The Shoemaker's Son Behind Britain's First Financial Crisis

John Blunt was born the son of a shoemaker, but rose to become one of the key architects of the South Sea Company, the business at the centre of Britain’s first major stock market crisis in 1720. In this highlight from the show, hosts Robin Wigglesworth and Gillian Tett speak to Professor Thomas Levenson about how Blunt helped build the company and the financial engineering that fuelled the South Sea Bubble.