Ares
11th June 2015, 07:30 AM
Are any of you having trouble paying your ever-mounting insurance or electric bills? Noticed lately that your grocery budget is eating away more of your paycheck every week? Well, in case you have, and you’ve stopped and thought to yourself, “man, I sure hope the market riggers on wall street are getting by!” Well, friend, worry no more!
In 2014, there were 1,645 who people made the list of the world’s public billionaires(I say public, because there are a great many private ones, but that’s another story). This small group of elites last year was worth over $6.4 trillion dollars(or nearly 40% the US GDP).
Recently, however there was one bloke in particular who made some real waves with his announcement of having reached the highest, visual capstone of the wealth pyramid. For those who haven’t heard yet though, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know that this chap’s net worth is streaking to the heavens!
http://thewealthwatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Bill-1.jpg
Yessirree! The Weasel himself, Jamie Dimon, has now officially crossed over on the other side of the wealth wall, and no longer belongs to the “unwashed masses” of those who are “merely” worth hundreds of millions or less!
“Wait Watchman, this can’t be true! This guy only received a salary of $20 million last year? How on earth did he make such a vast sum of cash?”
Friend, the first thing you’ve got to realize about the loathsome world of Wall Street, is that the true value of positions like his, is not in his salary, but rather in his insider knowledge, and his blank check to rig markets on behalf of the US Fed and Treasury.
That’s the real ‘pot’-o’-gold, me boy!
Secondly, yes, I’m afraid it’s quite true.
According to Bloomberg news, his fortune now tallies over $1.1 billion dollars, however, buried within that same story are some telling items. So bear with me brothers, because I’m gonna ask several key questions as we review this story.
The Breakdown
Now that we all know he’s joined the “10 digit club”, let’s examine the details, line by line, to see what this story can teach us. First off, what do we know?
We know the public claim that his net worth is now $1.1 billion.
What’s the make up of his portfolio though? They say you can know woman by the contents of her purse, and likewise, I submit that you can know a man by the contents of his portfolio. A portfolio tells a story. So what did this headline reveal about his portfolio?
How has he made that cash and where is it? Interestingly, we are also told key aspects of his wealth in surprising detail!
First off, we’re told that $485 million dollars of that $1.1 billion(or roughly 44%) is made of his current exposure to JP Morgan stock).
Now, stop right there, because that’s astounding! Think about that…
Jamie Dimon, the ultimate insider, has roughly 50% of his billion dollars….in just one investment: JP Morgan stock!
To be more precise, he has it in stock & stock options. Read on:
“Dimon owns 6.1 million shares of JPMorgan valued at about $404 million based on Tuesday’s closing price of $66.02. He also has 3.2 million exercisable options worth more than $80 million, according to company filings.”
Now, take a quick look at the JP Morgan stock price, because it reveals something even more amazing…
http://thewealthwatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Bill-3.png
Wow! JP Morgan stock is at an all-time high! In fact, if you pull up a 30 year chart, the only time it was nearly this high, was waaay back in 2000, when it achieved a value of roughly $64 per share.
The company’s stock is actually on a bit of a tear recently, because just since February, it’s rocketed higher by nearly 25%!
Now, stop again!
Remember, JP Morgan stock comprises nearly half his net worth. Just 4 months ago, in February that his current $500 million in JPM stock was worth roughly a full $125 million less than it is today! Meaning that if the Bloomberg article’s guesstimate is true, that this man’s billionaire status is literally likely just a few weeks old, and is solely being driven at this point by one bank’s stock performance.
It gets even better though. Does anyone remember the date the story of Jamie’s wealth first ran?
It was run on June 3rd ….just 2 days before JPM stock hit its all time high, at a closing price of $67.68.
Now….brothers, something weird is going on here.
Banking Woes
The timing of this announcement seems most curious, indeed! Now, while the article says that Jamie “refused to comment on his wealth”, that’s wholly, patently absurd, considering we’re talking about the guy who publicly quipped, “that’s why I’m richer than you”! You can accuse this guy of many things, but modesty isn’t one of them.
