In what year was Bear Stearns founded?

Bear Stearns was founded in 1923.

Joseph Ainslie Bear, Robert B. Stearns, and Harold C. Mayer established the firm on May 1, 1923, in New York City. It began as an equity-trading house with $500,000 in capital, later expanding into bonds, investment banking, brokerage, and institutional trading.

The firm survived the 1929 Wall Street Crash without laying off employees and opened its first Chicago branch in 1933. It became publicly traded in 1985 and grew into a major U.S. investment bank, particularly active in mortgage-related securities and prime brokerage.

A common mix-up is confusing Bear Stearns' founding with its collapse. The company failed during the 2008 financial crisis and was acquired by JPMorgan Chase, but those events occurred 85 years after its founding. Its 1923 origin date is the standard historical answer.