In his autobiography, Charlie Chaplin stands out as a tramp-turned-investor astute enough not to follow the Wall Street herd into the financial slaughterhouse of the 1929 stock market. This legendary comedian had the last laugh.
A self-made man, Chaplin embarked on a lifelong journey of acquiring investment knowledge and wisdom.
What impressed Chaplin most was Major C.H. Douglas's book "Social Credit" (1924), which argued that economic booms or busts hinged on unemployment rates. Simply put, capital derived from wages. As a consequence, more capital would be gained with higher wages earned, and more capital would be depleted with more wages lost.
In 1928, despite Wall Street's optimism, 14 million Americans were unemployed. Promptly, Chaplin liquidated all his stocks and bonds for cash and fluid capital. Those who mocked him found themselves in despair or worse on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929.
