Jesse Livermore
About
Jesse Livermore was one of the most famous speculators in market history. He made fortunes shorting the panics of 1907 and 1929 — reportedly clearing around $100 million in the 1929 crash alone.
His methods were immortalized in Edwin Lefèvre's Reminiscences of a Stock Operator (1923), a book still read as a manual for trader psychology a century later.
Livermore is also a cautionary legend: he made and lost several fortunes over his career. His life ended in bankruptcy and suicide. The lesson isn't just "how to make money in markets" — it's how quickly leverage and conviction, unchecked, can take it all back. His story is presented here as history, not as a template to copy.
- "It was never my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting."
- Trade in the direction of the trend, not against it.
- Position sizing and risk control matter more than any single call — a lesson his own life underlined the hard way.
From the record
Historical positions — for education, not a current portfolio.
- 1907 panic — enormous short positions that made him a fortune as markets collapsed.
- 1929 crash — reportedly cleared around $100 million shorting the crash, one of the largest single trading gains in history.
Read Jesse in their own words
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
The classic novelised biography — still read as a manual for trader psychology a century later.
Find on AmazonHow to Trade in Stocks
Livermore's own account of the methods behind his biggest trades.
Find on AmazonBook links go to Amazon search. We may earn a commission once our Amazon Associates program is active.
Livermore is both inspiration and warning: brilliant tape-reading and huge conviction can build a fortune, and unchecked leverage can take it all back just as fast.