nov 13, 1858 - Bad advice

Description:

In late 1852, Joshua Norton took some bad advice. When a famine in China created a shortage of rice so it was banned to sell your rice out of the country, this drove prices up 900%. Joshua had a friend that told him that he could sell him the last rice coming out of Peru. He ordered a shipload of Peruvian rice in San Francisco harbour. He used almost all of his money, on 22 December 1852.
Had things gone as planned, Joshua stood to make a very large profit. But, the next day, and then over the next two weeks, several more shiploads of rice arrived from Peru all of superior quality to what Joshua had bought. The price of rice plummeted to 3 cents a pound.
Joshua sought to void his contract, on the grounds that he had been misled. The matter was tied up in litigation for nearly three years costing all his left over money and reputation.
Finally, in May 1855, the court ruled against Joshua. This ruined him financially; he filed for insolvency in August 1856 and, by 1858, was living in a Kearny Street boarding house whose accommodations were decidedly below the style to which he had become accustomed at the decade’s outset.