Dutch Tulip Bulb Bubble Bursts…Again

by Mr Juggles

From Marginal Revolution comes news that the Dutch were fooled again and fell victim to the siren’s song of tulip bulbs:

Over here in the Netherlands, court proceedings are starting this week on the “biggest speculation fraud ever in the Netherlands”, according to a national newspaper that ran a big story about it today. Investors have lost tens of millions of euros in what turned out to be a big pyramid scheme.

Now for the ultimate irony. Any idea what these people were investing in? Tulip bulbs. Really.

Recommendation: These investors committed Number 37 of The 63 Classic Investing Blunders: Never invest in tulip bulbs in the Netherlands. Listed right after Number 36 — Never Invest Money with Orange People.

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POSTED: 03/11/08 12:13 PM
Comment (5)


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Comments

  1. To The Hilt
    March 11th, 2008 | 12:28 pm

    Only slighty less well known than “never become involved in a land war in asia.”

    Inconceivable.

  2. Sir Charge
    March 11th, 2008 | 2:15 pm

    In their defense, the prospectus showed a strategy that would have handily beat the Tulipper Index.

  3. MTT
    March 11th, 2008 | 3:21 pm

    I google translated a few news articles. I think this refers to a court case pertaining to something that happened in ’03-’04. Still funny, though.

  4. american bandersnatch
    March 11th, 2008 | 6:27 pm

    I spent the last several years building up an immunity to tulip speculation.

  5. american bandersnatch
    March 12th, 2008 | 5:42 am

    Never invest in anything Dutch, not just tulips. The official color of the Dutch is Orange and they frequently refer to themselves as Orange People (“oranje mensen”). Please see rule #36. The entire country was conceived as a shell game – they confuse investors, invaders and tulip cultivators by switching between Dutch, the Netherlands and Holland.