Ralph Elliott: career development from accountant to minister
Ralph Elliott is a well-known personality not only in stock market circles. His example demonstrates the real American dream – from the rank-and-file accountant to the minister of finance. Elliott is also the author of the theory for stock price forecasting, which still works effectively.
Ralph was born in 1871 in a small town in Kansas, where the only way to earn a living was on the railroad. In the late 1980s, the family moved to a larger city in Texas, where Elliott worked in an office on the railroad. After acquiring the necessary skills, the young man went to Mexico, where he worked for various railroad companies.
By 1896 he had become a respected expert in accounting, and for the next 25 years, Ralph built a career in the field, reaching the position of director of large companies. With his thorough knowledge of accounting, he also served as a consultant to businesses. Elliott carefully analyzed the profitability of the business, assessed its prospects, and, based on this data, made recommendations for improving operations.
The first half of the twentieth century was marked by large-scale redistricting and colonization. The U.S. was no exception and took over a number of countries in the Caribbean. To develop infrastructure and implement the system of functioning of states, the U.S. authorities attracted the best experts from various fields, and Ralph Elliott was among them. He was appointed to the post of finance minister in Nicaragua because he had all the necessary skills for that. Elliott was a professional, had saved many companies from collapse, and, in addition, had learned the mentality of Latin Americans while working in Mexico.
In 1925 he took office and began work on reforming the local financial system, practically rebuilding it from scratch. Ralph was extremely successful in his task, for which he was recognized by the U.S. government. The authorities appointed him chief auditor of the International Railroad in Central America. The agency’s office was located in Guatemala. Along with his work, Ralph wrote books and was the editor of a business publication.
Upon his return to the United States, Elliott planned to open his own company, providing consulting services, but he fell ill with anemia and had to change his occupation. And then in 1929 Ralph decided to go to the stock market and began to analyze price dynamics. He was interested in regularities, and he found them, isolating them in the Theory of Waves. It is based on the statement that the stock market functions by means of 8 waves, the analysis of which allows forecasting changes in quotations. Even though Elliott wrote his book back in 1934, his deductions are still relevant for the modern stock market.
