mk, I've always laughed at Ross. I think he's a terrific guy, but unintentionally funny as hell. Presidential material, no. Entrepreneur extraordinaire, yes.
I always like the fact that the Forbes Billionaires are held in awe by many. The way 80% of them made their money is through inheritance. Oh, yeah, that's tough. <g> However, I don't think that just because somebody hit it big means he has any special insight. Usually they have no real idea why things lined up in their favor.
When I made my fortune, such as it is, managing mutual funds, I patted myself on the back a lot. But when I look at the series of random factors that helped me, my arm gets sore fast. First of all, I was an equity options guy who was asked to manage a fixed income fund on the side. Little did I know that fund would eat the mutual fund industry. Then, I was bullish at a time that rates declined from 14% to 7%. And I was lucky enough to be working for a firm that was able to tell that story to buyers. One of my buddies was in exactly the same situation with the same market outlook, except that his fund co. was a weak sister. He never made the big bucks. Luck is very nice. <G> |
