizon trading strategies that laid the groundwork for today's day-trading culture. His dramatic rise and fall also made him a cautionary figure in financial literature.
What famous book is Jesse Livermore connected to?
Edwin Lefèvre's best-selling novel Reminiscences of a Stock Operator uses Livermore as the model for its protagonist, Larry Livingston. The book has remained a staple of trading education for over a century.
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