No sympathy for US Dollar. Gates at the exclusive Switzerland Davos retreat says he has “shorted” the currency of his country.
Bill Gates bets against dollar — What is the point of making these proclamations? I wouldn’t really care about this except that Microsoft is one of the top offshoring companies in the country and contributing to the dollar’s demise. It’s incredible to me that he’d stick a knife into the heart of America with these public comments. Does he thinks this helps things here in the USA? Apparently he doesn’t give a crap. After all, we know little about the rest of his portfolio. Why is he making this “investment” to help sink the dollar and perhaps the US economy public knowledge?
Bill Gates, whose net worth of $46.6 billion makes him the world’s richest person, is betting against the US dollar.
“I’m short the dollar,” Gates, chairman of Microsoft, said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The ol’ dollar, it’s gonna go down.”
The “ol’ dollar?” Except for Bloomberg nobody is touching this story in the US market. Advertising doillars are at risk, aren’t they?
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) — Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the world’s two richest men, are partners in business, bridge and travel. Now they’ve joined in a bet against the U.S. dollar.
Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., said he expects the dollar to extend its three-year drop because of widening U.S. trade and budget deficits.
“I’m short the dollar,” Gates told television interviewer Charlie Rose this weekend at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “The ol’ dollar, it’s gonna go down.”
Buffett, whose personal fortune of more than $42.9 billion is topped only by Gates’s $46.6 billion, has been buying foreign currencies since 2002, citing the impact of the U.S. deficits. Their concerns were echoed in Davos by policymakers including European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and investors such as George Soros.
Mr Gates reflected the views of his friend Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has bet against the dollar since 2002. Mr Buffett said last week that the US trade gap would probably further weaken the currency.
Mr Gates in December joined the board of Berkshire Hathaway, the investment company that Mr Buffett runs. Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires ranks Mr Gates, 49, No. 1. Mr Buffett, 74, is second, with more than $US30 billion. Almost all of it is in Berkshire stock.
Mr Gates described China as a potential “change agent” for the next two decades. “It’s phenomenal,” he said. “It’s a brand new form of capitalism.”
This is what I’ve been saying over and over again. We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that what’s good for corporate america is good for us. But it’s quite obvious that corporate america does not give shit about us!
When the US becomes a third world country, in the next few decades, the rich will simply leave. They don’t care what happens to those remaining. They have no pride or duty to their country. All they care about is their money.
I wonder; do you think Gates/Buffet is wrong about the dollar, or do you think he shouldn’t say bad things about it? If you think he’s right but shouldn’t say anything, do you think that will keep other people from figuring out that the dollar’s going down?
Let’s see: Massive trade deficits. Massive trade deficits. Massive governmental deficits. Trillions of government debt being held overseas. A society that reveres the most non-productive elements: the lawyers, the MBAs, and the pundits (ah say, that’s a joke, son). Nah, nobody could ever guess.
I keep two one Dollar U.S. Silver Certificates on my desk. One says In God We Trust on the back of the note, the other older 1935 note does not. You can bet against the Dollar for a possible short term gain, but in the long run you will be trying to convert your gains back into U.S. Dollars. I guess Bill Gates wants everybody to convert their Dollars into Microsoft stocks. My advice is keep your Dollars and try getting more Dollars. The Dollar will be going strong long after Microsoft, or some other stock is written off and forgotten about. The U.S. Dollar represents our greatness. I’ll take all the U.S. Dollars that you want to send me John. You can keep the Microsoft stock. Are they still printing that?
Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.
Alexander Hamilton
A little U.S. Treasury history
January 30
1934 — The Gold Reserve Act withdrew gold coins from circulation, provided for the devaluation of the dollar’s gold content, and created the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
1946 — The Roosevelt Dime was introduced.
1961 — Elizabeth Rudel Smith started her term as the 31st Treasurer of the United States.
Well if he feels that way then maybe he doesnt need anymore of my dollars.
I can after all use Linux and Open Office.
It is strange though that Mr. 640k would think the rest of us care about his thoughts on money.
to James..Here’s what I think. I think it’s irresponsible for the world’s richest man — an American — to be “shorting” the dollar. The way I’m reading all this is that he and buffet are trading currency. If they are shorting this means he’s borrowing money to sink the US greenback. Who does this benefit. I’ve been saying the dollar sucks too, but that’s not the same as making it worse by actually taking huge amounts of personal wealth and trying to sink the currency. If he’s simply moving to a different currency that’s different. But he SAYS “He’s ‘short’ the dolar.” How can he justify this then brag about it?
