“Who was the wisest financial investor in the Bible?” begins an old joke. The answer is Noah because he was able to float a company while the rest of the world was in liquidation. The joke has been cited in many publications since 1884.
 
“Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?” is a similar joke.
 
 
Wikipedia: Noah
In the Abrahamic religions, Noah (/ˈnoʊ.ə/), or Noé or Noach (Hebrew: נֹחַ,‎ נוֹחַ, Modern Noaẖ, Tiberian Nōăḥ; Syriac: ܢܘܚ‎ Nukh; Arabic: نُوح‎ Nūḥ; Ancient Greek: Νῶε), was the tenth and last of the pre-flood Patriarchs. The story of Noah’s Ark is told in the Torah in the Genesis flood narrative. The biblical account is followed by the story of the Curse of Canaan.
     
Google Books
1 March 1884, The Accountant, pg. 8, col. 1:
Q— Who was the cleverest man in the world? A. — Noah. Why ? Because he succeeded in floating a limited company whilst the rest of the world was in liquidation, and all the banks were covered.
 
2 June 1884, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, pg. 3, col. 4:
Harper’s Bazar: Who was the most successful financier mentioned in the Old Testament? Noah, because he successfully floated a limited company when all the rest of the world was in liquidation.
 
Chronicling America
28 June 1884, Louisiana Democrat (Alexandria, LA), pg. 2, col. 1:
WHO was the most successful financier mentioned in the Old Testament? Noah, because he successfully floated a limited company when all the rest of the world was in liquidation.
   
Google Books
20 June 1903, The Christian Work and Evangelist, “Just For Fun,” pg. 895, col. 2:
Dr. Cuyler’s Little Joke.
At a society dinner last year Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler contributed to the fun of the evening by propounding this conundrum: “Why was Noah the greatest financier of this time?”
 
No one was able to answer; so he gave his fellow diners a year to think it over.
 
This year Dr. Cuyler was unable to attend the dinner, but he telegraphed this answer:
   
“Noah was able to float a stock company at a time when all his contemporaries were forced into involuntary liquidation.”
 
Google News Archive
20 March 1908, The Pittsburg Press (Pittsburgh, PA), pg. 6, col. 2:
At the Ticker.
Mr. Stockson Bonds—Noah was a wonderful financier.
Mr. Dustin Sax—How so?
Mr. Stockson Bonds—He floated a stock company when every one else was forced into involuntary liquidation.—St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press.
 
Google Books
10 October 1919, The American Legion Weekly, pg. 25, col. 3:
Smith: “Do you know that Noah was the greatest financier that ever lived?”
Dibbs: “How do you make that out?”
Smith: “He floated a company when the world was in liquidation.”
   
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
business
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
12/6/96
Melanie Aultman wrote:
>
>  Who was the best businesswoman in the Bible?
>  Pharoah’s daughter.  She drew a prophet from a rush on the bank.
But Noah floated his stock when the rest of the world was in liquidation!
   
Google Groups: alt.humor.puns
new movie
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
12/5/97
(...)
Of course, he could hire a banker to be Noah - we all know that he floated alone while the rest of the world was in liquidation.
   
Google Groups: alt.humor.jewish
A GREAT Clinton Joke! I PROMISE that this one is REALLY GOOD!!!
Simon Levene
8/5/98
Oldest Jokes
And I always thought that Noah was a savvy businessman, on account of his having floated a limited company when the rest of the world was in liquidation.
 
Twitter
Suzane Leblanc
‏@arwenwitch
Who was the wisest financial investor in the Bible?Noah, he floated his stock while everyone else liquidated their assets (via @GodsStandUp)
7:51 AM - 24 Nov 2010
 
Twitter
Mark Ramsey
‏@marklramsey
Faith Acts.. Noah “built” the Ark, he floated his assets while the rest of the world went into liquidation!
10:47 PM - 7 Aug 2011
 
Google Books
The World’s Greatest Collection of Clean Jokes
By Bob Phillips
Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers
2013
Pg. 26:
Who was the best financier in the Bible?
Noah. He floated his stock while the whole world was in liquidation.
 
Twitter
Paul’s Jokes
‏@MoreTwitty
Old #Joke (OJ): Who had the best financial mind in the Bible? Noah—he floated his assets while everyone else was liquidating!
#cleanjoke
6:28 PM - 21 Nov 2014