Unlock the Wealth: Top 11 Surprising Fun Facts About Investing You Never Knew!
1. Einstein: DJ Compounded Interest
If Albert Einstein had a financial side hustle, it'd be rocking the stage as 'DJ Compounded Interest': The genius himself hailed compound interest as "the eighth wonder of the world" – a powerful wealth-maker that spirals your finances upward by earning interest on both your initial investment and the accrued interest, ultimately making you the life of the monetary party.
Source => busykid.com
2. Dutch East India CO: OG Investor
Before Wall Street, Bitcoin, and the invention of banana-leaf money: The Dutch East India Company was the OG investor, issuing the first ever stock certificate on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. These pioneer paper receipts were handwritten and signed by the company's head honchos — talk about attention to detail! And for those history buffs, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange is still kickin', proudly boasting roots dating back to the 1600s when the Dutch East India Company let the public join their business party with equity shares.
Source => investopedia.com
Did you know that the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin in 2009, and by 2023, there are 19.36 million Bitcoins in existence out of a possible 21 million cap? Dive into the world of this elite digital gold rush!
=> Fun Facts about Bitcoin
3. Warren Buffett: Swami of Stocks
Warren Buffett, the Swami of Stocks and Sultan of Shares, has a knack for turning cola, razors, and credit cards into gold—at least metaphorically speaking: Investing in undervalued companies like Coca-Cola, American Express, and Gillette, and holding onto them indefinitely, forms the heart of Buffett's winning strategies. This Maestro of Money even sidestepped the tech stock sirens that lured many experts' fortunes to a watery grave in the late '90s, steadfastly sticking to his chosen path and watching his profits multiply.
Source => investopedia.com
4. Phoenix: Mutual Funds Rise
Just like the famed phoenix rising from the ashes with a diversified portfolio: The Great Depression brought forth the creation of the first mutual funds, offering investors a way to pool their money and diversify their investments, and led to the enactment of the Securities Act of 1933, which sought to protect investors and ensure transparency in the stock market, thus restoring confidence in financial markets for future investors.
Source => nationalgeographic.org
5. US Bull Market: Unstoppable Beast
Talk about a bullish attitude that just refuses to quit: The US stock market's current bull market, which began on March 9, 2009, is now the longest in history, outliving the previous record held by the 1990s bull market, and still going strong!
Source => cazenovecapital.com
6. NYSE: Born Under a Buttonwood Tree
In a state of financial frenzy, a band of 24 merry stockbrokers gathered under a Buttonwood tree to give birth to what's now the mother of all stock exchanges: Lo and behold, the New York Stock Exchange! It all began in 1792 with the Buttonwood Agreement, setting the stage for this financial behemoth. Today's NYSE stands tall as the epicenter of global markets, growing leaps and bounds while constantly adapting to the ever-evolving world of high-tech trading.
Source => nyse.com
7. Crypto-art: Da Vinci Coders
In a plot twist that digital art connoisseurs and cryptocurrency tycoons might call "The Da Vinci Coders," it turns out that the future of the art world may lie in the realm of "Cryptocanvas" and "Pixel Picassos": Enter the world of NFTs, where Beeple's digital masterpiece recently fetched a staggering $69.3 million at Christie's, marking a monumental shift in the art world as virtual money like Bitcoin and Ethereum amass a jaw-dropping collective worth of over $1 trillion.
Source => theartnewspaper.com
8. Wall Street: Hide-and-Seek in 1914
When Wall Street played hide-and-seek in 1914: The New York Stock Exchange closed for over four months during World War I, but the savvy traders didn't miss a beat, quickly creating an alternative trading forum called New Street on the same spot, which provided essential liquidity and proved that costly backup trading systems aren't needed to preserve it – just solid record-keeping!
Source => sciencedirect.com
9. Market Collapse: A Fake Tweet's Power
In a twist worthy of an M. Night Shyamalan thriller, the stock market plunged faster than a tipsy trapeze artist when an unexpected villain entered the scene: a single fake tweet; In 2013, a false report of explosions at the White House by the hacked Associated Press Twitter account led to a $136 billion loss in equity market value in just three minutes, exposing the financial world's vulnerability to cyber-attacks.
Source => washingtonpost.com
10. Greenmail: Juicy Corporate Snack
Ripe for the plucking or just a market quirk? Greenmail is every corporate fruit's fear of becoming a predator's juicy snack: It involves a shareholder buying up a company's shares, threatening a hostile takeover, only to have the company buy back their shares at a premium, making them walk away with a hefty profit while fending off the takeover.
Source => investopedia.com
11. Penny Stocks: High-Risk, High-Reward Ride
If you're looking to "penny" for your thoughts on investing, get ready for a potential roller coaster ride with penny stocks: While Ardelyx Inc., Snowline Gold Corp., and Nordic American Tankers Ltd. have soared over 100% in the last year, keep in mind that penny stocks can lead to high returns but also come with risks like low liquidity and high trading costs, so approach with caution and use limit orders when buying and selling.
Source => investopedia.com