From himself. He started out in bucket shops and ran it up using high leverage. His book is actually online, just check out the first 5 pages... https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60979
I quickly checked it out, because I remembered he did ask for a small amount. When he lost his bucket shop earnings and wanted to play in a normal broker office he asked for a cash loan of 500 bucks from old man Fullerton, I guess the broker office boss. Then he took that money to St. Louis, because the NYC bucket shops already banned him for winning too much. So I guess that was his initial stake, if you wish to call that.
That's very interesting, I wasn't sure, but expected all the posts here to be about relatively known to the wider audience traders. Trading electricity futures is an underground topic for the financial markets traders, but it starts getting recognition - I saw that there are even Bachelor's and Master's university courses in this field. Also, speaking about the Scandinavian countries - Kristjan Kullamagi is a great trader, at least from what a regular person like me can see on the internet. You can google him, he has a website, a youtube channel, twitter page... some great insights from him as well.
I would guess after his bankruptcies he again borrowed money to trade. Or had credit lines with various brokers. Back in 2003 i opened a credit account with IG Index in the UK, there was no need to put any money down. They don't offer that facility anymore.
I remember this being covered in both Reminiscenses and How to Trade in Stocks. Maybe it was just the former. I do remember a part where it was clear that he was very much in debt to various people/investors and had to ask for that debt to be forgiven as it was affecting his trading. I can't say for sure, but I think that was granted and that he eventually paid it back. How did that work out for you? Trading with credit directly from the broker. That's a new one.
Good article on CIS. It's rare to have any english translations of his commentary. - If there’s one basic principle, he says — repeatedly and slowly, as if instructing a child — it is this: “Buy stocks that are being bought, and sell stocks that are being sold.”
Took 2 months of small losses for me to hit my credit limit of 1000GBP. So I had to eventually deposit £1000 into the account. I did make a profit overall by the time i closed the account 10 years later.
The original question is vague, but a couple of suggestions that I haven't seen here yet. The Cornwall guys who were in the Big Short had an enviable equity curve and turned USD110k into USD120m over 4 years IIRC. Unlike some claims, this seems realistically achievable with a good strategy and some commitment over a few years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall_Capital For great trading in a wild market, the Essex boys who made USD500m in a day when oil went negative must be pretty high on the league table. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/feat...oil-when-negative-these-essex-traders-pounced