Winston Churchill has just arrived in New York City. It is October 6 1929. Travelling with several members of his family, the British statesman checks into the Plaza Hotel, synonymous with wealth and celebrity – and certainly not cheap. But that’s no concern for Churchill: the cost of his stay – along with his cigars and brandy – are being covered by his old friend, financier Bernard Baruch.
After eight weeks of crisscrossing North America, after being wined and dined by his affluent contacts and business acquaintances, it’s no wonder Churchill became “swept up in stock market fever”, writes journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin in his riveting new book, 1929: The Inside Story of the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History.
The anecdote is an insight into conditions in the US in the weeks leading up to the October 1929 Wall Street Crash. The first day of real panic, October 24 – known as Black Thursday – came just a few weeks after Churchill’s visit. A record 12.9 million shares were traded on the exchange that day, marking the beginning of the Wall Street Crash. Over two trading days, US$30 billion of the market’s US$80 billion value disappeared.
