Listen to a breakdown of Jay Gould's life and career, ranging from his ownership of the Erie Railroad to his role in the 1869 'Black Friday' gold panic.

Read a breakdown of the 1869 'Black Friday' gold panic, the gold market crash orchestrated by robber barons Jay Gould and Jim Fisk.

In what's known as 'The Erie War,' Jay Gould and Cornelius Vanderbilt fiercely feuded for control over the Erie Railroad—a roughly 450-mile-long rail line through New York.

The term ‘Black Friday’ originally referred to a 1869 US gold market crash

After financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk attempted to corner the US gold market, the market crashed on September 24, 1869, bankrupting thousands of investors and sending stock prices plummeting by 18%. That day became known as “Black Friday” long before the unofficial retail holiday emerged.

Listen to an overview of the Gilded Age and the robber barons—including some of the most famous figures from the time and their lasting impact on American society and the economy.

Jim Fisk—a notorious stock raider who heavily colluded with fellow robber baron Jay Gould—was murdered by his business partner Ned Stokes after Stokes fell in love with Fisk's young mistress, Josie Mansfield.

A rush to invest in British rail in the 1840s led to investor ruin

During “Railway Mania,” speculative excitement pushed British rail shares to extreme valuations as investors chased rapid expansion. When costs ballooned and profits failed to materialize, the bubble collapsed in 1847—wiping out fortunes across the country.

Famed American investor Jesse Livermore made millions when the stock market crashed in 1929

Livermore made his first major short against rail company Union Pacific in 1906, coincidentally before an earthquake in San Francisco, which ultimately tanked share prices. During a financial panic the next year, JP Morgan reportedly asked Livermore to increase his long-term investments to restore hope and restabilize the market—which Livermore did. However, Livermore began betting against the market in 1929, sensing that stocks were too hot, and was one of the few people to benefit from the 1929 stock crash.

Largely considered to be the inspiration for Gordon Gekko in the movie 'Wall Street,' Ivan Boesky was one of the most high-profile white-collar criminals and faced a $100M fine for insider trading in 1986.

Listen to the history of JP Morgan's sprawling life as one of the most influential American financiers and bankers.

The Gilded Age, a time period that stretched from the 1870s until the turn of the 20th century, was colored by rapid industrialization, economic change, and widespread financial inequality.

A bankrupt flour merchant in debtor's prison helped inspire the Erie Canal.

Mark Twain coined the phrase 'The Gilded Age'

The writer's 1873 book "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" (cowritten with newspaper editor Charles Dudley Warner) satirized the speculative investing and greed that took place following the Civil War. That era is now known as the Gilded Age, a term derived from the novel. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Get the inside story of the duck hunt that birthed the Federal Reserve

Pseudo-duck hunters, private train cars in Hoboken, and a thrilling work week over Thanksgiving 1910—all and more are featured in the wild story of how a group of fed-up bankers and lawmakers tried to create an enduring central bank for the US. Records of the meeting managed to remain hidden for decades.

The worst US bank runs since 1900

From the Panic of 1907 to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023, this bank scholar and former Fed official goes into the history of the country's worst bank runs.

A deep dive into Enron, one of the largest accounting scandals in history

Investing comes with great opportunities for reward, but it also carries great risk. Investors learned that the hard way when Enron collapsed. Everyone lost money—from the largest institutions on Wall Street to mom-and-pop investors who bought S&P 500 index funds. This series from American Scandal starts with a close-up into an investment manager at Enron who started to unravel the accounting scandal happening behind the scenes. Listen here.

Often dubbed the 'king of bank robbers,' George Leonidas Leslie stole an estimated $7M (equivalent to $200M today) and charged other criminals a $20K fee to evaluate their heist plans

Leslie studied architecture and used blueprints of safes and banks to execute meticulously planned bank heists across the Northeast between 1869 and 1878. Although Leslie was an infamous bank robber by night, he posed as a member of high society by day, providing critical intel on the institutions he'd rob and helping conceal his crimes. Months before his largest planned heist, where he planned to turn on his gang, Leslie's body mysteriously washed up along the Hudson River. His killer remains a mystery.

Listen to a sit-down interview with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to learn more about his background, the lessons he's learned throughout his career, and his outlook for the future.

Known as the 'Pecora Hearings,' the widely covered trials following the stock market crash of 1929 generated massive public outrage that forced Congress to impose stricter regulations on Wall Street.

Explore a list of well-known monopolies

Many American monopolies popped up during the rapid industrial growth of the Gilded Age. Industries like steel, tobacco, railroads, and telecommunication have all been monopolized at some point in history.

Twain was a notoriously bad investor

After becoming a famous writer, Twain invested in railroad stocks, a magnetic telegraph, and a printing press that weighed four tons. Eventually, he founded his own publishing company, which ultimately led to his bankruptcy. “He is, in business,” one lawyer said, “just a big overgrown boy.”

Henry Varnum Poor published a guide to the railroad industry in 1860

Poor's guide to the railroad industry helped investors evaluate changes and business decisions that might impact their investments. It was the first step in building the thorough datasets tracking companies and industries that Standard & Poor's is known for today.

JP Morgan Jr. once angered the nation with his zero-dollar tax bill

In the aftermath of the Great Depression, Congress learned that Morgan and his banking partners had avoided paying any federal income tax in 1931 and 1932. By claiming their losses in the stock market, they seemingly erased what they owed.

A ‘gold bug’ is a person who is bullish on gold as an investment

"Gold bugs" often argue that fiat money allows governments to engage in financially reckless behavior (think: chronic borrowing). They also say the price of gold rises as the value of fiat currency falls.

