The Real Deal New York

From the June issue: The Panic of 1837 was one of the worst years ever for property values in New York City. Many New Yorkers lost their homes to foreclosure, and so many others were in default on their mortgage payments that the state passed a bill granting a year’s grace period for them to catch up on what they owed. According to economist Milton Friedman, the five-year financial crisis was comparable in severity to the Great Depression. But while investors throughout the city were losing their proverbial shirts, John Jacob Astor, the founder of the Astor dynasty, was prospering.