This man has no misgivings whatsoever about rubbing his ill-gotten gains in your face. Jamie Dimon is an extraordinarily powerful man, and this story would never have been run without his consent.
So think like a billionaire, and a cunning insider:
Why, would Mr. Dimon choose to toot his own horn at this stage of the game?
Why would he announce reaching billionaire status just a few weeks after the fact, with his bank’s shares at all-time highs?
Why would the man who just warned us all of a pending treasury/debt instrument liquidity event, still have half his net worth in banking shares?
Why would the man, whose bank has been furiously stacking silver(and who just took delivery of another 600k ounces yesterday, by the way), choose to run a story about his exposure to his company, and as well as highlight his company’s earning performance?
“Wait Watchman, what are you getting at?”
I’m saying it appears to me that someone mighty important sure wants to exit some JP Morgan stock exposure in a hurry!
I’m saying that the guy who recently warned investors that the market is due for a “liquidity event” soon, is smart enough to know when to cash out!
I’m saying that an ultimate banking insider, like Mr. Dimon, is certainly cognizant of the vulnerability of his new-found wealth, in such a market climate, and is likely correcting that problem as we speak…
Think about it, if you were in this man’s shoes, and had half a billion dollars in JP Morgan stock, knowing what you know….you’d want to be exiting too, right? The trick though, is how would you go about lightening your half a billion dollar exposure without roiling that same market?
Well, how about throw in a few, fresh mainstream headlines about your affluence, coupled with your utter confidence in your company(and its stellar earnings)? That might really get that ball rolling of successfully passing that torch on to the next sucker!
Remember, all those “financial analyst shows”, like Cramer, or channels like CNBC are owned by banks, who pump investments to unsuspecting ‘mom and pop’ investors, because they’re on the other side of the trade. It’s just how the game is played.
Mr. Dimon is the smartest, most ruthless, and cunning shark in the entire tank.
Mr. Dimon was the one recently warning JP Morgan shareholders an “event” was coming, which would shock the markets, and rip the guts out of treasuries, and the world’s most liquid debt instruments.
This man is a master of getting out while the getting’s good!
Mr. Dimon also knows how quickly bank shares can go from hero to zero, literally. After all, the previous bank, which he literally helped build from scratch, Citigroup, went from $550 to…..$5 within 5 years!
Do you think this man is going to let his billionaire status slip away by making the rookie mistake of keeping himself overextended in one bank, during the next monstrous, financial crisis?
Neither do I.
Conclusion
They say “no one rings a bell at market tops”, but that’s not really true. Truth be told, there are usually plenty of bells that are rung at market tops, if you but have eyes to see and ears to hear them.
This puff piece story about Jamie Dimon(and JP Morgan, by extension), just having recently reached billionaire status seems to have a distinct bell-ringing quality, doesn’t it?
Here’s the good news…
We’ve all heard the terms “peak oil”, or “peak silver” bandied about these days…I think with the stories of all the latest banking layoffs, and Deutsche bank woes, coupled with this announcement could signal “peak cronyism”.
Jamie Dimon is a slimy creep whose business practices would make Al Capone look like the Apostle Paul! He’s also a bloke with a gift for survival, and is highly in-tune to market realities worldwide.
He’s effortlessly survived scandals, navigated his bank through tens of billions in fines, run roughshod over competitors, and successfully rebuffed silver’s advances for the last 4 years(with some help from his former wing-woman, Blythe Masters).
He’s the superstar, poster-child for banking criminality. However, I detect a sea-change within recent bank headlines, and this article could very well be the ultimate contrarian indicator.
Call this man every dirty name in the book(I know I sure do!), but one thing you cannot call this man….is stupid. So let me ask you a question:
Is really that unreasonable to think that such a man might allow this personal/JPM puff piece, in order to make the task of lightening his rather untenable, over-exposure to JP Morgan stock….just a little bit easier?
One last question.
