Paper Fortunes
The Illusion of Stock Market Wealth – From Historic Quotes to the Fleeting Highs Before the Fall

From tulip bulbs trading for canal houses in 1637 Amsterdam to the Dow Jones crossing 50,000 in February 2026, Paper Fortunes traces four centuries of financial bubbles, crashes, and the timeless human tendency to mistake paper profits for real wealth. Through vivid historical episodes — the South Sea Bubble that ruined Isaac Newton, John Law's Mississippi Scheme, the Roaring Twenties collapse, the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis, and the modern era of meme stocks and crypto manias — author Ty Pugh reveals why every generation convinces itself that this time is different. Part financial history, part psychological study, Paper Fortunes is an essential warning for anyone who has ever watched a number on a screen and called it wealth.