The Greatest Trades of All Time: Top Traders Making Big Profits from the Crash of 1929 to Today

Book description

How top traders made huge profits during the most momentous market events of the past century

Financial and commodity markets are characterized by periodic crashes and upside explosions. In retrospect, the reasons behind these abrupt movements often seem very clear, but generally few people understand what's happening at the time. Top traders and investors like George Soros or Jesse Livermore have stood apart from the crowd and capitalized on their unique insights to capture huge profits.

Engaging and informative, The Greatest Trades of All Time chronicles how a select few traders anticipated market eruptions from the 1929 stock market crash to the 2008 subprime mortgage meltdown and positioned themselves to excel while a majority of others failed. Along the way, author Vincent Veneziani describes the economic and financial forces that led to each market cataclysm and how these individuals perceived what was happening beforehand and why they decided to place big bets, often at great risk and in opposition to consensus opinion at the time.

  • Traders discussed include George Soros, Jesse Livermore, Paul Tudor Jones, John Templeton, and John Paulson

  • Provide contemporary traders and investors with insights on how great traders make great trades

  • Offers insights on market forecasting, mass psychology, and the importance of personal conviction in trading

At a time when many investors are looking to the past for answers to the future, this book brings important historical moments in the financial markets to life.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. About the Author
  8. Introduction
  9. CHAPTER 1: J. Kyle Bass: Timing Is Everything
    1. THE BACK STORY
    2. A FEW DEFINITIONS
    3. BASS ASKS WHY
    4. LEARNING FROM THE PAST
    5. SHORTING SUBPRIME LOANS
    6. THE BEST POSITION
    7. THE EFFECTS OF ABUSE
    8. WHO WAS WATCHING?
    9. RE-CREATING BASS'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    10. BASS'S TOP TRAITS
  10. CHAPTER 2: James Chanos: The Real King of Enron
    1. ENTER ENRON
    2. REALLY LOOKING AT ENRON
    3. THE BEST POSITION
    4. RECREATING CHANOS'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    5. A MORE RECENT EXAMPLE
    6. CHANOS'S TOP TRAITS
  11. CHAPTER 3: Paul Tudor Jones II: Legendary Global Macro Trader
    1. FOLLOWING A GENIUS
    2. THE PATH OF GREATNESS
    3. KNOWING ALL THE MARKETS
    4. MORE KEYS TO JONES'S SUCCESS
    5. SUCCESS BEYOND TRADING
    6. RECREATING JONES'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    7. JONES'S TOP TRAITS
  12. CHAPTER 4: John Templeton: Legendary Mutual Fund Manager
    1. WHAT MADE TEMPLETON FAMOUS
    2. TEMPLETON'S LIFE BEFORE INVESTING
    3. TEMPLETON'S BIG MOVE
    4. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, AND THE TEMPLETON GROWTH FUND
    5. RECREATING TEMPLETON'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    6. TEMPLETON'S TOP TRAITS
  13. CHAPTER 5: Jesse Livermore: Legendary Speculator
    1. LIVERMORE'S HISTORY
    2. AT HOME IN NEW YORK
    3. LIVERMORE'S TRAGIC END
    4. AN EXAMPLE OF LIVERMORE'S INFLUENCE TODAY
    5. RECREATING LIVERMORE'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    6. LIVERMORE'S TOP TRAITS
  14. CHAPTER 6: John Paulson: The Greatest Trade of All Time
    1. PAULSON'S EARLY CAREER
    2. THE GREATEST TRADE
    3. RECREATING PAULSON'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    4. PAULSON'S TOP TRAITS
  15. CHAPTER 7: George Soros: From Humble Beginnings to World Trader
    1. SOROS'S FAMOUS TRADES
    2. THE HARDSHIPS OF A TRADING GENIUS
    3. GOING TO SCHOOL IN LONDON
    4. WORK IN NEW YORK
    5. JOINING THE BIG LEAGUES
    6. FINDING HIMSELF
    7. CRASHING FROM SUCCESS
    8. A NEW PROTÉGÉ
    9. ONTO THE WORLD STAGE
    10. A CONFLICTED MIND
    11. A NEW ERA
    12. RECREATING SOROS'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    13. SOROS'S TOP TRAITS
  16. CHAPTER 8: David Einhorn: A Company's Worst Nightmare
    1. ALLIED IS NOT AN ALLY
    2. LUCKY LEHMAN
    3. THE GREAT BEYOND
    4. RECREATING EINHORN'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    5. EINHORN'S TOP TRAITS
  17. CHAPTER 9: Martin Schwartz: From Amateur to Superstar
    1. START SMALL, GO BIG
    2. TRADING LIKE A ROCK STAR
    3. WINDING DOWN
    4. RECREATING SCHWARTZ'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    5. SCHWARTZ'S TOP TRAITS
  18. CHAPTER 10: John Arnold: Master of Energy
    1. SUCCESS AT ENRON
    2. CENTAURUS ENERGY
    3. THE EXPLOSION
    4. RECREATING ARNOLD'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    5. ARNOLD'S TOP TRAITS
  19. CHAPTER 11: More Great Trades: Phillip Falcone, David Tepper, Andrew Hall, Greg Lippmann
    1. PHILLIP FALCONE
    2. RECREATING FALCONE'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    3. DAVID TEPPER
    4. RECREATING TEPPER'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    5. ANDREW HALL
    6. RECREATING HALL'S TRADING STRATEGIES
    7. GREG LIPPMANN
    8. RECREATING LIPPMANN's TRADING STRATEGIES
    9. IN SUMMARY
  20. Notes
    1. CHAPTER 2
    2. CHAPTER 3
    3. CHAPTER 5
    4. CHAPTER 6
    5. CHAPTER 8
    6. CHAPTER 9
    7. CHAPTER 10
    8. CHAPTER 11
  21. Glossary
  22. References
    1. CHAPTER 1
    2. CHAPTER 2
    3. CHAPTER 3
    4. CHAPTER 4
    5. CHAPTER 5
    6. CHAPTER 6
    7. CHAPTER 7
    8. CHAPTER 8
    9. CHAPTER 9
    10. CHAPTER 10
    11. CHAPTER 11
  23. Helpful Web Sites
  24. Index

Product information

  • Title: The Greatest Trades of All Time: Top Traders Making Big Profits from the Crash of 1929 to Today
  • Author(s): Vincent W. Veneziani
  • Release date: October 2011
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470645994