The Greedy Trap of Japan's Stock God: The Truth Behind Turning Around from 70 Yen to Losing 30 Billion

Have you ever wondered how a self-made poor kid created a legend of 20 billion yen in the stock market? The more sobering question is—why did the same person, in the end, watch 30 billion yen in profits evaporate due to a single misstep? Japan’s stock market god, Kawa Ginzo, embodies these two extremes.

From Absolute Poverty to Hundred-Billion Yen Wealth: The Price of Reversal

The story of Kawa Ginzo has no shortcuts. Before age 30, he wandered through China and London amidst war, working as an accountant and managing a smelting business, but ultimately returned to Japan destitute after investment failures. It wasn’t until he was 31 that he secluded himself in a library in Osaka, spending three years studying various economic works, trying to find the secret to successful investing.

In 1931, his wife lent him 70 yen, marking his entry into the stock market. From this modest starting capital to his later hundred-billion-yen fortune, there was a decade of relentless intelligence gathering and calm judgment.

His first investment opportunity arose after World War II. At that time, people desperately needed shelters, and Kawa predicted a surge in demand for iron sheets in autumn and winter, so he bought heavily. As he forecasted, iron sheet prices soared dozens of times. This victory gave him his first taste of success and made him realize—seeing market demand in advance is the true mark of exceptional insight.

In the following decades, Kawa accurately positioned himself across multiple cyclical industries:

The Cement Battle of the 1970s: When the oil crisis devastated Japan’s economy, cement stocks plummeted from over 800 yen to just over 100 yen. While others saw despair, Kawa saw the inevitable government infrastructure response. He bought aggressively, earning 30 billion yen in three years.

The 1980s Gold Mine Legend: News about the high-quality Kinugari mine sparked his interest. After extensive investigation, he quietly bought Sumitomo Metal Mining stocks, and in less than two months, the stock price soared to over nine times his purchase price—this move netted him another 20 billion yen and topped the personal income charts that year.

The Secret Weapon of the Stock Market God: The Wisdom of “Eighty Percent Full”

But what truly made Kawa Ginzo legendary was not his stock-picking eye but his courage to decisively exit in a frenzy of market euphoria.

The best example is the case of Sumitomo Metal Mining. When market sentiment was high and everyone was shouting “it will rise again,” Kawa went against the trend, quickly selling his holdings. Three weeks later, the stock price plummeted to one-third of his selling price—he avoided this disaster perfectly.

The question is: why could he do this? The answer lies in his self-created philosophy of “Eighty Percent Full.”

Kawa believed that the hardest part of the stock market isn’t buying but selling. Markets change rapidly, and optimistic sentiment can blind the eyes, greed being the most common trap. He compared selling stocks to having dinner—only eating until eighty percent full, which represents true wisdom and discipline.

What appears as “losing the last two percent of profit” actually helps him avoid the risk of falling from a peak. That’s why he could repeatedly succeed in cyclical industries with high risks and rarely make mistakes.

The Tortoise’s Rule: The Investment Philosophy of Slow is Fast

To summarize his investment principles, Kawa created the “Tortoise Three Principles”:

First, identify potential stocks: Seek out promising targets with broad future prospects that the market has not yet noticed, and hold them long-term.

Second, conduct independent research: Keep a close eye on economic trends and market movements daily, and gather information personally. He never blindly trusts optimistic news from newspapers or magazines because “by the time the news hits the press, the stock price is usually near its high.”

Third, avoid excessive optimism: Don’t blindly believe in the fantasy that “the stock market only goes up.” Use only your own funds, and stick to risk limits.

The core of this methodology is one word: Stability. In the race between rabbits and turtles in the stock market, the true winners are often those investors who are patient, steady, and persistent.

Lessons in Old Age: How Greed Can Devour 300 Billion

However, even the stock god cannot completely conquer human nature. In his later years, Kawa experienced a profound failure.

In the late 1970s, international prices of non-ferrous metals surged. Kawa judged that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan would further push up the market, so he bought heavily in related stocks. He should have stuck to his “Eighty Percent Full” principle, but as the market heated up, he surprisingly lost his composure—greed drove him to hold on, missing the optimal selling point.

The result was predictable: stock prices plummeted repeatedly, and his 30 billion yen in unrealized profits evaporated instantly, leaving only the irony of “paper wealth.” This failure starkly contrasted with his earlier wisdom and was perhaps the cruelest lesson.

Conclusion: The Eternal Battle Between Rationality and Greed

Kawa Ginzo’s lifelong investment experience teaches us that knowledge can be learned, experience can be accumulated, but the beast called “greed” in human nature is always the most difficult to tame.

From 70 yen to a hundred billion yen, he proved what exceptional insight looks like; from perfectly escaping peaks to losing in later years, he also proved that—even a stock god cannot escape the trap of human nature.

The true measure needed in investing is just eight words: Invest Rationally, Exit Calmly. Are you holding this ruler steady?