Hot Features
Premium
Register for real-time alerts, custom portfolio, and market movers
US President questions the legality of billionaires publicly criticising the market while betting against it
The US president Donald Trump has condemned hedge fund managers and other billionaires who take to financial media to talk down the market. He argues that such actions are cynically done in order to strengthen their own positions.
Taking to Twitter, Trump stated: “When the so-called ‘rich guys’ speak negatively about the market, you must always remember that some are betting big against it, and make a lot of money if it goes down. Then they go positive, get big publicity, and make it going up. They get you both ways. Barely legal?”
The president is thought to have the likes of Stanley Druckenmiller and Bill Ackman in its sights. Druckenmiller has publicly and forcefully doubted the possibility of a V-shaped recovery and the ability of the Fed to rescue the economy.
In a March 18 CNBC interview, Ackman called for a 30-day shutdown of the United States, expressed fear for the lives of both him and his family and declared that America “could end as we know it”.
Through targeted shorts and the purchasing of credit protection, Ackman, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, turned $27m (£22m, €24.9m) into $2.6bn. A series of subsequent bullish statements have led to accusations that Ackman acted as a cynical Jeremiah in order to profit.
Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money and former hedge fund manager, responded to the president’s observation by stating: “It’s true. The rich guys are not on to help you, they are on to help themselves. There are so many great American companies that people can invest in that are doing so much for shareholders AND those on the front line… Stop scaring people!”
Mr Trump’s comment has also provoked anger in some quarters, with bemusement that the man who can shift market sentiment with a single tweet is complaining about the effect of “rich guys” on the economy.
For more news go to currency.com
