A closer look
Wealthy investors in 1980s Kuwait grew so bored with standard investments that they created an entirely unregulated shadow stock market in a parking garage called the Souk Al-Manakh, where trading was done almost exclusively using post-dated personal checks. Because the price of oil was soaring and everyone felt incredibly rich, traders were essentially buying massive amounts of shares on total credit, simply trusting that the market would keep rising before the checks could actually be cashed. The entire system became a colossal house of cards built on personal reputation and completely imaginary liquidity, with the total value of these bouncing checks eventually reaching nearly ninety billion dollars. When one major trader finally defaulted on a payment, the entire shadow economy instantly imploded, completely bankrupting thousands of citizens and forcing the royal government to step in and aggressively clean up the mess. It stands as perhaps the most brazenly stupid financial structure ever designed by intelligent adults, perfectly illustrating how the lethal combination of hubris and a total lack of regulation will inevitably destroy any market
