High tech stocks, then and now

As you read this list, keep in mind that these are the "high tech" companies that survived. Many, including high flyers like Auburn Automobile which hit $514 per share, disappeared down the black hole of bankruptcy.

Company			1929 high			1932 low
General Electric			403			8 1/2
Otis Elevator			450			9
Warner Brothers			64 1/2			1/2
Wright Aeronautical			149 1/2			3 7/8
Int'l Combustion Eng.			103 1/2			1/2

Source: "The Ups - Downs" by David Freeman. Burlington, Vt: Fraser, 1997.

The 1920s marked the beginning in earnest of the electrical infrastructure, hign rise buildings, motion pictures, aeronautics,and ubiquitous engines - all cutting edge high tech with limitless market potential.

Obviously, these industries and their leading companies prospered in the long run, but the people who bought their shares when the stock market was looney - and it did not appear it was to the most people then either - did not.

If you really, really want to own Internet shares, hang on. You'll be able to get them for pennies on the dollar. In the meantime, use the Internet to advance your own business.

Fun fact: At the height of the Florida land boom (and Florida didn't go away either), one third of all working age adults in the city of Miami held a real estate license.