NOTE: this was a past issue of my weekly newsletter, Timeless Gems. Join my free mailing list so you don’t miss out on future issues.
Today’s gem is this 2018 article titled Paul Singer, Doomsday Investor. It profiles Elliott Management, a New York-based hedge fund that brought the country of Argentina down to its knees (not even Messi could’ve saved them from this one).
Elliott had purchased Argentina’s sovereign bonds for $100m (pennies on the dollar), and successfully sued the Government of Argentina in court to collect $2.4bn in debt settlements. The saga includes regime changes, government corruption, standstill, and even a point where Elliott seized an Argentinian navy vessel off the coast of Ghana. File this one under “adventure-seeking capitalists”!
The article also includes other activist (and perhaps questionable) endeavours by Elliott. They’ve built up a reputation for being ruthless investors, and these stories reveal exactly why.
P.s. if you want to read about another larger-than-life brawl involving Elliott Management, check out the book The Caesars Palace Coup. It is an incredible read.
