Everyone thinks WWI started with a single gunshot in Sarajevo.

That's wrong.

The real trigger was hidden in bank vaults across London and New York.

Here's how a handful of bankers turned a regional conflict into the first World war in history: 🧵 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand gets assassinated.

Alliances activate. Millions die in trenches.

But peel back the history books and you'll find something darker.

A financial arms race that had been building for decades.

Every bubble burst in history follows the EXACT same 5-stage pattern.

Tulips. Dot-com. Housing. And now AI...

Here's the roadmap I learned from a Russian economist from 1926 (and which stage we’re in right now): 🧵 Meet Nikolai Kondratiev.

A Russian economist who studied financial history and found something incredible in 1926.

He discovered that capitalism moves in massive 40-60 year waves.

Each wave follows the exact same pattern, ending in spectacular collapse.

I studied every market crash since 1862.

They ALL followed the exact same pattern discovered by one forgotten French doctor.

His 150-year-old formula is so simple that anyone can use it.

Here's how to never get caught off-guard by a market crash again:🧵 Meet Clément Juglar.

A French physician turned economist who discovered something revolutionary:

Markets aren't random, they follow predictable patterns.

In 1862, he published his groundbreaking research that changed everything:

This man was so rich, they had to invent new math to count his wealth.

He was richer than Bezos, Musk, and Rockefeller.

500 years later, his family still lives off his empire.

Here's the $533 BILLION playbook that made him history's richest man: 🧵 Meet Jakob Fugger "the Rich."

Born 1459 in Augsburg, Germany.

In 1487, he took control of the family merchant business.

Most merchants stuck to textiles and spices.

But Fugger saw bigger opportunities:

Every trader uses this 300-year-old invention.

But 99% don't know it came from a Japanese rice merchant who:

- Made $10 BILLION
- Created candlestick charts
- ⁠⁠Won 100+ consecutive trades

Here's how ONE man invented the system Wall Street still uses today: Welcome to 1700s Japan.

While Europe was still figuring out basic banking, Osaka had become Asia's financial powerhouse.

But they weren't trading stocks or bonds.

They were trading rice.

And it was about to revolutionize everything:

This is one of the world's richest families.

$18 billion net worth. 200 years of power.

But they just paid a $2.5 BILLION settlement for decades of crimes.

Here's how the DuPont family poisoned us for generations: 🧵 Meet Pierre Samuel DuPont.

He was French's King Louis XVI's trade advisor.

When the French Revolution erupted, he defended the monarchy.

Big mistake. He had to flee to America to avoid execution.

But in 1802, his son made a discovery that changed everything:

This man convinced France to let him print unlimited money.

In 2 years, he printed 2 billion livres (worth $400B today).

The entire economy was in his hands.

Then ONE mistake left the country in ruins...

Here's the full story (and how Central Banks are doing the same): 🧵 Meet John Law.

A Scottish gambler who talked his way into controlling France's entire economy.

1716: He founded the Banque Générale and convinced the French government to try something revolutionary.

Paper money backed by land instead of gold.

Law's pitch was simple:

On the latest Fridman episode, this Chinese economist just dropped a bombshell:

"The harder America tries to contain us, the more innovative we become."

The worst part? She could back it with data.

Here's what every American needs to know:🧵 The biggest myth about China? That Xi Jinping controls everything.

Reality: China's economy is more decentralized than America's.

Local mayors compete like CEOs. They're measured on GDP growth, innovation, and results.

Here's how it works:

This hedge fund is banned from taking new investors.

Why? Because they've never had a losing year in 30+ years.

66% annual returns using pure math and AI.

While Wall Street guesses, they've cracked the market's code.

Here's their hidden playbook encrypted:🧵 The Medallion Fund isn't your typical hedge fund.

- No gut feelings.
- No stock picking.
- No business analysis.

Just math, data, and AI making split-second decisions.

While others debate earnings reports, Renaissance's AI finds patterns humans can't see:

The Vatican owns $15 billion in secret investments.

- 5,000+ properties worldwide
- Stocks in major corporations
- Owns more land than entire countries.
- Gold reserves at the Federal Reserve

Here's how the world's biggest "charity" became a hedge fund: 🧵 It started with Mussolini's guilt money.

1929: The Vatican lost the Papal States to Italy decades earlier.

Mussolini wanted to make peace with the Church.

His solution? $90 million in cash and bonds.

That payment became the seed money for everything that followed:

Everyone thinks the Federal Reserve is run by the government.

It's not.

7 people you've never heard of control every dollar in America.

They decide interest rates, inflation targets, and crisis responses in private meetings.

Here's America's most powerful unknown council:🧵
The Federal Reserve has a structure unlike any other institution.

