The James Altucher Show

A Note from James:In 1790, one of the easiest ways to get rich in America was the old-fashioned way: marry someone rich.George Washington did pretty well that way. Benjamin Franklin, meanwhile, was so deep in debt that he offered to marry a woman if her parents would mortgage their house to pay off his printing press debt. When they said no, he married someone else who had money.And back then, debt was not just annoying. It could land you in debtor’s prison. Actual prison. And not just you—your wife and kids could go too.Fast-forward to the 1900s, and most Americans still were not buying stocks. Only a tiny percentage owned shares. Everyday people were gambling, playing the numbers, using dream-interpretation books to decide what lottery number to play, and trying to find some edge that would move them a little closer to security.My guest today, Joseph Moore, literally wrote the book on this: How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (& Didn’t).The book is full of stra