HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?

Remember John Paulson’s big trade a few years ago? This subprime business something or other? It ended up pretty well for him, netting a bunch of billions and the respect of his peers but at the time, most people who JP told about it it had a good laugh at his expense and thought to themselves, “who is this fuckin’ guy,” Paulson recounts.

…in audio recordings recently released by Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Mr. Paulson reveals just how much flack he got from professionals and peers, who in the early days of the turmoil derided his big bet as the misguided move of a “novice.”

“Most of them, when we did express our viewpoints, thought we were inexperienced novices in the mortgage market,” Mr. Paulson said in an interview with the commission in 2010. “We were very, very much in the minority. If I said a thousand-to-one, we were the one. Even friends of ours thought we were so wrong, they felt sorry for us.”

Having spoken with Paulson’s friends and asked if such was the case, they would like to get a message out that they were just messing about it being a shitty idea- they loved it! One even recalls describing it at the time as “the tits” and in fact wanted to put their own money in the fund that returned 500+ percent. Something must have gotten lost in translation, is all. Maybe, though, since we’re all buds here, they can get whatever they would’ve earned on a $1 bn investment? Okay, fine, make it 2.

Even Paulson’s Friends Pitied His Subprime Bet [Dealbook]

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Shout out to the Doctor in John Paulson’s year-end letter to investors.

paulson_2010

John Paulson 2010 Letter To Investor [ZH via BI]

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In a piece today on John Paulson’s 2010 performance, the Journal notes that while pretty good, the hedge fund manager shouldn’t exactly be doing any victory dances in the end zone. Sure, 30+ percent returns, when you’re managing more than $30 billion, are “very rare” in the business. But, they’re just saying, JoPau probably shouldn’t be doing any bragging and may in fact want to think about where he went wrong, considering in 2007 he returned 590 percent. They don’t want to be critical! They’re merely pointing out: no one’s written a book about Paulson’s 2010 trades. Perhaps feeling a bit bad, or as though they’d gone too far, the Journal does charitably note that the $5 billion Paulson earned is a lot more than some people.

One way to view the size of Mr. Paulson’s $5 billion profit: It is nearly as much as the $6.4 billion that Forbes magazine last year estimated as the total net worth of Steven Cohen, the well-known head of $12 billion hedge-fund firm SAC Capital.

Uncalled for.

Trader Racks Up Epic Second Gain [WSJ]

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Goldman Sachs investor Jim Clark was particularly irked by the disclosures surrounding Abacus. He had met with Paulson and Co founder John Paulson in August 2006 and been impressed by the manager’s plans to bet against the subprime-mortgage market. His Goldman brokers talked him out of investing with Paulson, describing him as a bit player, Clark says. Paulson generated a 590 percent return in his flagship credit fund in 2007 “When it came out that Paulson had the biggest payday in history, I got angry,” Clark says. [Bloomberg]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

He’s does it all the time around the office but never in public, in front of other people.

To: NYU Stern Community

Subject: Interview with Dr. Allan Greenspan, Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, by John A. Paulson, President of Paulson & Co. Inc

To mark the establishment of the Alan Greenspan Chair in Economics, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan (BS ’48, MA ’50, PhD ’77, Honorary Doctorate of Commercial Science ’05) will be interviewed by John A. Paulson (BS ’78), the president of Paulson & Co. Inc. Drawing on Dr. Greenspan’s lifetime experience, the interview will provide a perspective on the future of finance and financial markets as well as the implications of recent regulatory action. Come hear an illuminating discussion between two NYU Stern alumni, who will share insights into the US and global markets. Q&A will follow their dialogue.

Related: Alan Greenspan Joins John Paulson’s Hedge Fund [AC]

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According to Dow Jones: Paulson Advantage finished up 11% for the year (9% in December); Paulson Advantage Plus was up 17% (13% in December); Paulson Recovery was up 24% (14% in December); Paulson Enhanced was up 27% (11% in December); and the gold fund was up 35% (1.4% in December).

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Nothing to get too excited about but if he’s staying true to his September resolution, probably means you get a house! and you get a house! and you get a house! [Daily Mail]

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According to Reuters, Paulson and Co’s Advantage Plus was up 1.13 percent in November (3.7 percent YTD), Paulson’s Advantage was up 0.46% (1.82% YTD), and his gold fund was up 5.8 percent (33.% YTD).

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Casting A Long Shadow In Hedge Funds [Dan's Hamptons via BI]

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September 28, 2010: “If you don’t own a home buy one,” Paulson recommended. “If you own one home,* buy another one, and if you own two homes** buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”

November 19, 2010: “John Paulson…just dropped $2.85 million on a two-bedroom spread at 641 Fifth Avenue’s Olympic Tower. ”

Like he’s going to live in some 2-bedroom shithole. Congratulations, long-lost cousin of John Paulson!

Hedge funder John Paulson picks up $3M Olympic Tower pad [The Real Deal]

*Which he does
**Ditto on that one.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker