Something you’ve probably picked up on over the last year or so is that Robert Benmosche? Is no one’s bitch. Not the market’s bitch, not Treasury’s bitch, not Andrew Cuomo’s bitch, and definitely not cancer’s bitch. At times when others would’ve rolled over and taken it, ‘Mosche told them where they could go. So it should come as no surprise that in the face of the unfortunate news of his illness, Benmosche has not only pledged to keep at it with the insurer, but not let a little c-word sideline him when it comes to keeping fit. He covered this and other topics in a memo to employees this morning. Continue reading »
inspirations
CNBC Anchor Gets Choked Up At The Notion Of Billionaire Leon Cooperman Keeping The Government’s Hands Off His Money
By Bess Levin
Billionaire hedge fund manager Leon Cooperman was on Squawk Box this morning discussing a whole mess of issues, including a recent pledge to give away nearly all his money to charity. Cooperman has signed on to the Buffett/Gates initiative to donate half his wealth but today he told CNBC, “Every dollar I make, I’ll give it away because what I’ve planned to leave to my children, that’s already been set.”
Cooperman went on to start explaining that he just feels like this is “the right thing to do” and helping those less fortunate is what he and his wife “get the most enjoyment out of.” But Joe Kernen knew in his heart of hearts there was another reason. Continue reading »
You probably didn’t know it but the Jabroni Pony isn’t the only one with a new book on the financial crisis coming out today. Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Zuckerman’s got one, too (though his does not include promotion that involves being shot out of a cannon, naked, at the closing bell). While CG’s tome, which chronicles the fuck-ups of many a CEO, serves as a helpful guide on what not to do if you’re looking to avoid blowing up Wall Street, Zuckerman’s book, The Greatest Trade Ever, chronicles the stories of a bunch of guys who actually made money off that can’t lose asset class, subprime. But it wasn’t all rolling around in sticky fifties from the get-go. Daily Intel runs through the book’s subjects, and the adversity they had to overcome, before doing stuff like making $15 billion in one year, and writing a fuck-off letter to the industry, lobbying for the legalizing of weed. Take heart: even if you lack the motor skills to properly shave yourself, you could be the next John Paulson:
At times, [pre-king of the world] Paulson didn’t seem completely put together. When Brad Balter, a young broker, came to visit, Paulson chain-smoked cigarettes and had spots of blood on his shirt collar from a shaving mishap. Paulson’s head of marketing was stretched out in agony on a nearby couch, moaning about his back.
“I didn’t know what to think. It was a little surreal,” Balter recalls.
At times, Paulson became discouraged. His early investment performance was good but uneven, and he continued to have few clients. He was sure of his abilities but questioned whether he could make the fund a success.
One especially glum day, Paulson asked his father, “Am I in the wrong business? Is something wrong with me? “It was hard to be rejected, it was a lonely period,” Paulson recalls.
Also featured: the guy with the glass eye (Michael Burry), the guy who was known for his “unusually thick sideburns” (Greg Lippman), and everyone’s favorite burnout (Andrew Ladhe).
Bad News Bears: The Guys Who Bet Against The Subprime Bubble And Won [Daily Intel]
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