Say what you want, but money has a a great deal of memory. People with corporate minds like Bill Gates like to promote grand ideas about how we are going to live in some digital utopia with no need for old stuff like money. Just look at Microsoft Passport. Microsoft was going to handle all these transactions with a secure digital vault. Microsoft could make all those heavy U.S. Treasury vaults with the guards and automatic weapons obsolete. The entire thing was laughable. Yea, just trust Microsoft to handle all the commerce and send us all of your U.S. Dollars for discs. When introduced in 2001, the Passport initiative led to some controversy as critics charged Passport would result in Microsoft gaining complete control. Engraving is a fine art. Maybe Microsoft will make the U.S. Mint obsolete with some new software invention or digital brain storm. Some windbag investors will buy more MSFT stock hoping to cash in on making cash obsolete. Linux may make Microsoft obsolete first. Maybe the Treasury can send Gates to Iraq and let him build a cashless society there first. Sort of a demonstration project. You don’t need armor, just give the Army all tablet PCs running Windows and Iraq can have the first digital military. Maybe Gates could be like the Fed Chairman Greenspan over in Iraq. Chairman Gates, what a riot.
America to Bill Gates, don’t worry about the dollar you have plenty of them. Worry about fixing your hole ridden mess you have forced upon us known as Windows.
hey, why take it personally? It’s not unpatriotic to make the wisest investment choices. Hell, the repugnicans are all for tax shelters, offshore accounts and subsidiaries, outsourcing. whatever is good for the bottom line and screw the future. We’re running the whole thing on debt and gates and buffet are not alone at all in seeing the writing on the wall. There is NO reason for the dollar to rebound with our current fiscal irresponsibility. That’s why the dollar is sliding! Don’t you get it? There’s no confidence in the currency of a country that digs an ever deeper hole. When we borrow money (from China, Japan, Germany and our kids through federal debt) to give to companies, we buy very short term faux prosperity. The market goes up, but we’re going down.
As software become less expensive a Dollar will get you more software. When software become Dollar independent, the price of software will crash. This leaves Microsoft with many dollars and few customers willing to spend Dollars for software. I guess they can try getting into capturing other currencies, but people will have more Dollars for better PCs and devices that don’t need expensive software. This is the problem with software, the way I see it. If more people want Dollars than want software, a software company is not going to have an attractive stock. At that point, shares start going down and a Dollar buys you more shares. Then at some point, the Dollar is worth more than the shares because software is being distributed for nothing or sombody else is giving software away and making Dollars on the distribution system. The Dollar will last longer than the market for software. You can build applications, but you can’t get a Dollar for them and then you have another problem you never even considered because you thought the Dollar would fall faster than the price of software. A Dollar might not buy you great software, but great software should support a strong Dollar. The better the software the better the Dollar. You won’t see free Dollars, but you now see free software. Microsoft can’t beat the system and they can’t build a whole new system. The Dollar links people with the system and people are not going to scrap their Dollars because Microsoft says they have the whole thing all figured out. The government just let the whole thing go and knew that the monopoly always crashes like the software. The U.S. Dollar can’t crash, that’s why it is the U.S. Dollar. People aren’t willing to die for Microsoft. I guess the rest is software suicide. People will kill for Dollars. Who is willing to die for a piece of software? It isn’t that special. Bill Gates has it all backwards. A Windows disc isn’t worth a U.S. Dollar and maybe it never was. In God We Trust, all others pay cash. Your MSFT stock could be heading down and the U.S. Dollar up. I dont’ have any MSFT stock, I still have a few Dollars though. Forget about it.
Microsoft stock is up. I think I’d rather have the twenty nine Dollars at this point. But hey that’s just me! What’s Google at now? Google may be worth more than Microsoft, but I am more certain of the Dollar than I am of anything Google is pushing. I trust Google but it isn’t like In God We Trust or anything. How real are the Google billions? Wall Street is real, a Dollar is real but this Google stock just looks unreal. I mean a hundred and a half a share seems like expensive software and nothing is in writing, not any ink and paper in circulation. It’s like a body with no flesh and blood, just a pile of dry bones, some sort of digital ghost of the future. It’s like a tank and no armor or gun in a desert. Like a mirage and there is no water or a democracy that was bestowed and not achieved. A big welfare state. It’s a big world of something for nothing and nobody wants it.
