To corner a global commodities market is considered an impossible financial feat, requiring astronomical wealth, unbreakable nerve, and absolute secrecy. Yet, at the end of the 1970s, two Texan billionaires came terrifyingly close to owning the world's entire supply of silver, nearly breaking the American financial system in the process. Nelson and William Hunt utilized massive amounts of leveraged debt to quietly purchase hundreds of millions of ounces of physical silver and futures contracts. Their aggressive accumulation drove the price of the metal to unprecedented, unsustainable heights, triggering a massive speculative bubble that threatened to bankrupt the very brokerage firms and banks that had financed their audacious scheme. This thrilling financial post-mortem chronicles the spectacular rise and devastating collapse of the Hunt brothers' empire. It details the panic within the Federal Reserve, the emergency regulatory interventions designed to stop them, and the catastrophic margin calls that triggered "e;Silver Thursday"e; a localized crash that shook the foundations of Wall Street. Uncover the mechanics of the greatest market manipulation in history. Understand the inherent dangers of extreme leverage in commodity trading, and learn how unchecked ambition can warp the reality of global supply and demand.
