The Hunt Brothers: How Two Texans Tried to Own All the Silver on Earth

Born Into Oil, Seduced by Silver

To understand the Hunt Brothers' silver obsession, you need to understand where they came from. And where they came from was obscene wealth.

Their father, H.L. Hunt, was not just rich — he was rumored to be the richest man in America. A wildcatter who struck oil in Texas and Louisiana, H.L. built an empire that made the Hunts one of the most powerful families in the country.

When H.L. died in 1974, his sons Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt inherited billions. But there was a problem brewing in America...

The Hunts, like many wealthy Americans, were terrified. They watched their dollar-denominated wealth shrink each year. They needed something real. Something the government couldn't print.

Gold was the obvious choice. But in 1974, Americans still couldn't legally own gold bullion (a ban since 1933). So Nelson Bunker Hunt turned to gold's little brother: Silver.

"Almost anything would be better than paper money. Any real commodity is a better store of value than a fiat currency... silver is an industrial metal with genuine uses, and it was cheap."

— Nelson Bunker Hunt

In 1973, Hunt started buying. Quietly at first. Through Swiss bank accounts. Through offshore shell companies. Through agents who purchased on his behalf.

By 1974, he had accumulated 55 million ounces — more silver than anyone except the US government itself.

But Bunker wasn't satisfied. He wanted more. Much more.

The Thesis: Why Silver Would Go to the Moon

The Hunts weren't just panic-buying. They had a thesis — and on paper, it was actually quite compelling:

The math was tantalizing:

The entire world's deliverable silver supply was worth only $12 billion. For ultra-wealthy families like the Hunts, this wasn't an investment opportunity — it was a conquest opportunity.

If you could accumulate enough silver, you wouldn't just profit from rising prices. You would cause rising prices. You'd have shorts by the throat. You'd force industrial users to pay whatever you demanded.

It was brilliant. It was audacious. And it was about to work...

The Great Accumulation: Buying an Empire

Starting in 1979, the Hunts shifted from "large investor" to "market predator." They weren't just buying silver anymore — they were systematically cornering it.

Here's how they did it:

The Multi-Front Attack:

• Physical Silver: Bought bullion bars and coins through dealers worldwide. Stored in Swiss vaults.
• COMEX Futures: Accumulated massive long positions on the New York Commodity Exchange.
• Taking Delivery: Instead of rolling contracts, they demanded physical silver — draining exchange warehouses.
• Saudi Partners: Recruited wealthy Saudi investors to join the squeeze, adding billions more firepower.
• CBOT & London: Spread positions across Chicago and London exchanges to obscure total holdings.

By late 1979, the Hunts and their allies controlled:

The squeeze was working. Oh god, was it working.

+733% in one year. It was the most spectacular commodity run in modern history.

The Hunt Brothers, already billionaires, became mega-billionaires. On paper, their silver holdings alone were worth over $6 billion. Combined with oil, real estate, and other assets, they were among the five richest families on Earth.

"We're not speculating. We're just trying to preserve our wealth. Silver is the only true money. The dollar is just paper backed by politicians' promises."

— Nelson Bunker Hunt, 1980

Shorts were being annihilated. Jewelers were screaming. Industrial users couldn't afford raw materials. Grandmothers were melting down family silverware to sell at record prices.

It seemed unstoppable. The Hunts had won.

But they forgot one thing: The house always changes the rules when it's losing.

The House Fights Back: COMEX Changes the Rules

By January 1980, the silver market was in chaos. And powerful people were very, very angry.

The COMEX board — which included representatives from major trading firms, many of whom were short silver — convened emergency meetings.

Their solution? If you can't beat them, change the game.

Read that again. The exchange made it illegal to buy, but legal to sell. For existing holders, there was only one direction: down.

"It was like a game of poker where, in the middle of the hand, the dealer announces that aces are no longer high. The Hunts were holding all the aces — and suddenly they were worthless."

— Financial Historian

The Hunts cried foul. They had broken no laws. They had simply bought silver — legally — on open exchanges. But the exchange had the power to make rules, and they used it.

This is the lesson every market manipulator eventually learns: You can never truly corner a market where the referee works for your opponents.

Silver Thursday: The Day the Music Died

With "liquidation only" rules in place, the silver market became a one-way street to hell.

But the Hunts weren't out yet. They still held physical silver worth billions. They still had oil money coming in. Surely they could ride out the storm?

Then came the margin calls.

Here's how the margin death spiral worked:

March 27, 1980 — "Silver Thursday"

The Hunts missed a margin call of $100 million at Bache Halsey Stuart Shields, one of the largest brokerage firms in America.

Panic spread instantly. If the Hunts couldn't pay, Bache would fail. If Bache failed, the entire financial system could seize up. It was 2008 before 2008.

The Dow Jones dropped 25 points (massive for 1980). Bache stock was halted. Trading floors were in chaos. Traders were crying. Some were literally crying.

"It was like a bomb went off. One minute we were the richest family in Texas. The next minute we owed more money than some countries."

— Lamar Hunt (Nelson's brother, NFL owner)

The US government intervened. The Federal Reserve coordinated an emergency $1.1 billion loan from a consortium of banks to prevent systemic collapse. The Hunts used their oil assets as collateral.

Silver stabilized around $10-11. The squeeze was over. The Hunts had lost.

The Aftermath: Bankruptcy, Lawsuits, and Legacy

The damage was catastrophic:

The man who was once worth $6+ billion was now worth nothing. He had to sell his thoroughbred horse farm, his art collection, his stake in the Kansas City Chiefs, and nearly everything else.

When asked by a reporter how it felt to lose so much money, Bunker Hunt delivered one of the most legendary quotes in financial history:

"A billion dollars isn't what it used to be."

— Nelson Bunker Hunt

The irony was brutal. The Hunts had bought silver because they feared inflation would destroy the dollar's value. In the end, their silver position was destroyed — but the dollar kept on going.

The Eternal Lessons: What Every Trader Must Know

The Hunt Brothers saga is not just history — it's a warning. Every few years, someone tries to replicate their playbook. GameStop. Nickel. Silver squeezes on Reddit. They all end the same way.

"Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. But eventually, gravity wins."

— The Market

Modern Echoes: 2011, 2021, and Beyond

Silver has tested $50 twice since 1980:

In 2021, Reddit's WallStreetBets attempted a #SilverSqueeze. Silver spiked briefly... then collapsed. The pattern repeated.

Every generation discovers silver's "moon case." Every generation learns the same lesson:

Silver is not an investment. It's a trade. And the trade has a very specific pattern: parabolic rise → retail FOMO → rule changes → brutal crash → bagholders.

The Hunts weren't stupid. They were among the savviest commodity traders in the world. They had more resources than almost any individual investor in history.

And they still lost everything.

If you're ever tempted to bet the farm on a "can't lose" trade — on silver, on meme stocks, on crypto, on anything — remember Nelson Bunker Hunt.

Remember that a billion dollars isn't what it used to be.

Remember Silver Thursday.