David Einhorn | Full Q&A | Oxford Union

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David Einhorn is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder and president of Greenlight Capital, a "long-short value-oriented hedge fund."
Born in New Jersey, Einhorn graduated from Cornell University in 1991 and moved to Westchester, New York to start his fund. He started his fund in 1996 with $900,000 and has generated 16.5% annualized return for investors from 1996 to 2016.
As of 2017, Greenlight Capital has US$9.27 billion in assets under management. He has received extensive coverage in the financial press for his fund's performance, his investing strategy and his positions.
Einhorn was ranked 44th in the Time 100 most influential list of people in the world in 2013. According to Forbes Magazine, Einhorn has a net worth of US$1.54 billion (as of February 2017), making him the 44th youngest billionaire on the Forbes 400 and the 18th highest-earning hedge fund manager in the world.
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[@rossmoore1155]

this is a brilliant man. It is unfortunate that traditional methods of value investing do not work well in this current age of tech companies and economics.

[@doroughryan6294]

Great interview. Thoughtful, humble Dude. One of the best explanations of VAR ever!

[@ElijahBCool]

Einhorn is Finkle. FINKLE IS EINHORN.

[@sachacohen-chowdhury128]

Smart person

[@ivancarlson953]

he looks like a retired star soccer player

[@pennryan970]

Lol very random observation, i ♥️ this

[@r64g]

Good defense on distressed investing. Critics of the distressed investing strategy never truly think through the full implications if distressed investing is outlawed.

[@CompoundingwithGuyMatt]

Very insightful. /G

[@08Pixel]

5:26 - critical thinking skills defined.

[@repeal1628]

A well formed argument can break an investor. Time does as it pleases.Investors are unpredictable. Counter parties can surprise you.

[@filippopasini4665]

great speech by a great value investor

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe You must be an Elon Musk worshipper. As Einhorn pointed out, Tesla has "a decade of annual losses and an accumulated deficit of over $6 billion, despite billions of dollars of taxpayer money." Jim Chanos also called out Enron and he's short on Tesla. Tesla's stock may be up, but the stock price doesn't always reflect the value of the business or the real performance of the business. Tesla has developed a cult of personality.

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe Great counter-argument. You're clearly projecting. And nothing of substance related to why Einhorn is wrong.

[@ericschoeman6613]

no cure for him

[@marcy6399]

I have a sense that there is direct bodily intervention ongoing causing among other things, illnesses, and an increase in spending/consumption. These actions need to be investigated. Merely those with capital can guarantee the culprit(s) be brought to justice.

[@PitbullofWallStreet]

He's onto something: advice for new people in the industry

[@Cheros]

David is very smart and has complicated strategy for his firm. And we can't always judge the quality of the decision by the results

[@sev7n102]

What is the moderator’s name ?

[@user-iy9mx4pm5z]

How to SHORT weak hand on poker ?

[@repeal1628]

1G8KhBzu5Tk34wpJEiwc8hX2rdu4arVWWR Fold

[@DontTestTheX]

If he fails at investing I'm sure he could make it as a voice over on The Muppets.

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe That's bad, but his fund still beats the S&P over the long-term. You're looking at just one year's performance.

[@let88it88be]

This prophecy is coming truer and truer

[@CTdbird]

@@orbetobe looks like he is having his day.

[@isaacdeleon4898]

VERY HUMBLE GUY, SO TRUE WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT. MOST POEPLE GAMBLE THEIR LIFE BECUASE THEY DONT HAVE THE EDUCATION OR THE WILL TO MOVE ON AFTER A FAILURE.