As new suckers take the “Jamie-the-billionaire” bait, and rush in to buy JP Morgan shares at all-time highs…
How many of Jamie’s newly-sold JP Morgan shares, do you suppose, are now being converted into these bad boys at this very moment?
http://thewealthwatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bill-51.jpg
http://thewealthwatchman.com/guess-who-just-became-the-worlds-newest-billionaire/
In 2014, there were 1,645 who people made the list of the world’s public billionaires(I say public, because there are a great many private ones, but that’s another story). This small group of elites last year was worth over $6.4 trillion dollars(or nearly 40% the US GDP).
Recently, however there was one bloke in particular who made some real waves with his announcement of having reached the highest, visual capstone of the wealth pyramid. For those who haven’t heard yet though, I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to know that this chap’s net worth is streaking to the heavens!
http://thewealthwatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Bill-1.jpg
Yessirree! The Weasel himself, Jamie Dimon, has now officially crossed over on the other side of the wealth wall, and no longer belongs to the “unwashed masses” of those who are “merely” worth hundreds of millions or less!
“Wait Watchman, this can’t be true! This guy only received a salary of $20 million last year? How on earth did he make such a vast sum of cash?”
Friend, the first thing you’ve got to realize about the loathsome world of Wall Street, is that the true value of positions like his, is not in his salary, but rather in his insider knowledge, and his blank check to rig markets on behalf of the US Fed and Treasury.
That’s the real ‘pot’-o’-gold, me boy!
Secondly, yes, I’m afraid it’s quite true.
According to Bloomberg news, his fortune now tallies over $1.1 billion dollars, however, buried within that same story are some telling items. So bear with me brothers, because I’m gonna ask several key questions as we review this story.
The Breakdown
Now that we all know he’s joined the “10 digit club”, let’s examine the details, line by line, to see what this story can teach us. First off, what do we know?
We know the public claim that his net worth is now $1.1 billion.
What’s the make up of his portfolio though? They say you can know woman by the contents of her purse, and likewise, I submit that you can know a man by the contents of his portfolio. A portfolio tells a story. So what did this headline reveal about his portfolio?
How has he made that cash and where is it? Interestingly, we are also told key aspects of his wealth in surprising detail!
First off, we’re told that $485 million dollars of that $1.1 billion(or roughly 44%) is made of his current exposure to JP Morgan stock).
Now, stop right there, because that’s astounding! Think about that…
Jamie Dimon, the ultimate insider, has roughly 50% of his billion dollars….in just one investment: JP Morgan stock!
To be more precise, he has it in stock & stock options. Read on:
“Dimon owns 6.1 million shares of JPMorgan valued at about $404 million based on Tuesday’s closing price of $66.02. He also has 3.2 million exercisable options worth more than $80 million, according to company filings.”
Now, take a quick look at the JP Morgan stock price, because it reveals something even more amazing…
http://thewealthwatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Bill-3.png
Wow! JP Morgan stock is at an all-time high! In fact, if you pull up a 30 year chart, the only time it was nearly this high, was waaay back in 2000, when it achieved a value of roughly $64 per share.
The company’s stock is actually on a bit of a tear recently, because just since February, it’s rocketed higher by nearly 25%!
Now, stop again!
Remember, JP Morgan stock comprises nearly half his net worth. Just 4 months ago, in February that his current $500 million in JPM stock was worth roughly a full $125 million less than it is today! Meaning that if the Bloomberg article’s guesstimate is true, that this man’s billionaire status is literally likely just a few weeks old, and is solely being driven at this point by one bank’s stock performance.
It gets even better though. Does anyone remember the date the story of Jamie’s wealth first ran?
It was run on June 3rd ….just 2 days before JPM stock hit its all time high, at a closing price of $67.68.
Now….brothers, something weird is going on here.
Banking Woes
The timing of this announcement seems most curious, indeed! Now, while the article says that Jamie “refused to comment on his wealth”, that’s wholly, patently absurd, considering we’re talking about the guy who publicly quipped, “that’s why I’m richer than you”! You can accuse this guy of many things, but modesty isn’t one of them.
This man has no misgivings whatsoever about rubbing his ill-gotten gains in your face. Jamie Dimon is an extraordinarily powerful man, and this story would never have been run without his consent.
