Every so often (if you were tapped into the international news) you would hear about more young people (my age then, give or take a few years) launching successful enterprises, listing on the stock exchange, and living the high life. And to be honest, some of the business ideas were not all that brilliant (read about some of the businesses that folded http://www.cnet.com/1990-11136_1-6278387-1.html).
This apparent massive wealth building exercise made a huge impression on me - here was I working pretty hard for a monthly salary and it seemed like they were coining it, by virtue of just being there.
And then the DotCom bubble popped. As easy as it came, the money left again. In the US businesses crashed, Silicon Valley execs lost their cash cows and had to give back their Porches and Ferraris and mansions. Many average investors lost their jobs and livelihood and investments.
But that's not all. The fall out was in fact so huge, it hit us half-way around the world - Distance between Silicon Valley and Johannesburg 16 963 km / 10 540 miles (as the crow flies). So how did it hit us, you wonder?
- Well, the DotCom fallout came with nice big teeth and bit a big chunk out of my still pitiful tiny little pension fund. But wait, there's more...
- As if gobbling up a chunk of my hard earned savings wasn't good enough, it also caused our local interest rates to go up for months afterwards. Even though the increases were not as harsh as during the Asia Currency Crisis, it is still not nice if you are a first time bond holder already eating beans on toast to afford your own house.
You can read about the DotCom Bubble here:
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