[@user-iy9mx4pm5z]

fire fighting business - Karl Ichan Like fire(Bubbles) - Soros(buy when see fire(bubble) make $$ & pump fire) fire prevention business - David Einhorn Disaster prediction business - Jim Chanos/Andrew Left/Carson Block Buy fire & many wood - Buffett

[@latitudepost]

It's interesting to see some people in the comments section just immediately write Einhorn off as a bad investor simply because he took out a short position on Tesla that has so far not worked in his favour. I think this is short sighted. This all brings me to a very wise quote from Jim Rogers; "A mania first takes out those that bet against it and then those that bet with it". This is why it's dangerous to try and have a Michael Burry type Big Short moment as you may have to wait a very long time in a stubbornly irrational market. And in the process most get taken out even if they are eventually proved right.

[@titusjames4912]

Very good quote.

[@wildreams]

That's not the point. But he clearly was wrong about Tesla having "no prospect of making a profit". Tesla simply isn't that kind of company that he alludes to, and stubbornly sticking to his guns, despite making the wrong call in the first place. Seems intellectually dishonest.

[@latitudepost]

@@wildreams But he is 100% right on the whole Solar City acquisition scandal from back in 2016 - this was fraud of a great order and any other CEO would have gone to jail. This is my issue with Elon Musk: he is a crook with a long history of committing fraud and once a crook always a crook. That's the sad truth.

[@wildreams]

Not entirely relevant to this conversation. But let's talk about this. How is he "100% right" about this before judge and jury? Isn't America all about "Innocence until proven guilty?"

[@latitudepost]

@@wildreams Why did Tesla pay more than $2bn to acquire Solar City? A company run by Elon's cousins that was on the brink of bankruptcy and where Elon himself was a massive shareholder. The whole thing just stinks of fraud and was a massive conflict of interest. And this is only one incident of the many more incidents where Musk has repeatedly broken the law and committed fraud. I see so many red flags and I will even go as far as saying that Elon (and other members of his family like Kimbal) will be in jail before 2030. One has to be pretty blinkered to not see all the danger signs.

[@vincentchuvc]

high stakes poker

[@downwithosama1]

If he maintained this same investing strategy I'm sure he's feeling really smart now

[@momentsinstockhistory8330]

"The Greenlight Capital funds (the “Partnerships”) returned 4.4% in the first quarter of 2022, compared to a 4.6% decline for the S&P 500 index." I don't think Q2 is out yet.

[@ericschoeman6613]

6.00 if it doesnt make sense do the opposite it's a shame it doesn't use his own advice

[@richardpark3054]

Mr Einhorn is clearly an expert...at losing money.

[@deinbleiz]

The last question was such a wasted opportunity to ask something relevant.

[@mmercato7174]

He forgott some important points about Tesla...

[@llew777]

A rare wall street guy I would buy a used car from

[@patrickesch1632]

Laces out

[@nicholasvalera1298]

Imagine being this guys kid, and knowing your dad is part responsible for gas cars still on the road.

[@EvEvangelist]

Expand on that please , i watched the full hour and there was no relative comments ?

[@louggy2000]

@@EvEvangelist No necessarily needed. Freedom of speech. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJeliIGKhZqjprs

[@dogestranding5047]

@@louggy2000 "Freedom of speech" doesn't mean you shouldn't provide proof or context for your claims.

[@dogestranding5047]

Ok Tesla shill.

[@louggy2000]

@@dogestranding5047 He bets against Tesla and he terribly failed those who trust him with their money. So embarrassing.

[@xijingpooh5879]

Wonder how this guy invest now, I will do the opposite. Easy money without reading the market.

[@dogestranding5047]

His fund has still beaten the S&P in average annual returns since inception. 15% as opposed to the S&P's 8.7% (as of 2018). You clearly have an agenda and don't care about the facts. Tesla hasn't even made any money over its lifespan. It's lost money, yet the stock price is up. The stock price doesn't always reflect the value or performance of a business. And the people who own Tesla are desperate and insist on ignoring or downplaying the opposing opinions as well as facts.

[@ayeminoo2067]

@@dogestranding5047 i won't say tesla owners are desperate. May be they are enthusiastics. And also look like you downplayed qualitative analysis.

