title: [Book Sharing] Confessions of a Speculator (Revised Edition)
published: false
date: 2024-05-11 00:00:00 UTC
tags:
canonical_url: https://www.evanlin.com/reading-Confessions-of-a-Speculator/
---
[](https://moo.im/a/fsFGKT "Confessions of a Speculator (Revised Edition)")
Confessions of a Speculator (Revised Edition)
Author: André Kostolany
Original Author: André Kostolany
Publisher: Business Weekly
Publication Date: 2018/02/01
#### Book Purchase Recommendation:
- Readmoo: [Purchase Link](https://moo.im/a/fsFGKT)
# Preface:
This is the 3rd book I finished reading in 2024, following:
- [Confessions of a Stock Operator - The Profit Classic of 30 Years Jim Paul](https://www.evanlin.com/reading-what-i-learned-losing-a-million/)
- [[Book Sharing] The Poker of Speculators - 18 Years of Trading Notes](https://www.evanlin.com/reading-the-poke-of-investment/)
The book types are quite similar.
# Content Summary:
A must-read classic for investors! 900,000 copies sold in Taiwan, the e-book is launched for the first time!
In the ever-changing market, the eternal guidance——
Legendary retail speculator, the German stock god Kostolany
"Human psychology + funds" determines all market ups and downs,
Chew on the wisdom of the master, and small retail investors can also become nobles who freely control wealth
He doesn't have the Berkshire Hathaway group of Warren Buffett, but he can be on par with the stock god; he doesn't have the research team of thousands of people of bond king Bill Gross, but as long as he speaks, global markets listen; he doesn't act like investment tycoon George Soros who launches currency wars everywhere, but when he elegantly proposes that a certain country's currency is misvalued, no government dares to take it lightly. He is "the German stock god" André Kostolany, one of the few retail speculators, past and present, who doesn't fight group battles and is independent.
Kostolany's life is full of contradictions and oppositions: born in Hungary in 1906, he made his first speculative fortune at the age of 13 by currency arbitrage, entered the securities industry at the age of 21, and had already earned a million dollars (about NT$120 million today) at the age of 30, but he also went bankrupt twice because he misread the direction. He has been to 78 exchanges around the world, experienced two world wars, several stock market crashes, and the oil crisis. All the inflation, contraction, appreciation, and depreciation of the 20th century are deeply etched in his mind. Kostolany used his own wealth to tell the world that as long as a few simple ideas are implemented, one can find the main theme in the noisy trading market, and the exchange will also turn from a casino with shouts of killing into a paradise full of beautiful music. Coupled with funds, patience, and a strong heart, a retail investor may have a better chance of becoming a noble who freely controls time and wealth than a professional institution.
"Confessions of a Speculator" is the culmination of Kostolany's life. The book was written in February 1999, and in September, Kostolany passed away in Paris. In December, the book was published in Germany, which was Kostolany's last work before his death. After 80 years of investment career, a life of wealth, elegance, and composure, Kostolany thoroughly grasped the essence of making money with money, and wrote a brilliant 93-year life confession with humor, timelessness, and style. He said: "I am a speculator, always the same!" This book, which gathers the essence of investment/speculation wisdom of the time, is Kostolany's most selfless gift.
# Thoughts:
The whole book is about sharing his investment process. And there is an analysis of the related psychological state, giving different psychological descriptions at different stages. What impressed me most is the last chapter, which mentions that someone left the investment market for marriage. After selling all the stocks in hand, he devoted himself to life, but when the stock market was doing well, he wanted to join the whole investment circle again. So he came back to continue investing. It's like a gambling mentality, and it also represents that some people in the investment circle like investing as if they are addicted.
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