Most famously, Joseph Kennedy decided to sell completely out of the market when in July 1929, having already liquidated a large portion of his portfolio, he was accosted by a particularly enthusiastic shoeblack on a trip downtown to Wall Street, who insisted on feeding him some inside tips. “When the time comes that a shoeshine boy knows as much as I do about what is going on in the stock market,” concluded Kennedy, “it’s time for me to get out.”
