Nucingen thinks that "capital is a power only when you are very much richer than other people", which is why he embarks on complex operations which can be summed up as follows: he raises the prices of securities and buys them back after having them artificially lowered.

His first liquidation enabled him to acquire a luxury mansion and embark on an extravagant business in shares in the mines of Wortschin.

Nucingen used a large number of "straw men", among them Eugène de Rastignac, and the count of Lupeaulx, who all enriched themselves in the process.

Frederick Lawton wrote of this story "The Firm of Nucingen is a scathing satire of the world of stock-jobbing, where the money of the small investor is robbed with impunity under cover of legality".

[2] Rastignac is also the main character of Père Goriot which also features the Nucingens, and includes the start of his affair with Delphine.