There are many stories about lucky breakers and millionaires, but they almost always have one common denominator: we are speaking in the singular. That is why the events in a small town in Florida, where families are having a hard time getting by, are so special. Even today, this settlement continues to look like an ordinary and inhospitable town. But don’t be fooled, there are still many millionaires living among the people. And it’s all thanks to Coca-Cola.

Quincy and the banker. This is the name of the town that is involved in one of the most fascinating stories of the United States economy. There, in the midst of the Great Depression of the 1920s and 1930s and during a period of severe difficulties in the census, a figure emerges who will change everyone’s life. His name: Pat Munroe, a shrewd banker, a businessman who pays attention to an important detail to convince all citizens.

No matter how poor they were in Quincy or how poor their families’ financial situations, he observed, people spent every penny they had almost religiously on a nice, ice-cold glass of Coca-Cola. But what if this devotion had turned into a stroke of luck?

Coca-Cola in a bag. The candy giant went public in 1919 at $40 a share, but a dispute with the candy industry and its bottlers soon caused a 50% drop when it hit $19 a share. In other words, there was a time in history when Coca-Cola traded for less than cash in the bank and its stock was dirt cheap. And Munroe, among others, was at the right time.

The deal of the century. What did he do? Invest. The guy started buying Coca-Cola stock like there was no tomorrow. But he didn’t do it alone. He encouraged everyone he knew and everyone his friends in town to buy stock in the company.

Focused on bottom line and brand strength, Pat Munroe kept buying. And as he did so, he kept telling everyone in Quincy who would listen to him to buy. He took advantage of the trust and respect that the community had for him and launched a major campaign to get everyone who could get on the Coca-Cola train.

Loans for shares. The man was so confident of his success that whenever someone came to his bank asking for a loan, he encouraged them to accept someone else in exchange for a share. Farmers, shopkeepers, teachers: absolutely anyone who could spend money fell under Munroe’s charm.

For the banker, Coca-Cola stock at $19 a share was an opportunity that no one in the city should pass up, so he never tired of encouraging people to buy and, more importantly, to stick to their decisions despite short-term market fluctuations.

Ball The banker’s observations eventually proved to be a historic success. Quincy, a highly agricultural town, not only survived the hard times thanks to Coca-Cola dividends, but also produced a wealth that is still studied in universities. In fact, for a time, the area was the richest city per capita in the entire United States, and dozens of its residents were dubbed “secret Coca-Cola millionaires.”

The people who trusted Munroe’s good eye and invested all their money (and what they didn’t have) and built enormous fortunes with those early stocks, passing them down from generation to generation and turning them into millionaires who bore the name Coca-Cola are the ones who truly built dynasties of financial prosperity that transcend generations.

How much are we talking about? It’s hard to talk about the total, but to give you an idea of ​​the money, a study was done in 2013 looking at what was going on in Quincy. The results showed that a single stock, with dividends reinvested, was worth $10,000,000. A check for about $67,500 will be sent out in March, June, September and November of each year, giving the owner a pre-tax cash dividend of $270,000.

That way, if the incumbent great-grandmother and great-grandfather had purchased 100 lots of stock for between $1,900 and $4,000, depending on the purchase price, they would now have more than a billion dollars in assets. The Effects of Taxes on Inheritance.

Money for the crisis. This investment has always been a lifesaver when times got tough. When the local economy was supported by coca, big profits were made when the crisis came. In fact, these assets have supported the city through every crisis since then.

When the crops failed, it was Coca-Cola money that kept people employed. When the national economy failed, it was Coca-Cola money that kept people in their homes. When times were good and Coca-Cola was cheap, they bought more stock.

Quincy today. This is a unique story because it is unusual. Every family that has amassed a fortune has passed it on to their children and grandchildren, in some cases through direct donations and in other cases through trust funds. Even the bank where it all began has a Coca-Cola in its window, and until a few years ago, an astonishing 65% of the trust assets under management were still invested in Coca-Cola stock.

Quincy today doesn’t look much different than it did during the Great Depression. It remains a sleepy, predominantly agricultural town of fewer than 10,000. But don’t let your eyes deceive you: some of the descendants of the secret Coca-Cola millionaires whose families built empires still walk these streets.

Image | PXHere, Ebyabe, PXHere

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