Read the ascent of money by Neal Ferguson. Disregarding of the revisionist history quoted here, Nathan Rothschild and his brothers were very nearly ruined by Waterloo. Having assumed that Napoleons last war would be characteristically a long one, the Rothschilds had bought all the gold and silver they could use get through their interfamily network. (The Rothschilds earned their first millions by supplying specie to England for overseas use in fighting the grand army of Napoleon in earlier wars) Contrary to the story told by Logan from Memphis, TN- the Rothschilds began BUYING BONDS (not selling stocks) which went up in value faster than would have gold (which is what they sold to by bonds). In fact, the bond market rose so fast that Nathan Rothschild became the old world equivalent of Warren Buffett. Please keep in mind that the Nazis revised history as a matter of political habit- which is where most of this BS originated. (Not that Logan should necessarily have reason to know this, it is just a matter of misinformation haunting us for generations) The truth is that the U.S. may have lost its war with the Confederacy had the Rothschilds not refused to back the South. How about that for something you werent told in school.