William D. Gann (W.D. Gann): Complete Later Years and Final Outcome

I. Life Trajectory in Later Years

1. Family Changes
In 1942, his second wife Sadie passed away, which dealt a heavy blow to him.
2. Business Transfer and Withdrawal from Trading
In 1949, at age 71, Gann sold his trading company to a student and sold the book copyrights separately to a partner; in 1950, due to continuous health deterioration, he completely shut down his Wall Street business, moved to Miami, Florida to recuperate, and no longer relied on trading as his main source of income.
His primary income in the latter half of his life came from writing books, selling expensive training courses, and giving offline lectures, not from market trading. This was confirmed by his own son.
3. Severe Illnesses
In 1954, he suffered a sudden heart attack; in the same year, he was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer, surgery was ineffective, and his health rapidly declined.
In 1955, after returning from Cuba, his condition worsened, and his son took him to the Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in New York.

II. Time of Death and Burial

At 3:20 PM on June 18, 1955, Gann passed away at the age of 77.
He was buried in the Masonic section of Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, with the grave facing Manhattan and Wall Street, and was interred with his deceased wife.

III. Core Controversy: The Truth About His Inheritance (Destroying the Myth of Earning $50 Million)

The market has long circulated that he earned $50 million in his lifetime through his theories, but the estate liquidation completely refutes this claim:

1. Authoritative Evidence: Trading master Dr. Alexander Elder interviewed Gann's son, John Gann (a Boston bank analyst), who personally stated:
His father could not support the family by trading alone, and earned money entirely through writing books and teaching; after his death, the total inheritance (real estate + cash) was only slightly over $100k, and his trading accounts were overall in the red.
2. Two Opposing Interpretations

- Skeptics: Gann's high win rate and billions in profits were marketing hype; his theories were difficult to sustain profitability in practice, and he lost all profits multiple times in his later years.
- Followers' Rumor: Gann was a deep member of the Freemasons; a large amount of his assets were donated to the Freemasons before his death, making them untraceable by his children, and the inheritance was only his personal small assets.

IV. Summary of His Ironic Ending

1. Claiming to be able to accurately predict the stock market and possess invincible trading rules, he made a living by selling courses and writing books in his later years, with overall losses in his trading accounts;
2. The myth of a billion-dollar fortune was spread, but he left behind only slightly over $100,000 in inheritance upon his death;
3. He spent a lifetime studying time cycles and the natural laws of the market, yet could not use these theories to protect his own wealth;
4. Though he has passed away, tools like Gann angles, the square of nine, and time cycles remain common tools in global technical analysis today, and his theories are far more widely known than his actual trading record.

In a nutshell: He became famous through trading myths, made a living by selling theories, died of cancer at age 77, and left behind no legendary fortune.