# 9-11,Who were the inside traders? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2002, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716 "2002-12-24T14:05:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@The\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Face)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/1 "2002-12-24T14:05:40Z")
OK Folks, here’s one that’s been bothering me for awhile. Think back to 9-11, shortly after the shock was wearing off the media was reporting that there was a great deal of insider trading that went on in relation to the attacks. IE- airline stocks being sold short and so on. My questions 1- What ever was discovered about all this? 2- Why did this fall of the radar screen so fast? 3- Were any guilty parties identified? 4- Can anyone point me to a site to find out more about this? ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/2 "2002-12-24T14:18:31Z")
The fact that we haven’t heard a word about it since then means one of two things. First, it probably means that it was all just rumor-mongering. If anyone had been found to have engaged in suspicious short-trading, it would have been all over the evening news. And stock trading is pretty tough to hide. Second, it could mean (if you’re a tinfoil hat kind of person), that the inside traders were members of the Bush Administration or the Mossad, and it’s all been hushed up! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/3 "2002-12-24T16:34:29Z")
Last I heard, few if any of the profits were ever actually claimed by anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/4 "2002-12-24T17:51:25Z")
Seems to me that with images of airliners crashing into the WTC being show non-stop on the tube pretty much rules out “insider trading”. If you were unlucky enough to have a portfolio chock full of American Airlines, selling them tout-sweet would be a pretty shrewd and obvious financial move. But then again, I don’t know shit about it, so carry on. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/5 "2002-12-24T18:18:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gatopescado \* > \*\*Seems to me that with images of airliners crashing into the WTC being show non-stop on the tube pretty much rules out “insider trading”. \*\* What **The Face** is referring to is the fact that before September 11, parties unknown (hmm…) were [shorting American and United stock](http://www.snopes.com/rumors/putcall.htm). Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/6 "2002-12-24T18:26:20Z")
btw shorting means selling (stock) before you buy, instead of how we normally think of it. You can sell shares you don’t own with the promise to replace (buy back) those shares later at the going rate. Just wanted to add that incase someone didn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@The\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Face)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/7 "2002-12-24T21:42:08Z")
Thanks Zev, that link help answer a few of my questions. I wonder if anything “new” has come of this and worse yet how much money was made by OBL. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/8 "2002-12-24T21:49:39Z")
The Snopes cite is interesting, but I notice that the page hasn’t even been updated for well over a year. Not sure what that means… ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/9 "2002-12-24T21:58:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Early Out \* > \*\*The Snopes cite is interesting, but I notice that the page hasn’t even been updated for well over a year. Not sure what that means… \*\* I’ve noticed that Barbara Mikkelson (who writes most, if not all, of the Snopes pages) rarely returns to a page once it’s up, unless some new information comes to light. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/10 "2002-12-24T22:31:43Z")
I guess it could just be a very slow investigation. Or, more likely, maybe they _have_ tracked down at least some of the suspicious trading activity, but aren’t saying anything because it might be useful information in pursuing some of the Al-Qaeda members. Or, less likely, but not all that far out, maybe they’ve traced the activity to some prominent Saudis, and don’t quite know what to do about it, given the muddled nature of U.S. relations with the Saudi government. In the absence of information, all things are possible, aren’t they! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/11 "2002-12-25T02:42:15Z")
Just remember, before you get caught up in all sorts of conspiracy theories that historically the market always tanks, if it has any tendency to go down, in October. That is already a reason to short in September. Of course, other explanations are possible, but this is the simplest, assuming the facts are correct. ---
**Author:** ![JaxBeachBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@JaxBeachBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaxBeachBoy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/9-11-who-were-the-inside-traders/144716/12 "2002-12-25T07:03:35Z")
Um, then it would stand to reason that ALL airline stock was shorted, when the Snopes article clearly states that ONLY the two companies who had planes involved in 9/11 were sold short.