Black Wednesday: Pound Crashes Out of European Exchange
George Soros made roughly $1 billion in a single day. On September 16, 1992, his Quantum Fund shorted the British pound so aggressively — selling it before it fell — that when Britain was forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, he pocketed the difference. The British government had spent £3.3 billion trying to prop up the pound before giving up at 7:30 p.m. Interest rates had spiked to 15% in a single afternoon. 'Black Wednesday' cost UK taxpayers an estimated £3.4 billion. Soros became known as 'the man who broke the Bank of England.' He's never disputed the title.
September 16, 1992
34 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Pound sterling
Wikipedia
European Exchange Rate Mechanism
Wikipedia
German mark
Wikipedia
Black Wednesday
Wikipedia
Speculation
Wikipedia
Black Wednesday
Wikipedia
European Exchange Rate Mechanism
Wikipedia
Especulación (economía)
Wikipedia
Sistema Monetario Europeo
Wikipedia
British
Wikipedia
Italy
Wikipedia
Wechselkursmechanismus
Wikipedia
George Soros
Wikipedia
Soviet Union
Wikipedia
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
Wikipedia
Reza Shah
Wikipedia
Démission
Wikipedia
Verbannung
Wikipedia
Persischer Korridor
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on September 16
Severus II had been handed the western Roman Empire by Galerius, but Maxentius — the son of the retired emperor Diocletian — refused to recognize him and raised…
The Sixth Ecumenical Council condemned Pope Honorius I for heresy, formally excommunicating him decades after his death. This rare rebuke shattered the doctrine…
Owain Glyndŵr accepted the title of Prince of Wales from his followers, igniting a fierce, decade-long rebellion against English rule. This uprising crippled th…
There were 102 passengers crammed onto the Mayflower, but the ship wasn't meant for them — it was a cargo vessel, roughly 100 feet long, still reeking of the wi…
His father died in exile, and he was thirteen years old. James Francis Edward Stuart inherited the Jacobite claim to the British throne on September 16, 1701, o…
Campo Maior was a small Portuguese frontier town of maybe 2,000 people. In 1732, lightning hit the town's armory during a storm. The resulting explosion didn't …
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.