To be crowned the Onion King takes a significant action, and Vince Casuga did just that. NPR’s “Planet Money” podcast tells the story of how Casuga was crowned the Onion King. Onions are not usually the path people take to wealth, but Vince Casuga proves that it is possible. One man with the help of another held the entire United States onion market hostage. Later he would be the cause the banishment of the only crop from the futures market. Although the king was rewarded with a handsome profit, his reputation among other farmers is still known today.

(Image of an onion farm owned by Dixondale Farms)

Vince Casuga began his crusade on the United States onion market in the mid 1950’s. Through his crusade he exemplified the big idea of capitalism. Specifically, he provided an example of relentless drive for control. Casuga portrays relentless drive for control by controlling the entire onion market, so he could set any price he wanted. This was accomplished by buying ninety-eight percent of the onions in the United States. He hid the millions of onions in warehouses he built throughout the nation. The Onion King then bought up nearly every futures contract that farmers had with buyers. By doing so he owned almost all onions already harvested, and almost every onion still in the ground. When the eventual shortage of onions came, Casuga was the only place a potential buyer could purchase onions from. He brought most of the major buyers together and told them they could pay the price he set or he would flood the market and destroy the price of onions. His control of the market gave him a nine million dollar profit.

Business, State, and Society is also portrayed in the story of the Onion King. This came after he sought control of the market a second time. First, he bought a large amount of futures in the onion market. The futures he bought bet that the price per bag of onion would fall dramatically. The issue is that he was not really gambling. He owned such a large portion of onions that he could create a price drop large enough to cash out on his bets. During a purchasing period of onions, Casuga trucked and trained in all of his onions. This flood of millions of onions into the market dropped the price of a bag of onions to ten cents. The price of the bag itself was twenty cents. He then obtained a payout of eight and a half million dollars. Other farmers went bankrupt and went to their congressmen. After some time and several congressional meetings, Eisenhower singed the Onion Futures Act of 1958. This act prevented the sale of onion futures which prevented from someone being able to do what Casuga did.

This state action caused an unacknowledged consequence. Futures were a safety net for onion farmers. Farmers could enter into a contract before the harvest that guaranteed the price they would receive.  After the act, farmers were no longer protected from the sudden rise of and fall of onion prices. Now they must rely on the market each harvest to be at a price high enough to get them to the next year.