So think like a billionaire, and a cunning insider:
Why, would Mr. Dimon choose to toot his own horn at this stage of the game?
Why would he announce reaching billionaire status just a few weeks after the fact, with his bank’s shares at all-time highs?
Why would the man who just warned us all of a pending treasury/debt instrument liquidity event, still have half his net worth in banking shares?
Why would the man, whose bank has been furiously stacking silver(and who just took delivery of another 600k ounces yesterday, by the way), choose to run a story about his exposure to his company, and as well as highlight his company’s earning performance?
“Wait Watchman, what are you getting at?”
I’m saying it appears to me that someone mighty important sure wants to exit some JP Morgan stock exposure in a hurry!
I’m saying that the guy who recently warned investors that the market is due for a “liquidity event” soon, is smart enough to know when to cash out!
I’m saying that an ultimate banking insider, like Mr. Dimon, is certainly cognizant of the vulnerability of his new-found wealth, in such a market climate, and is likely correcting that problem as we speak…
Think about it, if you were in this man’s shoes, and had half a billion dollars in JP Morgan stock, knowing what you know….you’d want to be exiting too, right? The trick though, is how would you go about lightening your half a billion dollar exposure without roiling that same market?
Well, how about throw in a few, fresh mainstream headlines about your affluence, coupled with your utter confidence in your company(and its stellar earnings)? That might really get that ball rolling of successfully passing that torch on to the next sucker!
Remember, all those “financial analyst shows”, like Cramer, or channels like CNBC are owned by banks, who pump investments to unsuspecting ‘mom and pop’ investors, because they’re on the other side of the trade. It’s just how the game is played.
Mr. Dimon is the smartest, most ruthless, and cunning shark in the entire tank.
Mr. Dimon was the one recently warning JP Morgan shareholders an “event” was coming, which would shock the markets, and rip the guts out of treasuries, and the world’s most liquid debt instruments.
This man is a master of getting out while the getting’s good!
Mr. Dimon also knows how quickly bank shares can go from hero to zero, literally. After all, the previous bank, which he literally helped build from scratch, Citigroup, went from $550 to…..$5 within 5 years!
Do you think this man is going to let his billionaire status slip away by making the rookie mistake of keeping himself overextended in one bank, during the next monstrous, financial crisis?
Neither do I.
Conclusion
They say “no one rings a bell at market tops”, but that’s not really true. Truth be told, there are usually plenty of bells that are rung at market tops, if you but have eyes to see and ears to hear them.
This puff piece story about Jamie Dimon(and JP Morgan, by extension), just having recently reached billionaire status seems to have a distinct bell-ringing quality, doesn’t it?
Here’s the good news…
We’ve all heard the terms “peak oil”, or “peak silver” bandied about these days…I think with the stories of all the latest banking layoffs, and Deutsche bank woes, coupled with this announcement could signal “peak cronyism”.
Jamie Dimon is a slimy creep whose business practices would make Al Capone look like the Apostle Paul! He’s also a bloke with a gift for survival, and is highly in-tune to market realities worldwide.
He’s effortlessly survived scandals, navigated his bank through tens of billions in fines, run roughshod over competitors, and successfully rebuffed silver’s advances for the last 4 years(with some help from his former wing-woman, Blythe Masters).
He’s the superstar, poster-child for banking criminality. However, I detect a sea-change within recent bank headlines, and this article could very well be the ultimate contrarian indicator.
Call this man every dirty name in the book(I know I sure do!), but one thing you cannot call this man….is stupid. So let me ask you a question:
Is really that unreasonable to think that such a man might allow this personal/JPM puff piece, in order to make the task of lightening his rather untenable, over-exposure to JP Morgan stock….just a little bit easier?
One last question.
As new suckers take the “Jamie-the-billionaire” bait, and rush in to buy JP Morgan shares at all-time highs…
How many of Jamie’s newly-sold JP Morgan shares, do you suppose, are now being converted into these bad boys at this very moment?
http://thewealthwatchman.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/bill-51.jpg
http://thewealthwatchman.com/guess-who-just-became-the-worlds-newest-billionaire/