Listen to this podcast episode detailing the origin story of Wall Street's famous bronze Charging Bull statue.

22 fascinating discoveries of massive gold coin hoards

The gallery highlights major gold coin treasures from ancient to modern times, from the Saddle Ridge hoard in California in the 1800s (now worth $10M) to finds in Baltimore, Kentucky, and more. Each discovery reveals something about the period, with some buried and others left in vaults.

Watch a breakdown of how the Rockefellers' wealth evolved over time.

The world's most famous case of deflation happened after Black Thursday

While the details are not fully agreed upon, many economists point to the Federal Reserve's tightening of the money supply as a prime culprit, leading to a significant deflationary spiral.

Explore railroad tycoon James Hill's mansion in St. Paul, MN.

How to make a billion dollars, with Brad Jacobs

Brad Jacobs is a serial entrepreneur who has launched eight billion-dollar enterprises during his storied financial career. With companies focused in energy, waste, and more, Jacobs has stuck to a roll-up playbook of consolidating small players into one conglomerate within an industry, a common tactic of similar private equity firms. This podcast from Founders summarizes Jacobs' book detailing his approach.

Ida Tarbell's massive investigation into John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil exposed the unethical, often illegal business practices of the Gilded Age and helped usher in new business regulations.

'Ben Franklin's World' podcast explores the building of the Erie Canal

Historian Janice Fontanella, site manager of the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site, joined the podcast to recount the engineering challenges, local innovations, and broader impact of constructing the Erie Canal.

A look at the biography of Sam Bankman-Fried by author Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis released a book, "Going Infinite," on the day the subject of the book began his high-profile fraud trial. The book delves into the life of Sam Bankman-Fried, a young billionaire in the cryptocurrency world. Find out what the bestselling author discovered over two years and 100 interviews with Bankman-Fried.

Listen to Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand's defense of the robber barons, who she says were unjustly vilified.

Spellcaster: the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried

The rapid collapse of FTX, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, in late 2022 shocked the world. At the center of the fiasco was Sam Bankman-Fried, a 29-year-old wunderkind who had entranced politicians, journalists, financiers, and others with his melding of altruism and digital currency. The sordid details revealed as the empire fell captured public attention—venture into the death spiral with this in-depth podcast from Bloomberg.

Hear how the Piggly Wiggly grocery store founder attempted to squeeze short sellers by cornering the grocery store's stock

Founded in 1916 in Memphis, TN by Clarence Saunders, Piggly Wiggly was the first modern grocery store with aisles for customers to shop for themselves. In 1922, investors placed short positions, sensing that the stock may be overvalued after several Piggly Wiggly franchises in the Northeast went bankrupt. Saunders attempted to squeeze short sellers by taking out $10M and buying up nearly 99% of all available Piggly Wiggly stock. Ultimately, the fiasco ended with Piggly Wiggly's stock being permanently banned from the New York Stock Exchange and Saunders leaving Piggly Wiggly and filing for bankruptcy.

Some people are against Black Friday, saying it promotes consumerism

This comprehensive podcast video episode from NYU Professor Scott Galloway offers a deep dive into the economics of Black Friday, Galloway believes Black Friday allows corporations to exploit the worst parts of Americans’ consumerist impulses, and warns Americans should not believe purchasing things leads to greater happiness.

Read a profile of Ferdinand Pecora, the lawyer behind the colorful, extensive investigations into the stock market crash of 1929.

4-minute overview of gold mining in the Amazon rainforest

A 2022 NBC news investigation of gold mining in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Much of the $3B in illegal gold is trafficked to the US every year.

The story of a bitcoin loophole that gave one man millions

James Parker discovered a glitch in an Australian cryptocurrency exchange that would allow him to cash in credits worth over $20M and make big gifts to his friends. Like most loopholes, the authorities found out, but not before his life was transformed. The first in a six-part series.

Prior to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the 1913 Pujo Committee determined that 180 people were managing more than $22B—a large slice of the entire nation's wealth—and recommended extensive regulations.

Watch Anderson Cooper, whose great-great-great-grandfather was railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, walk through the family's history.

Listen to Keith Gill's testimony from the GameStop hearing

"I am not a cat, I am not an institutional investor, nor am I a hedge fund." That's how Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, kicked off his testimony before Congress on the wild trading action in GameStop stock. Lawmakers took notice of the meme stock craze, and the collapse of hedge fund Melvin Capital, opening up an investigation into what exactly moved so much money.

Relive the biggest swings in the Dow’s history

From the 1929 crash to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, this piece spotlights five of the most dramatic single-day moves in the Dow’s 125-year history.

Track all of the acquisitions in BlackRock's history, from eFront to Preqin.

Watch former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler's 'Eras Tour' for the agency's 90th anniversary, a look back on the pivotal moments in the agency's history.

Listen to BlackRock's head of behavioral finance, Emily Haisley, explain the psychology of investing—including controlling biases, managing ego, and being prepared for volatility.

Watch a video that details the full history of Macy's

From the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to opening its flagship store in Herald Square, Macy's has a long and successful history despite its recent financial troubles.

Explore the technical side of the Erie Canal

Listen to this podcast from Northwestern University exploring the canal’s groundbreaking infrastructure—from locks and aqueducts to its role as America’s first large-scale engineered waterway.

What was it like to live through the Great Depression?

Hear the personal accounts of four people who lived through the Great Depression, as told by NPR's Throughline. Listen to this 47-minute podcast episode to get a bit more insight into the countrywide economic crisis and what it meant it for everyday people.

Bank runs, explained

A major feature of the modern financial system is trust: if an institution loses it, customers will quickly withdraw deposits and stockholders will sell their shares. This digestible animated video looks into the nature and history of bank runs and...