"The Man who made too much"

[jficquette]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/28814840

This is unbelievable.


"All this reportedly garnered him a personal payday of $3.7 billion, among the biggest in history. In 2008, his funds didn’t climb nearly as much but were still successful enough to put him at the very top of his profession. By scoring returns of this magnitude, Paulson has dwarfed the success of George Soros, whose currency trades in the 1990s made him so much money that he has spent much of the rest of his career atoning for them.

Paulson makes no apologies. During our conversation in his conference room, he describes in detail how he pulled off the greatest financial coup in recent history—a two-year bet that the calamity we are now experiencing would take place. It was a megatrade involving dozens of financial instruments, along with prescient wagers that banks like Lehman Brothers would eventually go under."

 

[trackstar]

freaking insane..

 

[4444CJones4444]

He made 3.7 billion by betting Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual and Wachovia would fail, risking his own financial ruin in the process.

I'd like to see all his bets for the last 2 years. Did he get anything wrong? If not, there should be some serious red flags raised. I having nothing against legitimate short selling, but at some point, we have to draw the line. Maybe Fuld's accusations have some merit.

 

[stock777]

I didn't see the program.

If this guy figured it out and simply put his $ on the line, then more power to him.

If he was involved in some way with creating the turmoil that helped him cash, then we have a problem.

Was there any hint of that?

 

[Fractals 'R Us]

Quote from 4444CJones4444:

He made 3.7 billion by betting Lehman Brothers, Washington Mutual and Wachovia would fail, risking his own financial ruin in the process.

I'd like to see all his bets for the last 2 years. Did he get anything wrong? If not, there should be some serious red flags raised. I having nothing against legitimate short selling, but at some point, we have to draw the line. Maybe Fuld's accusations have some merit.

We have to draw the line??? You got a mouse in your pocket or something?

 

[jficquette]

Quote from stock777:

I didn't see the program.

If this guy figured it out and simply put his $ on the line, then more power to him.

If he was involved in some way with creating the turmoil that helped him cash, then we have a problem.

Was there any hint of that?

No, I mean he was just taking advantage of it. Its just unbelievable how money you can make.

 

[nazzdack]

Quote from 4444CJones4444:
Did he get anything wrong?

He took some "heat" in 2006 before the meltdown began.

 

[MattF]

as the article noted, his grandfather was one of the winners/up people during the GD.

The winners just have that uncanny knack to spot the opportunities...in his case, it was like betting just about everything on black and winning out.

 

[gangof4]

Quote from MattF:

as the article noted, his grandfather was one of the winners/up people during the GD.

The winners just have that uncanny knack to spot the opportunities...in his case, it was like betting just about everything on black and winning out.

your analogy to betting on black is sophomoric at best. in fact, reading it again, it's idiotic. if you have even the most basic understanding of what he did, you'd realize how far out in left field you are with your comparison.

 

[mokwit]

"since he was a kid, when he bought candy in bulk and sold individual pieces to his buddies at a profit."

Seems to be a very common trait amongst super earners - Buffet was into a similar scheme. These type of kids are never liked and presumably put profit ahead of popularity. Observation, not a criticism. Then again most of us did this kind of thing - just not highlighted in a biography or newspaper article as a trait.