17 September 2011: Occupy Wall Street protest begins

On this day in 2011, thousands of protesters answered the call to Occupy Wall Street, leading to similar protests around the world.

Occupy Wall Street protesters © Ramin Talaie/Corbis via Getty Images
Protesters arrive with tents
(Image credit: Occupy Wall Street protesters ©)

"Are you ready for a Tahrir moment?" Adbusters magazine asked of its readers in the summer of 2011. That year, Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo was at the centre of mass protests, known as the Arab Spring, aimed at bringing down corrupt governments across the region.

Meanwhile, across the Mediterranean in Spain, thousands of unemployed and dispossessed people, los indignados, camped out in plazas across the country, angered by austerity measures that saw their benefits cut and taxes raised in response to a financial crisis that they didn't start.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.