It’s not personal, it’s just good business. Get a bunch of some other currency and buy all these new cheaper U.S. Dollars. Don’t plan on buying food or anything. Put all your U.S. Dollars into Microsoft stocks and wait to become a Microsoft millionaire. Take out a loan in U.S. Dollars and buy a bunch of Google stock, it could go over the top, set new records and all of that. Work for stock options, don’t accept Dollars which will be worthless to companies like Microsoft and Google. It’s the next tech economy boom, with no need for venture capital paybacks. Everybody gets rich and they don’t need Dollars to prove anything. The Dollar is oh so old money. There are new money people. No nickels or dimes! Got a Passport?
I see Bill Gates and I just start laughing. All these rich guys s-elect President Bush and now they’re out to smash the Dollar. Guys with billions of Dollars complaining about the Dollar. These people are like fat slobs who sue McDonalds for serving fast fatty food. Don’t eat it if you don’t want to gain weight. A pig is a pig is a pig though. They want the Dollar to be worth $2.00 and some change. Go to China and fix their currency. Leave us out of it.
Most all of the money going to Iraq will be lost, so the government will have to start shaking down the super rich guys and they don’t like it. Don’t take it out on the Dollar, the Dollar is for the little people. Somebody will have to pay for Iraq, people like Gates are good for the money so he’ll get stuck with a biggest part of the tab. Plus they have foundation money. The Bushes aren’t going to pay, they are looking for donations, meeters of people here for the development in Iraq. You could put a couple of billion into Iraq and they’ll blow it up in a week. You can’t do that with tax Dollars without ending up in jail. You need public debt, senate appropriations that sort of racket or private piggy bank funds and foundations to blow that kind of jack on something as wreckless as a preemptive invasion and war. I doubt you can write insurance for much of anything in Iraq. Anything with oil or gas is likely to blow up sooner or later. These folks blow up schools just for kicks. Imagine running a filling station in that place. These people just think you are dealing with Americans and bang, you have your gas pumps hit with a rocket propelled grenade by some guy wearing a bomb around his neck. Then you catch him and he just blows up. So it’s not an easy deal, you can’t just go in a throw Citgo and Exxon signs up and build a Mickey D’s or a Walmart.
Iraq is a big corporate government utopia for big thinking and none of the people thinking at this level are risking their lives in Iraq. It way too dangerous, but that isn’t something they will lose sleep over. These billionaire guys are whining about the Dollar. Wait until they have to start paying the bills for Iraq. Republicans are big spenders and Iraq is a big project.
Since when is John C. Dvorak opposed to telling it like it is? Do you really think that sweet-talking and blowing smoke is going to help the US economy? Or is it more productive if people stick their neck out and point out that fiscal and economic policies are ruining our standing in the world? Which side are you on, John? None, right? The side of whatever makes a good story angle? You’re better than that, and you know it!
I don’ see this story being reported here in the media.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4220473.stm
The BBC reports that some Doodles were found after a meeting between Tony Blair and Bill Gates. Initially it was thought that the doodles were done by Mr. Blair
The British media hired experts to comment on the drawings with comments like:
‘not a natural leader’, ‘struggling to keep control of a confusing world’ and ‘an unstable man who is feeling under enormous pressure’.
It turns out the drawings were done by Gates
Selective indignance is fascinating.
While bitching about the nasty Republicans and mean ol’ GWB, not a twitch nor peep about another in the cabal with King Geek and that #2 on the list.
Hey, you Republican haters: Anybody recognize GEORGE SOROS?
He’s the sweet little fellow who pumped gazillions into the last elections trying to get that gigolo into the white house. Yeah, that guy! The one who didn’t know how to eat a Philly Cheese Steak with his hands and who faked lunch at a regular eatery only to have a catered lunch delivered from a snooty country club delivered to his campaign bus.
No matter. We’re still the “little people” and both sides don’t give a damn about us and will continue to do their own thing, leaving us as a third world nation in another generation,.
I’m betting against commercial software. The U.S. currency will be fine. If you have a couple of dollars in the bank, don’t sweat it. I’m also betting against Google going much higher. Having a business model based on people clicking on word ad links is flimsy. You have click fraud, a limited window to make this work long term and the stock is out of sight for the average investor. Plus they have Microsoft stalking the search business and Yahoo rolling out who knows what. Google users have come to expect the unexpected. The Google Desktop search goes live and security holes surfaced. Google patches one search engine security flaw and is notified of another. Don’t fall into the same trap as you know who, with patches and more patches. Google should do well, but it will be tough. It always is with a web based business. The leap into the world of television was smart for Google. Look for a deal with CNN, Time Warner, Fox or somebody else in the future. This is sort of like what Microsoft did with NBC, but more geared toward function rather than programming. Google has the reach to promote open source, but it seems to like to keep a lid on the behind the scenes technology, although much of the Google success is because of Linux.
