The Most Important Companies in the World Are Absurdly Cheap

by Simon Black Sovereign Man

1866 was not an auspicious year to start a business in the United States.

America had just been devastated from a five year long civil war– one of the bloodiest conflicts in US history. Plus the country was in the midst of a severe economic recession.

1866 was also the year that a major investment firm in London went bankrupt, triggering a worldwide financial panic. Capital was scarce. Interest rates were high. And overall business conditions were pretty dismal.

But despite such obvious challenges, 36-year old Hiram Bond Everest of Rochester, New York still saw tremendous opportunity in the burgeoning oil sector, and he started a business called Vacuum Oil Company.