Posted on 10/21/2008 9:50:06 AM PDT by Orange1998
The boss of a successful US hedge fund has quit the industry with an extraordinary farewell letter dismissing his rivals as over-privileged "idiots" and thanking "stupid" traders for making him rich. Andrew Lahde's $80m Los Angeles-based firm Lahde Capital Management in Los Angeles made a huge return last year by betting against subprime mortgages.
Yesterday the 37-year-old told his clients that he had hated the business and had only been in it for the money. And after declaring he would no longer manage money for other people, because he had enough of his own, Lahde said that instead he intended to repair his stress-damaged health; he made it clear he would not miss the financial world. "The low-hanging fruit, ie idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking," he wrote. "These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government," he said. "All of this behaviour supporting the aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America."
Lahde became one of the biggest names in the investment industry when one of his funds produced a return of 866% last year, largely by forecasting the US home loans industry would collapse. In his farewell letter, which concluded with an appeal for the legalisation of marijuana, Lahde said he was happy with his rewards and did not envy those who had made even more money. "I will let others try to amass nine, 10 or 11 figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck," he wrote,
excerpt
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
With this guy’s attitude, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone tried to feed him a bullet.
What a figgin’ as**ole!
I hope this loser falls straight on his face someday.
Stupid people can be very vindictive.
It is one thing to decide whether or not to “Never Give A Sucker An Even Break,” but it is rather worse to tell the “suckers,” later, that they WERE suckers.
This guy was a freaking genius. He saw the housing bubble burst a mile away when the Wall Street experts couldn’t, and made a pile for himself and his clients in the bargain.
He came out on the winning side of the Greater Fool theory.
He can sleep easily on his pile of money.
No doubt. But I think he pretty much told the truth as it applies to the mental capacity of the idiots on the other side of his transactions.
So, think about think parents, who are thinking of sending their kidlets into the Ivy League. Try the local State university, make them work to earn their money and stand back.
This post inspired me to change my tagline.
No wonder he advocates the legalization of marijuana.
Hate him if you want, but he is right on point.
The hard truth is you don't get a better education by attending an Ivy League school. Your personal character (which defines how much effort you put into your education) has more to do with the quality of your education than the school you attend.
Who was it recently that said Obama was more qualified to be president than Palin, because Obama attended an elite institution and Palin a state school?
This is the equivalent of “Slam, bam, thank you Ma’am”.
I’m sure he’s not going to be asking these guys for references. ;-)
Leona Helmsley, Charles Keating and Michael Milken had this same attitude and look where they landed. Michael Milken used to sweep the front steps of my office while he was behind bars.
Big deal shorting mortgage industry companies and companies tied to housing was a no-brainer. Hell it was widely discussed on some of the housing bubble sites. Perhaps this guy started doing it a little earlier than some.
I had no cash to play these games, so I have no dog in the fight. Other than I’ve been saying since I moved to San Diego 3 years ago that it was stupid to buy a house (not a popular opinion amongst the Norman Vincent Peale types). Incidentally I notice out here there seems to be tremendous pressure to get your kids into (insert Ivy League/Stanford/ etc) these schools. My sons will feel a little left out that I don’t want to bother sending a $50 app to princeton but screw ‘em I can’t afford that, and don’t want to pay it.
State school and work hard.. Sure you won’t be a part of the aristocracy, but you can close the gap once you start working.
Did you read the article?
Read it again...look for your name...
Exactly...to what degree, do you suppose, do a "shoot the messenger" mentality and ignorance go hand in hand?
His diatribe devolves into a lengthy discussion of the virtues of ........ Hemp (yeah man). What’s the bets the guy is penniless withing 5 years?
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