Hetty Green and the timeless appeal of market timing

Hetty Green and the timeless appeal of market timing

I have long had a crush on Hetty Green. Not a romantic one: Green lived a century ago, and not even my imagination is that deluded. Rather the type of infatuation that kids have for their favourite Harry Potter character or that billionaire tech bros have for Ayn Rand. Kind of fun to think about, but a fantasy. Like a Patronus charm, or a government that moves fast and breaks things – regulations, democracies, good taste – without causing lots o…