Part government agency. Part private corporation.

Created in 1913 after the Panic of 1907 nearly destroyed the economy.

But who actually owns it? The answer is more complex than you think:

There's an American family with 14 billionaires.

More than any family on Earth.

And they control the ENTIRE global food supply.

It's not the Waltons. It's not the Kochs.

99% of people have never heard their name.

Here's how they became the richest invisible dynasty: 🧵 Meet the Cargill-MacMillan family.

Combined net worth: $65 billion.

They own 88% of Cargill Inc, the largest private company in America.

$177 billion in annual revenue.

This is how it all started:

The Vanderbilts were America's richest family.

$100 million in 1877 ($3 billion today).

By 1973, 120 family descendants met for a reunion, but not ONE was a millionaire.

Here's how they lost everything by making ONE fatal mistake (99% of you are doing the same): It started with Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt.

Born poor in 1794, he borrowed $100 from his mother at age 16 to buy a small ferry boat.

He transported passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan, working 16-hour days.

By 20, he owned several boats.

Everyone thinks Trump got rich from real estate.

That's wrong.

His real fortune came from ONE strategy his grandfather invented during the 1890s gold rush.

Here's how this 130-year-old principle built a $8 BILLION empire: 🧵 Trump's wealth started with his grandfather Friedrich Trump.

In the 1890s, while others were digging for gold, Friedrich did something smarter:

He opened restaurants and hotels for the miners.

Instead of gambling on finding gold, he sold picks and shovels to the gamblers...

Did you know banks sell your debt for 10 cents on the dollar?

Then collectors harass you for 100% of it.

Michael Sheen entered this market in 2023.

But instead of collecting, he erased everything.

Here's how ONE man exposed the BILLION-dollar scam freeing 900 families: 🧵 Meet Michael Sheen.

You know him from Twilight, Good Omens, and Masters of S*x.

But in 2023, he became something else entirely:

A debt collector who collects nothing.

His mission? Expose how the system profits from misery.

The setup was genius:

Modern billionaires are the most selfish humans in history.

Past billionaires:

- Built libraries
- Cured diseases
- Advanced civilization.

Today's? Space tourism and yacht measuring contests.

Here's the ugly truth of modern billionaires: 🧵
Back in the day, billionaires had a mission.

Andrew Carnegie: Built 2,500+ libraries across America.
John D. Rockefeller: Eradicated hookworm, founded universities.
Henry Ford: Revolutionized manufacturing, raised wages.

They used wealth to advance civilization.

This country was a worthless piece of rock in 1863.

Today, it has more millionaires per square foot than anywhere on Earth.

How? A desperate prince made ONE deal that changed everything.

Here's how a dying country became the ultimate wealth magnet:🧵
This story starts with a broke prince in 1860.

His tiny country was dying. Only 1,000 people lived there.

No money. No industry. No hope.

He had one last desperate idea to save his kingdom.

This man is insane.

- Lost $70 billion in one day.
- Finished high school in 3 weeks.
- Was the richest person alive for 3 days.
- Threatened to set himself on fire to win negotiations

Here's the story of the craziest billionaire (and why his fund is leading a revolution): Meet Masayoshi Son.

Born to Korean immigrants in Japan in 1957.

Classmates threw stones at him for being different.

At 16, he decided to prove them all wrong.

He moved to California with broken English and a big dream:

The most powerful family today isn't the Trumps or the Rothschilds.

It's a family that avoids interviews and stays off social media COMPLETELY.

Yet almost EVERYONE uses their product daily.

Here are the top 10 most powerful and richest families:


10/The Rothschilds

They were the wealthiest private family during the 19th century.

Today, they're still worth billions, nobody knows exactly how much.

But how?

In 1815, Nathan Rothschild heard about Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo first.

What he did next was genius:

These twins were the original founders of Facebook.

Then Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea.

While everyone thought they were finished...

They orchestrated the biggest revenge act in history.

Here’s the crazy story of the $3 TRILLION revenge play:
Let's go back to 2003...

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss had an idea:

A social network for college students called ConnectU.

They needed a programmer.

Enter Mark Zuckerberg.

The twins hired him to build their site.

Big mistake...

This hedge fund had Nobel Prize winners and "risk-free" strategies.

- 43% annual returns
- $125 billion in positions

Then Russia made an announcement...

And overnight, they needed a $3.6 billion bailout to save the global economy:🧵 Long-Term Capital Management launched in 1994.

Founded by John Meriwether, former Salomon Brothers bond king.

But the real star power?

Two Nobel Prize-winning economists: Myron Scholes and Robert Merton.

Their pitch was simple: "We've solved risk."