John Law's Mississippi Bubble of 1720, the Scheme That Coined the Word 'Millionaire' and Broke France
John Law — Scottish gambler, convicted duellist, monetary theorist — persuaded Regency France to let him print paper money and fold the national debt into shares of his Mississippi Company. The 1719 mania coined the word 'millionaire'; the 1720 collapse ruined thousands, and France distrusted paper money and banks for generations.
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