Bubble Bobble
At the peak of Japans investment bubble in 1989 a square block in Tokyo was valued higher than the combined value of all stocks traded on the NYSE. The land under the emperor's palace in Tokyo was worth more the entire state of California. The value of all of the land in Japan combined was said to be worth 50% more than all the rest of the land in
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I just learned this one today
In the 60's to demonstrate his frugality the CEO of Mitsubishi only owned one pair of pants which he refrained from putting on until he go to his office to avoid wear and tear.
I hear it was a pretty common thing amongst business men back then
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Everyone thought land values in Japan were going to go up so they all wanted to buy.
It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
People bought and the value went up because they were willing to pay almost any price in the hopes that later the value would go up even more. They kept buying without any real regard as to what might actually be done with the land.
Sooner or later they caught on that it wasn't really worth as much as they paid for it so, for fear of the price suddenly falling, they sold it.
That is also a self fulfilling prophecy. Everyone sells and the price plummets.
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