I heard a story about an American man who moved to California at the very beginning of the Gold Rush and opened a newspaper that sent news back east. He had found some gold himself and was deviously smart with how he went about demoting the opportunity to other fortune seekers. Instead of writing stories about the incredible gold finds out west his newspaper bashed it, saying no gold existed and it was all a fairy tale.. so readers back home would be discouraged and lose interest. As the demand for shovels, picks and buckets declined, so did the price. All the while he was buying as many shovels, picks and buckets as he could. Once he had bought out several suppliers his newspaper started writing glowing stories about how amazing the opportunity was for digging for gold. People back east heard the amazing stories and then the huge rush of 49ers came and made him wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. He didn't have to dig or pan for gold anymore.