John Law was the French financier whose Mississippi Company stood at the center of the Mississippi Bubble of 1720.
Law promoted the company as a vehicle for exploiting French territories in North America, especially the Mississippi region. He also became influential in France's monetary system, helping establish a bank that issued paper money and supported company shares.
Investors bought shares during a frenzy in Paris, pushing prices far above realistic expectations of colonial wealth and trade. When confidence collapsed, the share price fell sharply and the financial system suffered a severe loss of credibility.
The Mississippi Bubble unfolded at roughly the same time as Britain's South Sea Bubble. Both episodes involved ambitious companies, government finance, enthusiastic speculation, and public disappointment. John Law fled France after the collapse and later died in Venice.