America 1919

Jesse Livermore once again threw himself into the stock market and, with the experience gained from his previous attempts, Jesse Livermore earned his first $50,000!

However, it was at this time that Jesse Livermore had a new idea. He believed that the stock market couldn't possibly keep rising indefinitely; there would always be an end.

So Jesse Livermore began to move into short selling, but with any new system, there was always an adjustment process.

And so, Jesse Livermore's $50,000 became tuition fees once again.

What really made Jesse Livermore famous on Wall Street was in 1906 when he set his sights on the then-hot railroad stocks, specifically the stocks of the Union Pacific Railroad Company!

In just six days, Jesse Livermore had made $250,000 by short selling the stocks of the Union Pacific Railroad Company!

Next up was the St. Paul Railroad Company...

In a very short period of time, Jesse Livermore's net worth had reached $3 million.

Then, in the absence of good targets, Jesse Livermore started to shift to the futures market, first making a fortune in the cotton market, only to lose it all and declare bankruptcy in other markets!

This period of inactivity lasted quite long, until 1914, when World War I broke out. Jesse Livermore firmly believed that the war would require artillery shells, the production of which would need steel, and thus steel stocks were bound to soar. So he bought heavily into steel-related stocks and, just two years later, in 1916, Jesse Livermore earned back more than $3 million, once again making a comeback.

If history had continued to develop in this way, Jesse Livermore would have made another $100 million by short selling after the 1929 stock market crash in the United States, but he would have quickly gone bankrupt again due to other trades.

In the end, he committed suicide due to depression!

Some books later said that Jesse Livermore's suicide was due to bankruptcy and pennilessness, but in reality, American law provided for bankruptcy protection. According to Jesse Livermore's family, at that time, Jesse Livermore had left more than $5 million in assets for his family!

Not to mention posterity, but just to speak of the present, Jesse Livermore, who had experienced three rises and falls, was now unequivocally Wall Street's short selling expert!

Therefore, to secure his services, Donnie had paid a special fee of $300,000!

"I am very grateful for Mr. Block's high regard, but as a professional trader, Miss Taft, I must remind you that whether it's based on the current market analysis or the stock price trend of Sinclair Oil, I do not think now is the time to short sell Sinclair Oil Corporation!"

After shaking hands with Helen, Jesse Livermore cut straight to the chase.
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This was already the third person today to try to persuade Helen, and it was none other than their trader, the renowned Jesse Livermore from Wall Street in the United States.

However, having already made up her mind about this action, Helen naturally wouldn't heed these words, simply responding with a smile, "Mr. Livermore, I will certainly pass on your advice to Donnie. However, I would like to ask Mr. Livermore to cooperate well with our actions for now!"

Jesse Livermore didn't continue to advise her. He viewed this operation as somewhat frivolous—using someone else's money to find a bit of fun for himself. As a professional trader, after conveying his advice to the boss, whether the boss accepted it or not was the boss's own business.

After all, no matter whether the boss won or lost, his commission was definitely not at risk!

Of course, out of professional ethics and reputation, he would still need to ensure his operations were professional during the process.

"Certainly, Miss Taft, you can rest assured on that point!"

After Jesse Livermore's arrival, they didn't stay here for too long. Led by Jesse Livermore, they went to the New York Stock Exchange at 11 Wall Street.

On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers gathered under a tree on Wall Street and declared the birth of the NYSE. It was renamed in 1863 and didn't have its own building until 1865.

That's the very building they are in now.

This was Helen's first time entering the premises of the NYSE. Inside the building was a main hall, the Blue Room, a "garage," along with three other stock exchange halls and one bond trading hall, where brokers gathered and traded with each other. There were 16 trading posts in total, each with 16–20 trading desks, all equipped with modern office equipment and communications facilities.

The exchange primarily dealt in stocks, followed by various domestic and international bonds. Trading hours were five days a week, five hours each day, except on holidays.

Each trading seat required a yearly fee. In 1919, a seat in the NYSE cost $60,000, with the best spots going for $110,000.

Just two years later, the fee for a regular NYSE seat had risen to $120,000, with the best spots costing $200,000!

By 1929, the annual fee for the least expensive seat had skyrocketed to $500,000!

This demonstrates the rapid economic development within the United States in just ten years.

As a prominent figure on Wall Street, when Jesse Livermore stepped into the trading hall, he immediately attracted the attention of many people. Despite the traders being busy dealing trades for their clients through phones and running orders, when they saw Jesse Livermore, they still found a brief moment to greet him.