Episode 17 | 1970: Goodbody’s Fall, Walmart’s Rise, and Buffett’s First Float Play

1970 opened with chaos on Wall Street. Broker-dealers were failing, the Fed was scrambling, and Goodbody & Co.—once a pillar of the brokerage world—collapsed in scandal before being rescued by Merrill Lynch. Meanwhile, in Bentonville, Arkansas, Sam Walton was taking Walmart public, setting the stage for one of the greatest retail stories ever told.

At the same time, Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Rick Guerin were quietly buying into Blue Chip Stamps, discovering the power of float—a concept that would define Berkshire Hathaway’s future. And inside Berkshire, the textile mill was fading, but insurance and banking were beginning to take root.

This episode explores the contrasts of 1970: Wall Street’s crisis, Walmart’s rise, and the early blueprint of what Berkshire would become.