Misattributed

Did J.P. Morgan Say 'Buy When Blood Is Running in the Streets'?

Wall Street's most famous investment maxim may belong to a different banking dynasty entirely

The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets.

— Attributed to J.P. Morgan (Banking magnate)

Alleged date: unknown

Attributed, widely cited as a market philosophy

The Verdict: Misattributed — Someone Else Said This

This quote is commonly attributed to J.P. Morgan but no contemporary source confirms he said it. The sentiment is more commonly and reliably traced to Baron Rothschild (Nathan Mayer Rothschild) during the Napoleonic Wars.

Database Verification Note

Found in 1 providers: grok

1 source cross-referenced

The Real Story

The maxim about buying during panic has been attributed to virtually every famous financier in history. The earliest credible version traces to the Rothschild banking family, specifically Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild, who reportedly said 'Buy when there's blood in the streets, even if the blood is your own' during the chaos of the Napoleonic Wars. The Rothschilds famously profited from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 by receiving news of Napoleon's defeat before other traders. Over time, the quote migrated to other financial titans -- J.P. Morgan, Warren Buffett, and others have all had it attributed to them. Morgan's actual investment philosophy, while aggressive, was more about controlling markets through consolidation than contrarian buying during panics.