At any given time, how many positions on the short side are you in? So we have two pools within the con finds up either hedged or unhedged. People know us for the names we talk about, but that's a very small subset of our portfolio. The vast majority of things that we're short we don't talk about and other than our clients, nobody really knowsy. You also teach a couruse at yale and wisconsin, history of financial market fraud. Talk to me a little bit about that.
Our guest this week is renowned short-seller Jim Chanos, founder, and president of Kynikos Associates. Over the course of his long and successful career, Jim has publicly bet against companies like Enron, which Barron’s deemed the “market call of the decade, if not the past 50 years.” While many know him for these famous shorts, fewer know that Jim is also a passionate historian, and is a firm believer in the notion that history can act as a useful guide for investors today. In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss:
- How Jim started his career in finance
- The Mississippi Bubble
- How past financial frauds and manias can be useful for modern investors
- Tesla
- Lessons from the Great Financial Crisis
- Jim’s financial history course at Yale and Wisconsin
- Theranos
And much, much more… we hope you enjoy.