The Great Depression (1929)

The Great Depression (1929) set the benchmark for catastrophic economic collapse, erasing 89% of the Dow Jones' value by 1932—a deeper decline than the 78% Nasdaq crash of the dot-com bubble. The market's implosion triggered a decade where U.S. unemployment soared to 25%, and nearly 9,000 banks failed, shattering millions of families. An estimated $30 billion in deposits evaporated—equivalent to about $500 billion today—and global GDP contracted by 15% between 1929 and 1932, a deeper relative drop than any subsequent crash.