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Jesse Livermore

The Greatest Stock Speculator Who Ever Lived

Momentum Growth
$100 Million (1929)
American
Jesse Livermore

Jesse Livermore

Momentum Growth

Key Stats

Net Worth

$100 Million (1929)

Origin

American

Lifespan

Born 1877 (149 years old)

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Biography

Jesse Lauriston Livermore is considered by many to be the greatest stock trader who ever lived. Starting with nothing, he made and lost several fortunes, with his peak net worth of $100 million in 1929 (equivalent to $1.5 billion today). His trading rules and psychology insights remain relevant nearly a century later.

The Boy Plunger

Livermore began trading at age 14 in bucket shops (off-track betting parlors for stocks). By 15, he had made his first $1,000. His uncanny ability to predict price movements earned him the nickname "The Boy Plunger."

Famous Calls

  • 1907 Panic: Shorted the market before the crash, making $1 million in one day
  • 1929 Crash: His greatest triumph, making $100 million shorting stocks before Black Tuesday

Trading Rules

Livermore pioneered many concepts still used today:

  • Trading in the direction of the overall market
  • Using pivot points
  • Adding to winning positions
  • Cutting losses quickly

Trading Philosophy

"There is nothing new in Wall Street. There can't be because speculation is as old as the hills. Whatever happens in the stock market today has happened before and will happen again."

Famous Trades

1929 SHORT

US Stocks

Shorted the entire market before the 1929 crash, making the equivalent of over $1.5 billion in today's money.

Greatest Trade

+$100 Million

1907 SHORT

Union Pacific

Made $1 million in a single day during the Panic of 1907.

Major Win

+$1 Million

Legendary Quotes

"There is nothing new in Wall Street. There can't be because speculation is as old as the hills."
— Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
"The market is never wrong. Opinions often are."
— How to Trade in Stocks
"It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting."
— Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Recommended Reading

How to Trade in Stocks

Livermore's own trading methodology

1940

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