Traders step into sneakers to make money

Throughout the ages, few stories have been as thrilling and appealing as rags-to-riches tales. The reason: people across the social divide have since times immemorial wanted to ameliorate their condition, sooner rather than better. And such stories have rarely been in short supply.

One such story has gone viral in this age of information, although it is in an area not so well known even to finance experts: sneaker trading. The wealth-creation myth surrounds an undergraduate, who is said to have supported himself, even achieved economic independence by trading in limited-edition sneakers.

People have even been urged to take a share in this business boom: You have missed out on the opportunity to get rich by buying houses in a bid to cash in on the property market boom, or trading in stocks in the bullish stock market or hoarding bitcoins as part of the cryptocurrency craze; to become rich, therefore, capitalize on the "sneaker craze".