--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Germans made just about every bad…" description: "\"The Germans made just about every bad investment you could have made in the last 10 years. They invested in Icelandic banks. They invested in Greek gov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/michael-lewis-705_bigs_the-germans-made-just-about-every-bad-in_2685915.png" --- # The Germans made just about every bad investment you could… ![“The Germans made just about every bad investment you could have made in the last 10 years. They invested in Icelandic banks. They invested in Greek government bonds. They were heavy into Irish banks, big into Irish banks, and they bought U.S. subprime mortgage bonds.” quote by Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/michael-lewis-705_bigs_the-germans-made-just-about-every-bad-in_2685915.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/michael-lewis-705_bigs_the-germans-made-just-about-every-bad-in_2685915.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/michael-lewis-705_bigs_the-germans-made-just-about-every-bad-in_2685915.png) > “The Germans made just about every bad investment you could have made in the last 10 years. They invested in Icelandic banks. They invested in Greek government bonds. They were heavy into Irish banks, big into Irish banks, and they bought U.S. subprime mortgage bonds.” [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. German investors repeatedly made poor choices by over‑investing in risky assets, leading to significant losses. **In simple terms:** Bad investments repeated, causing loss. Key Takeaway Avoid over‑concentration in risky assets. Themes finance risk investment Mood cautionary analytical Type financial educational When to use this quote - portfolio management - financial planning Key Concepts economic cycles behavioral finance Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can be drawn from these failures? - How can diversification protect you? A Different Perspective Past patterns may repeat without learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Investment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-investment-213994/) [Banks Bought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banks-bought-2619098/) [Banks Invested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banks-invested-2619095/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Greek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greek/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [Invested Icelandic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invested-icelandic-2619096/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Investment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investment/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mortgage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortgage/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Years Invested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-invested-2619097/) ## Related quotes > [...We have 25 or so years invested in the work. 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