The “Wertpapierwelt” – the first international museum to exhibit securities – opened its second exhibition this week, entitled “Rich and Powerful” in Olten, Switzerland.
The new exhibition is devoted to the rich and powerful figures of economic history, including people with famous names such as Alfred Nobel, John D. Rockefeller, Rothschild or Goethe.
And just when you thought financial personalities had no sex appeal.
Shares and bonds bear the names and signatures of these icons of power and wealth or are decorated with their portraits. However, dictators such as Saddam Hussein and Josef Stalin or ruthless speculators such as Ivar Kreuger and Bernhard Cornfeld also feature on securities shown in the exhibition. In this way, securities bear eloquent witness to history, the museum spokesman added.
Dagmar Schцnig, curator of the museum, said, “In last year’s exhibition, which was a great success, we presented a cross section of the four-hundred-year history of the joint stock company. In the current exhibition, we show people whose deeds have shaped our lives up to the present day.”
The current exhibition is expected to attract visitors with an interest in history and the economy, but it also targets schools and universities, whose students have not had any prior contact with securities, Schonig said.
“Wertpapierwelt” is the museum of the charitable foundation “Historical Securities Collection”, an initiative launched by SIS Swiss Financial Services Group AG.