Surf’s Up: Hedgistan Heads for The Highway (House)

It is summer in Hedgistan, and with apologies to Aspen and Nantucket there is really only one place to be. Hanging there is comparable to a crowded trade with little downside, save for the traffic. The downside is easily avoided.

Dan Loeb is no doubt enjoying himself, and if if you are fan of modern architecture his Rafael Vinoly designed home (click here for pics...hit projects then Highway House-1995). Dan bought the house well, after it had lingered on the market for some time during the previous downturn. And while it might offend the sensibilities of Hamptonites who prefer more traditional architecture, his zinc-roofed and teak house is quite spectacular, at least if you appreciate natural light after punching tickers up all day bathed in fluorescent lightsin a cave like office..

Dan it doing a little entertaining at his spread, including screening movies of his surfing exploits with Wingnut, who gained legend in the Endless Summer sequel:

Two years ago he traveled to Costa Rica with famous surfer Robert "Wingnut" Weaver and a professional filmmaker in tow. Her returned with a tan and a beautifully edited montage of him surfing pristine beaches with attractive and famous people-a film he invites friends to view in the screening room upstairs at his East Hampton home. Hampton Style

Loeb's home was designed in an "L" configuration to protect the lap pool and outdoor areas from the prevailing breezes, and three guest bedrooms give him ample room to invite his less fortunate friends "out East". Of course, it is unknown if Loeb commissioned his very own surf song...

like Wingnut’s Theme....

Dan’s Hamptons rolled out a warmed over version of the top 11 Hedge Funders in the Hamptons. There is little new in the piece, but a feature of John Paulson is notable for the a photos undated photo spread that would seem to have been mothballed for the past decade. The print version holds better pics, and is proof that even billionaires are not always photogenic.
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Paulson circa...???...

photos by Christophe von Hohenberg
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The Paulson article is notable for several stories that make it clear Paulson was a skirt chasing man whore in his younger Hampton days...nothing really remarkable there, however. Been there, done that:

Having founded his namesake fund, Paulson & Co., only 13 years earlier, Paulson didn’t yet have Soros’s long, impressive track record, though surely his stature is already imposing by any other standard. Soros and Paulson both bet heavily on the collapse of subprime mortgages and both reaped benefits in 2007 in excess of $3 billion. Paulson’s payday, the highest in hedge-fund history, bested Soros by nearly $1 billion. (The combined list of 50 managers on Alpha’s annual list brought in a total of $29 billion.)

The magazine, a spinoff of Institutional Investor, has become something between a bible and a school yearbook for the hedge-fund community, and is even throwing their first “prom,” of sorts, on September 24 at the St. Regis Hotel in New York. It is their first annual Hall of Fame Awards, and among the honorees are Julian Robertson, Louis Bacon, Paul Tudor Jones, Ken Griffin, Bruce Kovner, James Simons and George Soros. It is an illustrious list, but one devoid of the current prom king. Paulson has become very reticent to showboat as of late, perhaps in deference to the great disparity his financial boon creates in light of the rampant troubles being experienced by so many others.

Whatever the reason, it is a far cry from the nightclub-hopping days he long enjoyed in the Hamptons when he was single and more apt to put a pretty lady under the magnifying glass than to allow his own personal life to be scrutized by one. He was a fixture at the trendy fundraisers in the community and ran with a fast fashion/finance crowd, many of whom have also gone on to serious financial careers (meaning you won’t see them table-dancing any more, either).

Now a married man and father, Paulson prefers to let another generation of young bucks fill his spot on the circuit. These past few years, work has been keeping him rather busy. Paulson catapulted to the top of the Alpha magazine list (and everyone else’s list in the process) with a daring market position that was part research and part instinct. In addition to Paulson’s own winnings, his overall funds were up $15 billion for the year.

Of course my invitation to the movie screenings was lost in the mail; Notsurewhatyouwouldsay, Pink? (Inside Baseball)
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Hedge Fund Gurus
Dan’s Hamptons

John Paulson’s Big Moment
Dan’s Hamptons

Wingnut Interview
Surfer Magazine
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The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of underthecounter. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

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