Maybe we were reading an ambugous quote, one that can be taken both ways. Here is the quote:
“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.”
He ‘found’ people, to take the other side of ‘his’ trades.
It does not say whether these people were his account holders, or his students, or his acquaintances, or dinner guests, etc.
He ‘found’ them.
Can you explain this any other way?
Mr. Lahde's deals had to do with "betting against subprime mortgages." In other words, he was operating in the realm of Mortgage Backed Securities, and other similar derivatives.
Normal people typically don't deal in such things -- I don't, you don't, and probably nobody we know does (unless they happen to work for an investment firm or big bank).
And normal people typically don't invest the kinds of money needed for Mr. Lahde to take home a paycheck measured in the tens of millions.
He was dealing with the big boys, not your or me.
I feel your pain, but you’re misinerpreting the quotes.
“He ‘found’ people, to take the other side of ‘his’ trades.
It does not say whether these people were his account holders, or his students, or his acquaintances, or dinner guests, etc.”
He is running a hedge fund, which means he can go long or short. He made millions for himself which means he made many many more millions for his investors.
When he is talking about “finding the other side of the trade”, he is just mocking people who were going long on financials that were heavily invested in subprime loans like BearStearns, fnma, aig etc.
Whenever you buy a stock, there is a seller, and vice versa...when you trade, trading lingo talks about the “sucker or bagholder” who was crazy enough to but a stock at a high level, while one shorts it...or vice versa”