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 of
accomplished professional investors and billionaire businessmen

The Billion Dollar Mistake is an up-close account of the
career-defining mistakes that some of the world’s most brilliant
billionaire investors have made, and a revealing look at what we
can learn from them. Drawing on author Stephen Weiss’ twenty-two
years experience at some of Wall Street’s most prestigious firms,
the core of this book is based upon original research and
interviews with these legendary investors, who discuss the most
significant trade or investment that went against them, the
magnitude of the loss, its effect on their businesses-and on their
personal lives. To some, these fascinating accounts will read like
a novel; to others, it will be a treasured and unique investment
guide.

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

* Uncovers important lessons learned from the failures of some of
the most enduring and accomplished investors, including Kirk
Kerkorian, Bill Ackman, Aubrey Mc Clendon and Leon Cooperman

* Discusses how to incorporate these lessons into your investment
discipline and avoid the same missteps

* Reveals common mistakes made by bigger investors that the
average investor can relate-the only difference is in magnitude
with more zeros attached to the loss

* Includes insights on improving your investment endeavors by
refining your approach to today’s markets

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

Table des matières

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

A propos de l’auteur

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.