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From last Thursday's (17 Apr) The Guardian, US recession? It's hedge fund heaven.

Millions of people are facing foreclosure on their homes, banks are going belly up, tens of thousands are being put out of work, America is on the brink of recession - it's another fantastic year to make money as a hedge fund manager.

The top managers pocketed more personal wealth last year than at probably any time in history. Top of the league table came John Paulson, whose pay packet in 2007 reached $3.7bn (£1.87bn). Close behind him were George Soros and James Simons who made $2.9bn and $2.8bn respectively. The poorest individual listed among the 50 top earning hedge fund managers made $210m.

From last Monday's (14 Apr) The New York Times, Despite Tough Times, Ultrarich Keep Spending.

Who said anything about a recession? Sometime between the government bailout of Bear Stearns and the Bureau of Labor Statistics report that America lost 80,000 jobs in March, Lee Tachman spent roughly $50,000 last month on a four-day jaunt to Miami for himself and three close friends...

He is hardly alone in his eagerness to keep spending. Some businesses that cater to the superrich report that clients -- many of them traders and private equity investors whose work is tied to Wall Street -- are still splurging on multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartments, custom-built yachts, contemporary art and lavish parties...

"When times get tough, the smart spend money," said David Monn, an event planner who is organizing a black-tie party on May 10 for dignitaries and recent purchasers of apartments at the Plaza Hotel; the average price there was $7 million. "Short of our country going on food stamps, I don't think we're doing anything differently." ...

"We're trying to spend on what we feel is important," said Victor Self, an executive with a fitness company who, with his partner, is planning to spend $100,000 on a commitment ceremony on St. Barts and a dessert party for 200 to 300 guests at Jeffrey, a clothing store in the meatpacking district.

by Magnifico on Mon Apr 21st, 2008 at 01:47:09 AM EST
"We're trying to spend on what we feel is important," said Victor Self, an executive with a fitness company

The Onion couldn't do better. Reality, meet fiction. Fiction, meet reality.

When locusts move on, they leave nothing behind

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Mon Apr 21st, 2008 at 01:56:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's grotesque. Like I said before, institute 90 % marginal taxes for these people, and then give them some medals and put up some statues to console them.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Mon Apr 21st, 2008 at 12:45:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I see this article/report format all the time("xxx is a problem?  Not for the rich!") and I wonder what exactly is the point.  Is anyone surprised that wealthy people are mostly unaffected by conditions that bedevil much of the population?  Is this news to anyone?  Or do they just exist because people like reading them to get outraged at stuff like that bolded quote?

The way I usually interpret them is:  worthy people are not effected by these problems, so they're not so serious, really.  But that could just be my insecurities talking...

by bselig on Mon Apr 21st, 2008 at 05:28:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Reality sometimes leaves satire sputtering in its wake.
by keikekaze on Mon Apr 21st, 2008 at 10:19:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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