Stephen L. Weiss 
The Billion Dollar Mistake 
Learning the Art of Investing Through the Missteps of Legendary Investors

Important investment lessons gleaned from the mistakes ofaccomplished professional investors and billionaire businessmen

The Billion Dollar Mistake is an up-close account of thecareer-defining mistakes that some of the world’s most brilliantbillionaire investors have made, and a revealing look at what wecan learn from them. Drawing on author Stephen Weiss’ twenty-twoyears experience at some of Wall Street’s most prestigious firms, the core of this book is based upon original research andinterviews with these legendary investors, who discuss the mostsignificant trade or investment that went against them, themagnitude of the loss, its effect on their businesses-and on theirpersonal lives. To some, these fascinating accounts will read likea novel; to others, it will be a treasured and unique investmentguide.

This intriguing book skillfully examines the causal relationshipbetween the quirks of each investor’s personality and the mistakesthey have committed. Along the way, Weiss provides a series ofcompelling narrative accounts of the individuals’ road to success, the particular mistakes they made, the character flaws that led tothem, and the lessons learned. While some investors made errors ofjudgment, others made errors of perception. The Billion Dollar Mistake

* Uncovers important lessons learned from the failures of some ofthe most enduring and accomplished investors, including Kirk Kerkorian, Bill Ackman, Aubrey Mc Clendon and Leon Cooperman
* Discusses how to incorporate these lessons into your investmentdiscipline and avoid the same missteps
* Reveals common mistakes made by bigger investors that theaverage investor can relate-the only difference is in magnitudewith more zeros attached to the loss
* Includes insights on improving your investment endeavors byrefining your approach to today’s markets

Learning from the missteps of the best in the investmentbusiness can help you succeed. With The Billion Dollar Mistake, you’ll discover how.

Table of Content

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Kirk Kerkorian: Due Diligence Is Due Every Time 11

Chapter 2 David Bonderman: Does This Mean I Also Overpaid for the Rolling Stones? 31

Chapter 3 Aubrey Mc Clendon: Falling on the Wrong Edge of the Two-Edged Leverage Sword 51

Chapter 4 Bill Ackman: Detour from Discipline 69

Chapter 5 Nick Maounis: ‘Trust, but Verify…’ 89

Chapter 6 Leon Cooperman: The Pirate of Prague Meets the Prince of Princeton–and the Boy from the Bronx Gets Squeezed 109

Chapter 7 Richard Pzena: Fashions Change, History Persists–or Does It? 129

Chapter 8 Geoff Grant: Style Drift–It’s Hot Till It’s Not 149

Chapter 9 Volkswagen and Porsche: The Hare Finally Wins and the Shorts Get Squeezed 171

Chapter 10 Chris Davis: It Was Dressed like an Insurance Company, but It Didn’t Quack Like One… 195

Chapter 11 Madoff Investors: Hook, Line, and Sunk 215

Epilogue Me Too: Mistakes I’ve Made and Lessons I’ve Learned 235

Notes 237

Glossary 241

About the Author 249

Index 251

About the author

STEPHEN L. WEISS has spent the last twenty-three years on Wall Street working for some of the industry’s most prestigious firms. He is currently a Senior Managing Director and Head of Equities at an investment bank in New York City. Weiss started in institutional sales at Oppenheimer & Co., then moved to Salomon Brothers, where he eventually co-managed the firm’s 500 person global research department and became a spokesperson for the equity division. Weiss also worked at SAC Capital, co-managing the firm for legendary hedge fund manager Steven Cohen. Subsequent to SAC, Weiss joined Lehman Brothers in senior management, helping to restore the once prominent equity business to the pinnacle of the industry.