To Make a Killing: Arthur Cutten, the Man Who Ruled the Markets

One of the wildest, most spectacular decades in American history, the 1920s were a period of unprecedented growth and mass consumerism. In the New Era people drank in speakeasies, danced to jazz, idolized gangsters, and bet their life savings on stocks.

Born and raised in a small Canadian town, Arthur Cutten went to Chicago in 1890 with ninety dollars to his name. Through utter ruthlessness he amassed a fortune trading in grain futures and stocks. Cutten was heralded as the modern Midas, and...