You bet your life insurance

Planet Money

Aug 14

Overview Shownote Highlights Transcript Chapters Pins

Shownote

Some of the biggest firms on Wall Street are, at this very moment, waiting for thousands of strangers to die to reap their returns. Because there’s a market for life insurance policies. And it’s legal. You don’t have to actually die to get some of your li...

Highlights

This episode examines how a financial arrangement born from urgent personal need developed into a complex market involving patients, retirees, brokers, and major investors.

14:52

Life insurance became an asset people could sell while alive.

23:15

Life insurance becomes a Wall Street investment

39:55

Profit can turn finance into a force for urgent needs

Chapters

From Terminal Illness to Immediate Financial Relief

00:00

How a Crisis-Era Solution Became a Wall Street Investment

17:36

Would You Trade a Future Payout for Cash Today?

28:50

Transcript

Speaker 4: This message comes from NPR sponsor Charles Schwab. Financial decisions can be tricky. Your biases can lead you astray. Financial Decoder, an original podcast from Charles Schwab, can help. Download the latest episode and subscribe at schwab.com...