Bunker and Lamar Hunt

In the late 1970s, oil barons Bunker and Lamar Hunt became interested in the favorable fundamentals of silver. They steadily bought the metal, ramping up its price. The Bank State went short against the Hunts, in size. But buying demand persisted, and by January, 1980, silver had reached a record $49.45 per ounce ($147.68 in today’s dollars) and the Bank State was choking on massive paper losses.

The Bank State did what it always does when the chips are down: it lied, cheated and stole. First, it ordered the MFM to character assassinate the Hunts by labeling them greedy profiteers who were attempting to corner the silver market at what would be an exorbitant cost to society. Which was a deliberate lie. Later evidence proved that the Hunts bought silver based upon extensive quantitative analysis that showed it to be significantly undervalued, just as others throughout history have been attracted to undervalued assets. There was no evidence at all that the Hunts were trying to corner the silver market.