[@f2cp]

13:00- next few minutes. If you're wrong, you're wrong. But the inability to change with changing circumstances doesn't suggest humility as painted in the earlier part of the talk. So, your fund may actually have to shut because "in the long run, we're all dead" and smart money is not going to wait for you to be eventually right, if that's going to happen at all. I'll be very hesitate to invest in a fund that bets on yesterday's companies. 15:00- On next big technology, Zero. Suggest that other looking back at balance sheets, David is not very well read. Lost interest after 16 mins.

[@dogestranding5047]

He's a hedge fund manager. He's not trying to invent some new technology. Why would he bother predicting that? At least he understands the idea of a circle of competence, whilst most intellectuals, academicians, and business leaders think they can talk about any subject simply because they're smart and well-educated.

[@f2cp]

@@dogestranding5047 well, he misrepresented. And his investors will have to pay. He walks away with the fees.

[@webbess1]

That is one pointy nose.

[@funaicha1]

genius

[@dogestranding5047]

funaicha1 *genius

[@josehawking5293]

Shorting Tesla is stupid. He just got lucky along with his privilege in making his little fortune. Won't last with this nucklehead.

[@spongecake1698]

Little fortune lol

[@EvEvangelist]

32”05’ in ........So you ignore the market place because you cannot imagine the future or any change from your personal experience of the past? Translates to no applied intelligence, and no open mind. All of that, as you are being barraged by exponential revolutions. Multiple Paradigm shifts, the singularity and the new world order of AI, Neural Net and “vision” I suggest you avoid a public debate with any Hi-Tech disruptive leaders.

[@markcohen3325]

bad hairpiece?

[@LucyWonglondonbody2body]

David lacks good communication skills

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe How can you say he lacks investing skills from just one bad year? What's his fund's average annual rate of return compared with the S&P in the same period?

[@dogestranding5047]

I'd take someone who can actually produce results over someone who's a smooth talker, but incompetent. Real investing is about results. Not about being able to mislead your clients/customers by being able to sell them products that will make you money, but will not make them any money (or not beat the market averages). That's the difference between great investors and salesmen in finance and investing.

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe Says the obvious Tesla fanboy and shill who has nothing of substance- just like Elon Musk- with regards to Einhorn's Tesla short.

[@Jl777100]

@@orbetobe He did not do so good in the late 10's. I think it's turned around though. He's done great in 2022 so far and 2020.

[@officialspock]

Hahaha, this guy is a joke

[@dogestranding5047]

How is he a joke? He's a successful billionaire hedge fund manager. You're probably only saying that because he's got a position that opposed to yours.

[@duudleDreamz]

Einhorn lost over 33% last year. Not worth listening to. What are all these people doing there, what a waste.

[@TWWIW]

Skeptoptimist He still has some merit. His investing strategy in seeking value is quite.. umm... unusual lol

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe Greenlight Capital has been around since 1996. More than "a few years." Short positions can take many years in order to be proven right. Just look at Bill Ackman's short of MBIA.

[@dogestranding5047]

You're an idiot if you think that a single year of underperformance makes him a bad investor. His fund beats the indices like the S&P 500 over the long-term. One year? Why have such a short-term mindset? He's an investor, not a speculator.

[@fezaozenc]

Nice guy but uninteresting. Sorry.

[@dogestranding5047]

Feza Ozenc Maybe you're the boring one?

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe What has he distorted? He asked Elon Musk to tell him what he was lying about. Tesla being up at the moment doesn't mean that Einhorn is wrong about Tesla.

[@dogestranding5047]

@@orbetobe He has definitely created returns for investors. Elon's Tesla is at a deficit lmao.

[@marcy6399]

I have a sense that there is direct bodily intervention ongoing causing among other things, illnesses, and an increase in spending/consumption. These actions need to be investigated. Merely those with capital can guarantee the culprit(s) be brought to justice.

[@marcy6399]

I have a sense that there is direct bodily intervention ongoing causing among other things, illnesses, and an increase in spending/consumption. These actions need to be investigated. Merely those with capital can guarantee the culprit(s) be brought to justice.