Fooling Some of the People All of the Time, A Long Short (and Now Complete) Story, Updated with New Epilogue

A revealing look at Wall Street, the financial media, and
financial regulators by David Einhorn, the President of Greenlight
Capital

Could 2008's credit crisis have been minimized or even avoided?
In 2002, David Einhorn-one of the country's top investors-was asked
at a charity investment conference to share his best investment
advice. Short sell Allied Capital. At the time, Allied was a leader
in the private financing industry. Einhorn claimed Allied was using
questionable accounting practices to prop itself up. Sound
familiar? At the time of the original version of Fooling Some of
the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story the outcome of
his advice was unknown. Now, the story is complete and we know
Einhorn was right. In 2008, Einhorn advised the same conference to
short sell Lehman Brothers. And had the market been more open to
his warnings, yes, the market meltdown might have been avoided, or
at least minimized.

• Details the gripping battle between Allied Capital and
  Einhorn's Greenlight Capital

• Illuminates how questionable company practices are maintained
  and, at times, even protected by Wall Street

• Describes the failings of investment banks, analysts,
  journalists, and government regulators

• Describes how many parts of the Allied Capital story were
  replayed in the debate over Lehman Brothers

Fooling Some of the People All of the Time is an
important call for effective government regulation, free speech,
and fair play.

Autorentext
DAVID EINHORN is the president of Greenlight Capital, which he cofounded in January 1996. Greenlight Capital is a value-oriented investment advisor whose goal is to achieve high absolute rates of return while minimizing the risk of capital loss. Einhorn is the Chairman of Board of Greenlight Capital RE and also serves on the boards of Hillel; The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research; and of the Robin Hood Foundation.

Zusammenfassung
A revealing look at Wall Street, the financial media, and financial regulators by David Einhorn, the President of Greenlight Capital Could 2008's credit crisis have been minimized or even avoided? In 2002, David Einhorn-one of the country's top investors-was asked at a charity investment conference to share his best investment advice. Short sell Allied Capital. At the time, Allied was a leader in the private financing industry. Einhorn claimed Allied was using questionable accounting practices to prop itself up. Sound familiar? At the time of the original version of Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story the outcome of his advice was unknown. Now, the story is complete and we know Einhorn was right. In 2008, Einhorn advised the same conference to short sell Lehman Brothers. And had the market been more open to his warnings, yes, the market meltdown might have been avoided, or at least minimized.

• Details the gripping battle between Allied Capital and Einhorn's Greenlight Capital
• Illuminates how questionable company practices are maintained and, at times, even protected by Wall Street
• Describes the failings of investment banks, analysts, journalists, and government regulators
• Describes how many parts of the Allied Capital story were replayed in the debate over Lehman Brothers
  Fooling Some of the People All of the Time is an important call for effective government regulation, free speech, and fair play.

Inhalt

Foreword xi

Allied Capital Stock Price Chart xiv

Who's Who xvii

Introduction to This Edition xxi

Introduction: The Spark of a Speech 1

Part One: A Charity Case and Greenlight Capital

Chapter 1 Before Greenlight 9

Chapter 2 Getting the Greenlight 13

Chapter 3 Greenlight's Early Successes 23

Chapter 4 Value Investing through the Internet Bubble 33

Chapter 5 Dissecting Allied Capital 43

Part Two: Spinning So Fast Leaves Most People Dizzy

Chapter 6 Allied Talks Back 55

Chapter 7 Wall Street Analysts 65

Chapter 8 The You-Have-Got-to-Be-Kidding-Me Method of Accounting 73

Chapter 9 Factor Maybe Not 81

Chapter 10 Business Loan Express 97

Chapter 11 Disengaging and Re-engaging 105

Chapter 12 Me or Your Lyin' Eyes? 111

Chapter 13 Debates and Manipulations 121

Chapter 14 Rewarding Shareholders 127

Chapter 15 BLX Is Worth What, Exactly? 135

Part Three: Would Somebody, Anybody, Wake Up?

Chapter 16 The Government Investigates 145

Chapter 17 A Tough Morning 157

Chapter 18 A Spinner, a Scribe, and a Scholar 165

Chapter 19 Kroll Digs Deeper 171

Chapter 20 Rousing the Authorities 179

Chapter 21 A $9 Million Game of Three-Card Monte 193

Part Four: How the System Works (and Doesn't)

Chapter 22 Hello, Who's There? 213

Chapter 23 Whistle-Blower 223

Chapter 24 A Naked Attack 237

Chapter 25 Another Loan Program, Another Fraud 245

Chapter 26 The Smell of Politics 255

Chapter 27 Insiders Getting the Money Out 265

Part Five: Greenlight Was Right ... Carry On

Chapter 28 Charges and Denials 275

Chapter 29 Charges and Admissions 283

Chapter 30 Late Innings 297

Chapter 31 The SEC Finds a Spot under the Rug 311

Chapter 32 A Garden of Weeds 319

Chapter 33 A Conviction, a Hearing, and a Dismissal 331

Chapter 34 Blind Men, Elephants, Möbius Strips, and Moral Hazards 351

Part Six: Epilogue

Chapter 35 Looking Back: As the Story Continued 359

Chapter 36 The Lehman Brothers Saga 361

Chapter 37 If They Asked Me, I Could Write a Book 367

Chapter 38 Just Put Your Lips Together and Blow 377

Chapter 39 Some Final Words to and from the SEC 387

Chapter 40 The Last Word 397

Glossary 401

Acknowledgments 407

About the Author 409

Index 411