All that glitters is not gold

A lesson in how not to investMANY are seduced by gold, but its less illustrious cousin, silver, is now attracting considerable attention. On September 30th, demand from investors and industrial users helped push the price of silver to $22 per ounce, a value not seen for over 30 years. But unlike record-breaking gold, it is extremely unlikely to surpass its peak of 1980. That was when the Hunt brothers, Texan oil barons who were at one time the world's richest men, tried to corner the silver market in the belief that inflation would destroy the value of the dollar. Buying up around a third of the world's silver supply, they pushed its price up from a low of $1.26 in 1971 to nearly $50 in 1980 ($140 in today's prices). Changes to the way that regulators dealt with leverage in the market meant their position was unsustainable, though. Over the course of three months the price collapsed to $15, leaving them to contend with heavy losses. More Daily charts ...celebrity couples female celebrities hollywood celebrities