--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When enough people share a short-lived…" description: "\"“When enough people share a short-lived delusion, vast sums of money can be acquired overnight. The ‘tulip mania’ in Holland in the mid-seventeenth cen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg" --- # When enough people share a short-lived delusion, vast sums… ![“When enough people share a short-lived delusion, vast sums of money can be acquired overnight. The ‘tulip mania’ in Holland in the mid-seventeenth century was such a time. Tulips had been imported into Holland for forty years before the madness hit. By 1635, a single tulip bulb was swapped for a…” quote by Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg) > ““When enough people share a short-lived delusion, vast sums of money can be acquired overnight. The ‘tulip mania’ in Holland in the mid-seventeenth century was such a time. Tulips had been imported into Holland for forty years before the madness hit. By 1635, a single tulip bulb was swapped for a collection of valuable articles, which included the following: four tons of wheat eight tons of rye a bed four oxen eight pigs a suit of clothes two caskets of wine four tonnes of beer two tons of butter one thousand pounds of cheese a silver drinking cup The current value of the above would be $50,000 or more. And this was for a single tulip bulb! Fortunes were made or lost, especially the latter, when the music stopped. Within a few years, a tulip bulb was worth less than a dollar in today’s money. Here is the wonder of collective short-term delusion writ large.”” [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass hysteria can inflate asset prices dramatically, but when the collective belief collapses, value evaporates instantly. **In simple terms:** Crowd hype can create huge temporary wealth, then crash. Key Takeaway Beware of hype; verify fundamentals before investing. Themes speculation crowd psychology market bubbles history economics Mood cautious analytical Type warning historical When to use this quote - investment decisions - risk assessment - financial education - policy regulation Key Concepts behavioral finance asset valuation collective delusion Questions to Reflect On - What indicators suggest a market is driven by speculation rather than fundamentals? - How can investors protect themselves from sudden bubble bursts? A Different Perspective Hype can be sustained only while belief persists; once confidence wanes, collapse is rapid. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [When tulip mania dies down, all that remains are pretty flowers. When bubbles burst, nothing is left but soapy residue. But the Internet revolution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cohen/when-tulip-mania-dies-down-all-that-remains-are-pretty-flowers-when/) [Adam Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cohen/) > [Bulls don't read. Bears read financial history. As markets fall to bits, the bears dust off the Dutch tulip mania of 1637, the Banque…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buchan/bulls-don-t-read-bears-read-financial-history-as-markets-fall-to-bits/) [James Buchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buchan/) > [“It’s eerily quiet in the corridor right now. Just the faint hum of the ice machine and various beeps and buzzes from patients’ rooms.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-larsen/it-s-eerily-quiet-in-the-corridor-right-now-just-the-faint-hum-of-the/) [K. Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-larsen/) > [“As the tide washed in, the Dutch Tulip Man faced the ocean: "Conjoiner rejoinder poisoner concealor revelator. Look at it rising up and rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-houten/as-the-tide-washed-in-the-dutch-tulip-man-faced-the-ocean-conjoiner/) Peter Van Houten > [“Take from my palms, to soothe your heart, a little honey, a little sun, in obedience to Persephone's bees. You can't untie a boat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osip-mandelstam/take-from-my-palms-to-soothe-your-heart-a-little-honey-a-little-sun-2/) [Osip Mandelstam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osip-mandelstam/) > [...existence has become an unreasoning, wild dance around the golden calf, a mad worship of God Mammon. In that dance and in that worship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/existence-has-become-an-unreasoning-wild-dance-around-the-golden-calf/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Flip man got a maths test today! -\_- Wish me luck! :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanity-leo/flip-man-got-a-maths-test-today-wish-me-luck/) Vanity\_LEO > [“As the tide washed in,the Dutch Tulip man face the ocean: "Conjoiner,rejoinder poisoner concealer revelator.Look at it,raising up and raising down,taking everything with it."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-houten/as-the-tide-washed-in-the-dutch-tulip-man-face-the-ocean-conjoiner/) Peter Van Houten > [“Medusa's lips split with that challenging smile, and for a second he recognized her somehow, he knew her on some primal level, the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-kincaid/medusa-s-lips-split-with-that-challenging-smile-and-for-a-second-he/) [S.J. Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-kincaid/) > [“It's an abominable fallacy that suffering makes for greater art. Suffering blinds, deafens, ruins, and often kills. Osip Mandelstam was a great poet before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/it-s-an-abominable-fallacy-that-suffering-makes-for-greater-art/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Ip Man was an extraordinary man who lived during extraordinary times. He was born to a rich family when the country was still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wong-kar-wai/ip-man-was-an-extraordinary-man-who-lived-during-extraordinary-times/) [Wong Kar-wai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wong-kar-wai/) > [“all rightly guided religion that submitted wholly to God, refused to worship man-made deities and preached that justice and equality came from the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/all-rightly-guided-religion-that-submitted-wholly-to-god-refused-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Garry Trudeau put me in the Doonesbury strip many years ago. So I've been a cartoon once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-cropper/garry-trudeau-put-me-in-the-doonesbury-strip-many-years-ago-so-i-ve/) [Steve Cropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-cropper/) > [“The emotional intelligence model consists of four clusters: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.  ● Self-Awareness is a propensity for self-reflection and thoughtfulness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-bolton/the-emotional-intelligence-model-consists-of-four-clusters-self/) [Chuck Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-bolton/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) ## More by Felix Dennis > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [It's a long, slow sunset for ink-on-paper magazines, but sunsets can produce vast sums of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/it-s-a-long-slow-sunset-for-ink-on-paper-magazines-but-sunsets-can/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I love the business of business; I love the risk raking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-love-the-business-of-business-i-love-the-risk-raking/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [People really do not have time to read all the newspapers in the world and all the sites that we now commonly use on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/people-really-do-not-have-time-to-read-all-the-newspapers-in-the/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [False praise is worse than no praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/false-praise-is-worse-than-no-praise/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > ['The Week' is my favourite magazine. Everyone from presidents to CEOs of companies love it, politicians, people in the massive charity business in America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/the-week-is-my-favourite-magazine-everyone-from-presidents-to-ceos-of/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Talent is indispensable, although it is 'always' replaceable. Just remember the simple rules concerning talent: Identify It, Hire It, Nurture It, Reward It, Protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/talent-is-indispensable-although-it-is-always-replaceable-just/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [I cannot abide being bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-cannot-abide-being-bored/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Publishing magazines for yourself is not good business, man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/publishing-magazines-for-yourself-is-not-good-business-man/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Posthumous reputations have little to do with real lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/posthumous-reputations-have-little-to-do-with-real-lives/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Good ideas are like Nike sports shoes. They may facilitate success for an athlete who possesses them, but on their own they are nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/good-ideas-are-like-nike-sports-shoes-they-may-facilitate-success-for/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [The best thing about being immensely wealthy is not having to be in any particular place at any particular time doing a particular task…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/the-best-thing-about-being-immensely-wealthy-is-not-having-to-be-in/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [What is negotiation but the accumulation of small lies leading to advantage?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/what-is-negotiation-but-the-accumulation-of-small-lies-leading-to/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [Obviously, waste disposal is an enormous and fantastic industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/obviously-waste-disposal-is-an-enormous-and-fantastic-industry/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) [Explore all 120 Felix Dennis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) ## More Money quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Maybe you can,t buy a big house.. A new car.. A huge diamond ring.. But if you have just one true friend who loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy/maybe-you-can-t-buy-a-big-house-a-new-car-a-huge-diamond-ring-but-if/) Cathy > [“Don't allow money to become the yardstick by which you measure the worth of the world around you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/don-t-allow-money-to-become-the-yardstick-by-which-you-measure-the/) [Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I doubt that we Americans can come to terms with our money neuroses without understanding the more florid pathology of the very rich for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/i-doubt-that-we-americans-can-come-to-terms-with-our-money-neuroses/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [The man who works for the gold in the job rather than for the money in the pay envelope, is the fellow who gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-french-johnson/the-man-who-works-for-the-gold-in-the-job-rather-than-for-the-money/) Joseph French Johnson [Browse all 45,172 Money quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When enough people share a short-lived delusion, vast sums of money can be acquired overnight. The ‘tulip mania’ in Holland in the mid-seventeenth century was such a time. Tulips had been imported into Holland for forty years before the madness hit. By 1635, a single tulip bulb was swapped for a collection of valuable articles, which included the following: four tons of wheat eight tons of rye a bed four oxen eight pigs a suit of clothes two caskets of wine four tonnes of beer two tons of butter one thousand pounds of cheese a silver drinking cup The current value of the above would be $50,000 or more. And this was for a single tulip bulb! Fortunes were made or lost, especially the latter, when the music stopped. Within a few years, a tulip bulb was worth less than a dollar in today’s money. Here is the wonder of collective short-term delusion writ large.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Felix Dennis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-delusion-vast-sums-of-money/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Money" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-delusion-vast-sums-of-money/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/felix-dennis-3862_money_when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-d_2231892.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When enough people share a short-lived delusion, vast sums of money can be acquired overnight. The ‘tulip…” — Felix Dennis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Felix Dennis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When enough people share a short-lived...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-delusion-vast-sums-of-money/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/when-enough-people-share-a-short-lived-delusion-vast-sums-of-money/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```