STREET DOGS: Success
One moment all swollen up, then suddenly reduced to nothing
Oh, worldly pomp, how despicable you are when one considers that you are empty and fleeting! You are justly compared to watery bubbles, one moment all swollen up, then suddenly reduced to nothing — Ordericus Vitalis. In 1923, nine of the most successful US businessmen met in Chicago. Within 25 years, all of these great men met horrific ends to their careers or their lives: The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, died a bankrupt man; the president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died penniless; the president of the largest gas company, Howard Hobson, suffered a mental breakdown, ending up in an insane asylum; the president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, had just been released from prison; the bank president, Leon Fraser, had taken his own life; the wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, died penniless; the head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Kreuger the "match king", had also taken his life; and a member of president Warren Hardi...
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