Chapter 51: Paris Angel Company Goes Public

In 1717, the financial juggernaut John Law established the Mississippi Company to solve France's massive debt. He obtained exclusive rights to operate the Louisiana colony from the French Government, and subsequently, the company began offering shares.

Because there were rumors of abundant gold mines in the Mississippi River basin, and the company successively gained the rights to operate more of France's overseas colonies, the stock price steadily increased.

From the initial offer of 500 livres per share, it soared to a peak near 20,000 livres. Yes, don't miss a single zero, the stock price increased by 40 times!

John Law believed the opportunity to resolve France's 1.5 billion national debt had arrived. Starting in 1719, he issued additional shares five times in a row, leveraging the skyrocketing stock prices with the issuance of banknotes by the Royal Bank, and he truly managed to wipe out the French Government's debt in one fell swoop!