In 2015, Richard Russell made one of his last and most shocking predictions ever.  Below is what the Godfather of newsletter writers had to say.

Richard Russell’s Memories Of The Great Depression
(King World News) – From legendary Richard Russell:  “In the 90 years that I have been on this earth I have never felt good about myself. But lately, after much soul searching, I finally accepted that I am a good person and deserve to treat myself better. I grew up during the Great Depression and I learned to always order the cheapest item on the menu in restaurants. In those difficult days, a penny saved was like a dollar earned…

Frightened, People Wouldn’t Pay $10,000 For A Building In New York City
I remember well during 1932, that real estate parcels in New York City were often for sale for $10,000 cash. Yet they didn’t sell because people were afraid to put down $10,000 cash on a New York City building. Anybody who had cash refused to part with it regardless of the huge possible return on their money. If you had cash, you thanked God that you had it and no investment was juicy enough to entice you to put down your money. Thus, New York real estate was selling at giveaway prices and it stayed that way until the Great Depression ended.

I remember full-course Sunday dinners at top restaurants being offered for a dollar or less. I remember admission to neighborhood movies (double features) for 15 cents, and you could stay the whole night sleeping in your seat to stay out of the winter cold.

Lessons From Late 1957
It’s late 1957. The bull market had started up in June 1949. Suddenly a recession starts in late 1957. Sentiment among the crowd turns black bearish. The market sinks into a severe correction. I don’t believe that the bull market is over. People call me an idiot, but I am convinced that the bull market has a lot further to run. The reason is that the bull market never produced a third speculative phase. I write an article published in Barron’s to the effect that I expect a third highly speculative phase to appear ahead. People remain stubbornly bearish. They tell me I’m out of my mind. But I know that the market normally has a severe correction following the second phase of a bull market and just preceding the third speculative and final phase.

The Dow sinks to 419 in October and then turns up in the face of the severe recession. Investors are actually angry. How can the stock market be rising when there is a recession in progress? The stock market pushes relentlessly higher. My bullish Barron’s article causes a sensation. A little ad that I place in Barron’s brings in 300 subscriptions. Overnight I start up Dow Theory Letters. Within a week I am in business!

Fast Forward: Russell Predicts A Mania In Stocks, But Issues Warning
Now let’s return to the present. I believe a great speculative third phase lies ahead for this bull market. The coming third phase will see the stock market climb far higher than even the bulls think possible.

The question is: is it too late to enter the stock market? In the third phase of a bull market, usually more money is made than in the first two phases combined. Thus, I foresee the possibility of large gains if a third and final speculative phase is ahead. My advice is that you assume an initial position in DIA or SPY on any weakness.

What will be the leverage that will drive up the stock market in the coming third speculative third phase? The answer is human hysteria and greed. And never before seen, sky-high price-to-earnings ratios.

This piece may sound like a reversal of thinking on my part. But it is based on a weekend of deep thinking and memories of 1957…I believe the coming third phase…will have the effect of placing the United States as the continuing world leader…more here