Did the Rothschilds go bankrupt, and lose all their money, or something?
They (the family collectively, or the family trust, however you wish to address their finances) were billionaires by the 1850s, at the latest.
"On July 18, 1815, a courier working for Rothschild informed the English government that Napoleon appeared to be suffering defeat at Waterloo... Rothschild began selling all of his bonds, encouraging rumors that Napoleon had won and that English government paper would soon be worthless. Due to Rothschild's reputation as an influential and respected investor, the panicked English public followed his lead. The mass selling resulted in a total collapse of the English stock exchange.
"It was then that Rothschild's agents began snatching up bonds and stock at record-low prices. Two days later, when Wellington's envoy confirmed that Napoleon Bonaparte had indeed suffered a crushing defeat, Nathan Rothschild was effectively in control of the English stock exchange. As of 2015, the English government was still paying back money owed to the Rothschild family from this Napoleonic maneuver."
I don't believe in your (and the Economist's) false dilemma that my 1st world has to suck and I have to work for slave wages in order for people in the 3rd world to have better lives.
They (the family collectively, or the family trust, however you wish to address their finances) were billionaires by the 1850s, at the latest.
"On July 18, 1815, a courier working for Rothschild informed the English government that Napoleon appeared to be suffering defeat at Waterloo... Rothschild began selling all of his bonds, encouraging rumors that Napoleon had won and that English government paper would soon be worthless. Due to Rothschild's reputation as an influential and respected investor, the panicked English public followed his lead. The mass selling resulted in a total collapse of the English stock exchange.
"It was then that Rothschild's agents began snatching up bonds and stock at record-low prices. Two days later, when Wellington's envoy confirmed that Napoleon Bonaparte had indeed suffered a crushing defeat, Nathan Rothschild was effectively in control of the English stock exchange. As of 2015, the English government was still paying back money owed to the Rothschild family from this Napoleonic maneuver."
https://www.investopedia.com/updates/history-rothschild-fami...
I don't believe in your (and the Economist's) false dilemma that my 1st world has to suck and I have to work for slave wages in order for people in the 3rd world to have better lives.