Google has a box next to where I am typing here and the box sports one single ad and the rest of the space is blank. The ad is for US Military people search. The Google ad box could offer a little free Linux link plug, there is sure plenty of room. Ads by Google-Powered by Linux. Just an idea, if you are reading this from Google HQ’s. Google is going to have to make some bold moves this year. I have no idea of what to expect. I’m sure the dollar will be around next Christmas. Google wiki may be as useful as Google for finding stuff in Google and about Google. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google
[Mr Gates described China as a potential “change agent” for the next two decades. “It’s phenomenal,” he said. “It’s a brand new form of capitalism.”]
Capitalism without all the messy democratic headaches. Bribed legislative, executive, and judicial government officials — it figures he’d love China’s current situation. Where cash really is king, the man with the most cash….
“Everyone is equal, only some are a little more equal than others.” Everyone is free to make some dough, but don’t get any uppity ideas of who’s in charge.
Communism will collapse in China, too. People are the same wherever you go, and pretty much everybody desires to be free and in control of their own destiny.
Drop the value of the dollar just before US tax time
increase the price of exports just before the new generation release
he must expect future growth overseas
More reason to buy the Walmart computer
Howard Hughes Went Waco in his old age too.
Who says a falling dollar is a bad thing?
It doesn’t mean our economy is in danger. There are good effects from having a cheaper dollar, too.
It’s just that it’s not politically correct to say you favor a cheaper dollar.
— Glenn G.
I think that it’s actually more expensive to buy a house in Germany than it is here due to their lack of land. The main difference between Germany and here, however, is that their quality of life is on a whole different level than Americans. I’ll say that with all the stress we as Americans take on living everyday life, the average middle class American enjoys life less than a German waitress. They don’t work crazy hours. They have the things that they need to survive, like healthcare, taken care of.when they go on vacation they actually take real vacations instead of staying at home watching tv a week, crime isn’t all over the place, they don’t have a drug problem, they don’t have a teenage pregnacy problem, etc, etc. This is due to a culture that cares about how the country as a whole is doing as opposed to America where all anyone cares about is themselves. Everything we do is individualistic and then we talk about “country”.
um guys. buffett and gates voted for kerry, not bush. please do a tiny bit of research.
Does it realy matter who they voted for if the have been avoiding taxes by puting their bussness in forein countries.
If they were TRUE Americans they would have kept there buisness here, with american workers. Buffet and Gates talk about how the US dollar is “goin down” because of “the government” and jobs being placed outside this country! HELLOOO!!:o A large majority of Gates buisness are outside the borders of the US?! ring any bells?!
The point is that for the dollar not to fail its going to take more that one bandaid or chunk of ductape.
#1. We need to get the UN and other european countries to take on some of the cost of the Iraq war. As much as Bush, not the pepole, was wrong in Iraq, the US has been their to carry the world on its back time and time again. plus I beleive that this was a UN problem in the first place.
#2. We need to get a handle on the “WAR PROFITING” oil industry in this country. Hell the government sued Howard Hues for spending too much on an airplane, That he himself sunk millions of his own money into in the mid 1940’s and did build and deliver, calling him a war profiteer. So what about ExxonMoble 20 BILLION usd in 6 MIONTHS!
Geezz, This is the same corporation who spilled a few million gallons of raw crude oil all over 700 miles Alskan Coast line and then said “well we shouldnt have to pay to clean it all up” and they never did. Go to Alaska and you will still find remnence of the Valldez on the coast line in sertain areas.
I have the solution to the price gouging by opec, Iran, or any other country with high oil prices. We , the US, use over 52% of the worlds oil. So if we stoped buying mid-east oil for 1-2 or 3 weeks , using only our reserve, these countrys would see substantial profit losses and would HAVE to talk price cuts.
My point is that Gates and Buffet are helping the dollar to de-valuate
by puting their bussness in other countrys to avoid taxes same as the oil industry!
When the EU countries started to use the Euro, the one dollar was 1.06 euros. Now one dollar gives you 0.72 euros. What has happened?