Jan. 24, 1848: Gold is discovered on the California property of self-made tyrant John Sutter, triggering a lemming-like stampede of speculators unmatched in intensity until the advent of the dot-com bubble. Sutter had established what was essentially a colony on 50,000 acres in the Sacramento valley. The outpost grew into a center of trading in the area and Sutter became a wealthy despot. When James Marshall discovered gold on the property while building a sawmill for Sutter, the mini-potentate’s first instinct was to keep the discovery to himself. But the news spread quickly and Sutter’s land was overrun during 1849 by a skanky crowd of squatters, claim jumpers and IPO underwriters. While some of the so-called ’49ers hit it big—the greatest strike being Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the 1982 NFC championship game—Sutter lost everything and lived out his days on a small government pension. The lesson for modern-day fortune seekers: If a millwright finds gold in your creek, don’t try to keep it quiet—just bet it all on a football game. — Jeffrey Kanige
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