Killing The Kiwi 

 

Soros sure had a knack for finding smart traders.

In 1987, following the Black Monday stock market plunge, investors were fleeing assets denominated in US dollars and scurrying into anything that wasn't priced in greenbacks.  

 

Believe it or not, this included New Zealand dollars and the kiwi soared as a result of the buying surge. 

 

Soros trader Andy Kreiger took note of the kiwi's rapid ascent and believed it was unsustainable. He sold short 200 million New Zealand dollars.  

 

That may not sound like a noteworthy figure, but consider this: At the time, that was more than New Zealand's entire monetary supply.  

 

The kiwi collapsed under the weight of Kreiger's trade and its fair to say he probably didn't win man of the year in New Zealand in 1987. 

 

$1 Billion...In A Day 

 

Of course Soros knows a thing or two about forex trading himself.

He is one of the richest men in the world and a good chunk of his fortune has come from the forex market.

His most famous trade may have been a short call on the British Pound in 1992.  

 

That year, the U.K. was attempting to enter the European Monetary Union, but speculation was abound that the U.K. would be rejected and that would certainly send the pound falling.  

 

Soros and the Quantum Fund sold short 10 billion British pounds, which led the Bank of England to try to prop up the pound by liquidating its reserves.  

 

This wasn't the most keen of ideas and the U.K. was then rejected by the European Monetary Union, which sent the pound tumbling. Soros made $1 billion on the trade...in a single day.