When George Soros Broke the British Pound (2014)
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2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
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HN comment orderThis incident was the main reason the UK didn't enter the Euro. This wonderful BBC documentary explains everything on detail. https://youtu.be/K_oET45GzMI
Politicians always like to blame speculators when their attempts to fight the market inevitably end in failure, and this instance is no different. Soros didn't "break the GBP," it was already broken and the British government's guarantee to prop it up was never sustainable in the first place. Someone was going to a lot of make money when the British government's scheme unraveled. Soros just happened to make a lot more than anyone else. Reminds me of a good Rhett…
This is the best summary I've read. It details the mechanics of the entire process and the steps that Soros and his fund (Quantum) took to pull the whole thing off.
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 570
- Total comments
- 442
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-05-15 | The Trade of the Century: When George Soros Broke the British PoundFirst breakout | nols | 238 | 182 |
| 2016-06-17 | The Trade of the Century: When George Soros Broke the British Pound | nnx | 3 | 1 |
| 2016-06-25 | The Trade of the Century: When George Soros Broke the British Pound | sonabinu | 1 | 0 |
| 2017-02-01 | The Man Who Broke the Bank of England | tbarbugli | 3 | 0 |
| 2019-11-05 | When George Soros Broke the British Pound (2014)Hall induction · Best thread · Latest 20+ point return | JackFr | 325 | 259 |