Brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt failed in their attempt to corner the world silver market, causing panic in commodity and futures exchanges.

Nelson Bunker Hunt was an American oil company executive. He was a billionaire whose fortune collapsed after he and his brothers William Herbert and Lamar tried to corner the world market in silver but were prevented by government intervention. He was also a thoroughbred horse breeder and a major sponsor of the John Birch Society.

William Herbert Hunt was an American oil billionaire, who along with his brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and Lamar Hunt tried but failed to corner the world market in silver. According to Forbes, as of April 2024 his net worth was estimated at US$5.3 billion.

In competition law, cornering the market consists of obtaining sufficient control of a particular stock, commodity, human capital or other asset in an attempt to reduce competition.

Silver Thursday was an event that occurred in the United States silver commodity markets on Thursday, March 27, 1980, following the attempt by brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt and Lamar Hunt to corner the silver market. A subsequent steep fall in silver prices led to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.

A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products. The primary sector includes agricultural products, energy products, and metals. Soft commodities may be perishable and harvested, while hard commodities are usually mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, and options on futures. Farmers have used a simple form of derivative trading in the commodities market for centuries for price risk management.