HIGH FINANCE: Scrip Scrap

In the golden '20s, no one seemed to have a more golden touch than a young man named Errett Lobban Cord. By the time he was 39, the ex-Los Angeles used-car salesman had built an empire that ranged through motors (Auburn, Checker Cab, Cord), ships (New York Shipbuilding), aircraft (Stinson, Lycoming engines) and airlines (American Airways). But in 1937, Cord came a cropper. The SEC charged him with manipulating the stock of Checker Cab and Auburn, and he sold most of his empire to a group headed by Banker Victor Emanuel.

Cord, shorn of power but not of wealth, dropped out...

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