Nassim Taleb Makes Billions and Attacks Richard Dawkins
- Thread starter marketsurfer
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Yes, I may have read the same article, and it was backed up by fund managers I know who were close to the situation. It makes it all the more disturbing that a myth is created around great past performance when all indicators (Paloma, Empirica) suggest the opposite.
Taleb's former hero was Niederhoffer, but since Niederhoffer blew up for the second time, he doesn't bring him up much anymore.
Still you have to hand it to the guy. He's a successful peripthetic self-promoter.
This is from battleofthequants.com here in London a couple of years back:
Empirica LLC, which owns interests in hedge funds, and operates a research laboratory in London, Empirica Laboratory Limited, and a Hedging operation (no, it is not a "hedge fund" in the common accepted sense as the bulk of the business consists in portfolio protection packages. We only called it a HF in May-October 2001).
It seems that in recent years most of Taleb's income was from teaching and flogging his books. The advisory for the hedge fund may be a recent good payday. His book advance for his next book was rumored by an old Bloomberg article to be $4 million. He has been great at self-promotion.
Empirica LLC, which owns interests in hedge funds, and operates a research laboratory in London, Empirica Laboratory Limited, and a Hedging operation (no, it is not a "hedge fund" in the common accepted sense as the bulk of the business consists in portfolio protection packages. We only called it a HF in May-October 2001).
It seems that in recent years most of Taleb's income was from teaching and flogging his books. The advisory for the hedge fund may be a recent good payday. His book advance for his next book was rumored by an old Bloomberg article to be $4 million. He has been great at self-promotion.
My impression was that Fooled By Randomness was essentially a jab at Niederhoffer.
As I heard him describe once, the idea is to take no risk, and at the same time take large risk. His execution of this would be to buy T-Bills, and use the interest income to pay for option premium.
Assuming you don't sell your bills after a large run up in rates, shouldn't the downside to this strategy be limited to loss by inflation and taxes, and the upside unlimited (in theory)?
Assuming you don't sell your bills after a large run up in rates, shouldn't the downside to this strategy be limited to loss by inflation and taxes, and the upside unlimited (in theory)?
It was.
I'm going to point out, that some years ago when I was an undergrad at a university in new york, I personally invited Taleb to speak at the school for an economics club. He did, without any compensation or obligation - even paid for drinks for the people who were interested to talk more afterwards.
I'm sure he got fees for speaking at industry events. I will just offer the above that my personal experience with him has been very positive, to say the least.
I'm going to point out, that some years ago when I was an undergrad at a university in new york, I personally invited Taleb to speak at the school for an economics club. He did, without any compensation or obligation - even paid for drinks for the people who were interested to talk more afterwards.
I'm sure he got fees for speaking at industry events. I will just offer the above that my personal experience with him has been very positive, to say the least.
Not to beat a dead horse, but here is the article refered to earlier:
http://www.gladwell.com/2002/2002_04_29_a_blowingup.htm
i concur with sjfan--any interaction i have had with NT, he has always proven to be a gracious, entertaining host.
surf
<i>He didn't talk much, so I observed him," Taleb recalls. "I spent seven hours watching him trade. Everyone else in his office was in his twenties, and he was in his fifties, and he had the most energy of them all. Then, after the markets closed, he went out to hit a thousand backhands on the tennis court." Taleb is Greek-Orthodox Lebanese and his first language was French, and in his pronunciation the name Niederhoffer comes out as the slightly more exotic Nieder hoffer. "Here was a guy living in a mansion with thousands of books, and that was my dream as a child," Taleb went on. "He was part chevalier, part scholar. My respect for him was intense." There was just one problem, however, and it is the key to understanding the strange path that Nassim Taleb has chosen, and the position he now holds as Wall Street's principal dissident. Despite his envy and admiration, he did not want to be Victor Niederhoffer -- not then, not now, and not even for a moment in between. For when he looked around him, at the books and the tennis court and the folk art on the walls -- when he contemplated the countless millions that Niederhoffer had made over the years -- he could not escape the thought that it might all have been the result of sheer, dumb luck.</i>
http://www.gladwell.com/2002/2002_04_29_a_blowingup.htm
i concur with sjfan--any interaction i have had with NT, he has always proven to be a gracious, entertaining host.
surf
<i>He didn't talk much, so I observed him," Taleb recalls. "I spent seven hours watching him trade. Everyone else in his office was in his twenties, and he was in his fifties, and he had the most energy of them all. Then, after the markets closed, he went out to hit a thousand backhands on the tennis court." Taleb is Greek-Orthodox Lebanese and his first language was French, and in his pronunciation the name Niederhoffer comes out as the slightly more exotic Nieder hoffer. "Here was a guy living in a mansion with thousands of books, and that was my dream as a child," Taleb went on. "He was part chevalier, part scholar. My respect for him was intense." There was just one problem, however, and it is the key to understanding the strange path that Nassim Taleb has chosen, and the position he now holds as Wall Street's principal dissident. Despite his envy and admiration, he did not want to be Victor Niederhoffer -- not then, not now, and not even for a moment in between. For when he looked around him, at the books and the tennis court and the folk art on the walls -- when he contemplated the countless millions that Niederhoffer had made over the years -- he could not escape the thought that it might all have been the result of sheer, dumb luck.</i>