TIL the Rothschilds had such an efficient system of couriers that they knew Napoleon had lost at Waterloo a day before the government did. Nathan Rothschild kept it secret and immediately bought up the government bond market. He then sold the bonds for an enormous 40% profit two years later.

https://en.wiki2.org/wiki/Rothschild_family#The_Napoleonic_Wars



Submitted February 16, 2015 at 12:04AM by Tsukamori http://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/2vzp7h/til_the_rothschilds_had_such_an_efficient_system/