Steve was kind enough to take some time out of his day to ruminate on the financial crisis over a seafood platter. In summary: This blows, thanks to ratings agencies and mark-to-market accounting, but Geithner is on the case, so don’t worry.
Private equity company Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.
“Between 40 and 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half,” Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. “This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime.”
45 percent of world’s wealth destroyed: Blackstone CEO [Reuters]
So, actually 5% better than the 50% of stone crab claws in the world he’s ingested?
Translates to 100% of worlds wealthiest are 44% poorer.
yes but the uptick rule is coming back
http://thereformedbroker.com/2009/03/10/coming-soon-the-uptick-rule/
Nothing like being pompous and egocentric.
Whats the definition of wealth? I guess acording to SS it is stock portfolio and RE holdings.
Or is he saying that 45% of the worlds core commodities have been destroyed? (45% of oil, precious metals, etc.) or perhaps 45% of the worlds art and other collectibles? 45% of all farmers crops land and livestock? or maybe 45% of ouir life expentancy?
I’d wager a greater % of the world will be effected vastly more by local politics and the weather than by this ‘global economic meltdown’.
Yet another reason to be disgusted at the arrogant [Wallstreet] pricks present company somewhat included, that believe everything in world revolves around their viewpoint.
Apres Moi….
-C
the man is truly committed to high watermarks, eh?
SS strumps his dumps on all of us
Isn’t destroyed a little too strong a description?
Maybe deflated (like a balloon)
or disappeared (like a mirage)
or collapsed (like a house of cards)
or wiped away (like a ShamWow)
….
45% of the Bubble is gone. It was never wealth and he knows it. But he was able to cash out big time as he helped to blow it up.
@7 disappeared like a mirage.
SlapChop!
IF wealth
EQUALS leverage financed multiple expansion
THAN yes
Apparently a whole lot of people were really benchmarking their wealth to the “greater fool in perpetuity” theory.
Phuuulz. Shrimpy has about as much legitimacy as big Ken. Next.
@7 You win for today.
where is the section where SS takes responsibility for being so excellent and fukcing his LPs over with lame, overleveraged buyouts?
wasn’t his birthday the jump-the-shark moment for the economy?
@8 hits it on the head. Bubble wealth is not wealth.
Rather the fake value of assets is being replaced by the true value.
It’s a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses. Money itself isn’t lost or made, it’s simply transferred from one perception to another.
@17
Money isn’t some sort of indivisible fundamental particle. It’s lost and made all the time. Just check various measures of the money supply.
And the implicit assumption is that most of that wealth was actual money. #7, #8, and #11 are closer to the truth: credit is a claim on money, but not necessarily money, and de-leveraging such as we’ve seen in the past few months indicates that an awful lot of those claims aren’t going to be met. A lot of people were chasing their shadow, and now the sun has gone behind a cloud.