Rothschild anecdote
Posted by Linden on March 16, 1998 at 22:42:39:
In response to Social status of Jews during the Regency?, written by Leanne S on March 16, 1998 at 14:27:58
An anecdote about the banker Mr Rothschild at the time of Waterloo:
It seems that the stock market was desperately worried about the outcome of the battle - if Napoleon won, shares would crash. Everyone knew that Rothschild had his own courier system. He was seen to receive a hurried messenger from Belgium, and went out and sold all his stock. Everyone assumed that he had heard early news of a defeat, and so they sold off their stock as well as they could in a crashing market. Rothschild then bought big when the prices were at their lowest just before the news of victory arrived.
Can anyone tell me whether the story is true? It might be an early urban myth, as it seems to exemplify what 19th century British gentiles thought of the Jews: rich and clever. The fact that there were thousands of poor and/or stupid Jews in London's East End didn't seem to be noticed.
- Rothschild JW 02:13:36 3/17/98
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