A revealing look at Wall Street, the financial media, and financial regulators by David Einhorn, the President of Greenlight Capital Could 2008's credit crisis have been minimized or even avoided? In 2002, David Einhorn-one of the country's top investors-was asked at a charity investment conference to share his best investment advice. Short sell Allied Capital. At the time, Allied was a leader in the private financing industry. Einhorn claimed Allied was using questionable accounting practices to prop itself up. Sound familiar? At the time of the original version of Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story the outcome of his advice was unknown. Now, the story is complete and we know Einhorn was right. In 2008, Einhorn advised the same conference to short sell Lehman Brothers. And had the market been more open to his warnings, yes, the market meltdown might have been avoided, or at least minimized.
- Details the gripping battle between Allied Capital and Einhorn's Greenlight Capital
- Illuminates how questionable company practices are maintained and, at times, even protected by Wall Street
- Describes the failings of investment banks, analysts, journalists, and government regulators
- Describes how many parts of the Allied Capital story were replayed in the debate over Lehman Brothers
Fooling Some of the People All of the Time is an important call for effective government regulation, free speech, and fair play.
Table of Contents:
Foreword xi
Allied Capital Stock Price Chart xiv
Who’s Who xvii
Introduction to This Edition xxi
Introduction: The Spark of a Speech 1
Part One: A Charity Case and Greenlight Capital
Chapter 1 Before Greenlight 9
Chapter 2 Getting the “Greenlight” 13
Chapter 3 Greenlight’s Early Successes 23
Chapter 4 Value Investing through the Internet Bubble 33
Chapter 5 Dissecting Allied Capital 43
Part Two: Spinning So Fast Leaves Most People Dizzy
Chapter 6 Allied Talks Back 55
Chapter 7 Wall Street Analysts 65
Chapter 8 The You-Have-Got-to-Be-Kidding-Me Method of Accounting 73
Chapter 9 Fact—or Maybe Not 81
Chapter 10 Business Loan Express 97
Chapter 11 Disengaging and Re-engaging 105
Chapter 12 Me or Your Lyin’ Eyes? 111
Chapter 13 Debates and Manipulations 121
Chapter 14 Rewarding Shareholders 127
Chapter 15 BLX Is Worth What, Exactly? 135
Part Three: Would Somebody, Anybody, Wake Up?
Chapter 16 The Government Investigates 145
Chapter 17 A Tough Morning 157
Chapter 18 A Spinner, a Scribe, and a Scholar 165
Chapter 19 Kroll Digs Deeper 171
Chapter 20 Rousing the Authorities 179
Chapter 21 A $9 Million Game of Three-Card Monte 193
Part Four: How the System Works (and Doesn’t)
Chapter 22 Hello, Who’s There? 213
Chapter 23 Whistle-Blower 223
Chapter 24 A Naked Attack 237
Chapter 25 Another Loan Program, Another Fraud 245
Chapter 26 The Smell of Politics 255
Chapter 27 Insiders Getting the Money Out 265
Part Five: Greenlight Was Right ... Carry On
Chapter 28 Charges and Denials 275
Chapter 29 Charges and Admissions 283
Chapter 30 Late Innings 297
Chapter 31 The SEC Finds a Spot under the Rug 311
Chapter 32 A Garden of Weeds 319
Chapter 33 A Conviction, a Hearing, and a Dismissal 331
Chapter 34 Blind Men, Elephants, Möbius Strips, and Moral Hazards 351
Part Six: Epilogue
Chapter 35 Looking Back: As the Story Continued 359
Chapter 36 The Lehman Brothers Saga 361
Chapter 37 If They Asked Me, I Could Write a Book 367
Chapter 38 Just Put Your Lips Together and Blow 377
Chapter 39 Some Final Words to and from the SEC 387
Chapter 40 The Last Word 397
Glossary 401
Acknowledgments 407
About the Author 409
Index 411
About the Author :
DAVID EINHORN is the president of Greenlight Capital, which he cofounded in January 1996. Greenlight Capital is a value-oriented investment advisor whose goal is to achieve high absolute rates of return while minimizing the risk of capital loss. Einhorn is the Chairman of Board of Greenlight Capital RE and also serves on the boards of Hillel; The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research; and of the Robin Hood Foundation.
