The Meb Faber Show · Friday, July 31, 2026
Liaquat Ahamed, author of '1873: The Rothschilds, The First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World,' details the similarities between the 1873 global financial crisis and modern crises. He highlights that the 1873 event, like many booms, was preceded by a period of rapid economic growth, with global trade expanding significantly.
“1873 was truly a global financial crisis. It affected Central Europe, it affected the US, and it affected what were then emerging markets.”
“It had so much resonance with the modern era because of these multiple financial crises. Before we get into 1873, which was when a lot of time on, I thought it would be interesting to lay the foundation because before the crash, and this is true in many cases, you know, over history, there was a boom, right? And if you look at the GDP, the four main economies, they almost doubled. World trade grew like fivefold. Really in this period leading up to kind of 1873.”
“But also I don't know many people that have heard about that boom. Maybe talk to us a little bit about what came before, why it's overlooked, and what was the hot AI tech stocks of the mid-19th century?”