Clarkson loses money in wake of economic collapse

edkwon

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Apparently he and many other wealthy briton's got royally screwed when AIG decided to shut down one of their funds

Thousands of Britain's richest investors stand to lose as much as 25 per cent of what they believed to be a "low-risk" investment, after a run on an AIG investment fund forced the troubled insurer to take emergency measures to close the portfolio down.

The television presenter Jeremy Clarkson is known to be one of those who may lose out, after he was advised to transfer a large sum of money into the troubled fund, just weeks before it ran into trouble.

In a recent newspaper article, Mr Clarkson vented his fury about the situation. "I made strenuous efforts to get my money out of AIG as soon as the scale of its problems became apparent. But it wasn't possible. Inwardly I was screaming. It's my money. I gave it to you. You've squandered it on a Mexican's house in San Diego and a stupid football team and that's your problem. Not mine."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...by-closure-of-aig-investment-fund-956875.html
 
WOW! I'm sure we'll hear about that on top gear... i just cant wait to see him ranting about how stupid americans are on National TV!!
 
Jezza should act more grown up. A awful lot of people lost an awful lot of money the last few weeks. If I understand the article correctly, he'll even get his money back in due course. Which can't be said for the many people who saw their pension go up in smoke in the last few weeks.
 
Don't think it's fair to say he should be more grown up. People in his position are all probably saying the same thing, just because he is a TV personality and is able to share his thoughts with the public (which, I feel, he is freely entitled to), shouldn't stop him from speaking his mind.
 
Don't think it's fair to say he should be more grown up. People in his position are all probably saying the same thing, just because he is a TV personality and is able to share his thoughts with the public (which, I feel, he is freely entitled to), shouldn't stop him from speaking his mind.

Couldn't agree more. For all his extreme (on occasion) views and the schoolboy pranks and japes on Top Gear he has worked hard for a long time to get where he is and deserves what he has. Don't forget he is a husband and a father to three children (just as I am) and the prospect of losing a chunk of one's hard-earned through no fault of one's own is bound to set the pulse racing and get the blood boiling. We went through hell earlier this year when my job went tits up and I wasn't sure for a time how to pay the mortgage or the bills, and while I don't believe the Clarkson family are in any danger of starving I can still sympathise to a degree.

Instead of castigating JC for sharing these thoughts we should be directing any venom towards the idiot bankers, stock market traders and politicians who have created this mess. They used to say that when America sneezed the rest of the world caught a cold. Sadly the sub-prime issue that started this whole business was a nasty bout of the flu in the States that means the whole world economy now has a nasty case of double pneumonia!
 
I wouldn't worry about him... you know the rich get richer and the poor get poorer in the long run. That's just the way it goes.
 
wow, you know i really have zero sympathy for the people in the financial market.... their single minded greedyness and desire to make fast millions has got us in this shit storm. they've taken huge risks, to aquire those massive bonus's, without really giving a thought to the long term effects.

AIG probably did the same, hey we're fine this week put your money here its safe! they want peoples money so that they can make money and they'll do it even in the face of collapse because all they care about is making themselves richer and not about the people who put their faith in them.

i honestly dont think these big financial companies deserve to be pulled out of the crapper by the governments and billions in tax payers money, i dont think any other industry would get that kind of help....ever, they'd be left to rot and disintegrate.

but its just a sad fact that the financial industry, in the UK, is pretty much THE industry. it makes this county go round and without it nothing would function. so there we are, we got a bunch of money grabbing prolific risk takers who just want to make themselves richer and they're practically given a free ticket to ride to take huge risks and make big fuck ups safe in the knowledge that they WILL be bailed out by the government.

it makes me rather sick, but thats just how it is.

i do however have sympathy for those people duped into handing their cash over to these guys
 
wow, you know i really have zero sympathy for the people in the financial market.... their single minded greediness and desire to make fast millions has got us in this shit storm. they've taken huge risks, to acquire those massive bonus's, without really giving a thought to the long term effects.

AIG probably did the same, hey we're fine this week put your money here its safe! they want peoples money so that they can make money and they'll do it even in the face of collapse because all they care about is making themselves richer and not about the people who put their faith in them.

I honestly don't think these big financial companies deserve to be pulled out of the crapper by the governments and billions in tax payers money, I don't think any other industry would get that kind of help....ever, they'd be left to rot and disintegrate.

but its just a sad fact that the financial industry, in the UK, is pretty much THE industry. it makes this county go round and without it nothing would function. so there we are, we got a bunch of money grabbing prolific risk takers who just want to make themselves richer and they're practically given a free ticket to ride to take huge risks and make big fuck ups safe in the knowledge that they WILL be bailed out by the government.

it makes me rather sick, but that's just how it is.

I agree with all of that - saved me typing it.

However...

Retailers are falling over themselves to make a sale, so if you walk into a shop and wave your Debit card at them, they become very receptive to a deal. If you have the cash, this is a great time to go shopping :) I'm absolutely loving it. :)
 
That said, trying to buy anything from overseas is a bit of a pain at the moment.

About three weeks ago, one Australian dollar bought 96 American cents. Now it's something like 63 cents. My boss is going to the US mid next-year, he's having kittens watching the exchange rate at the moment :p
 
The fund in question here is only expected to lose 25%, which is relatively little compared to the losses incurred on stocks within the last two weeks.

Instead of castigating JC for sharing these thoughts we should be directing any venom towards the idiot bankers, stock market traders and politicians who have created this mess. They used to say that when America sneezed the rest of the world caught a cold. Sadly the sub-prime issue that started this whole business was a nasty bout of the flu in the States that means the whole world economy now has a nasty case of double pneumonia!



wow, you know i really have zero sympathy for the people in the financial market.... their single minded greedyness and desire to make fast millions has got us in this shit storm. they've taken huge risks, to aquire those massive bonus's, without really giving a thought to the long term effects.

I think both of you are forgetting one key group of short sighted idiots here: The former American homeowners who first remortgaged their house to have either more money to spend or pay off their consumer loans and then defaulted on these loans without having any consequences to their personal wealth (well other than losing their house). In most of Europe they would be stripped of all personal wealth to pay off their mortgage.
 
I think both of you are forgetting one key group of short sighted idiots here: The former American homeowners who first remortgaged their house to have either more money to spend or pay off their consumer loans and then defaulted on these loans without having any consequences to their personal wealth (well other than losing their house). In most of Europe they would be stripped of all personal wealth to pay off their mortgage.

I was going to write this in my post: Thanks to all the fat Yanks who defaulted on their mortgages. I removed it before posting, which was unusually restrained for me. But you're correct and thanks to them, the house is looking and smelling absolutely brand new. :)
 
^ A bit harsh, from what I can gather many of these people just wanted to own their own home and a slick Mortgage sales man talked many of - how best to describe them, er, innocents in the ways of finance, into deals which meant that they were taken for an expensive ride and could not keep up the payments. No doubt some people were financing a certain lifestyle but others have been just as much of a victim as you or I. In my case - Pension fund down the toilet.
 
I wouldn't really blame the American public, it's not their fault that everything is about buying, spending money and acquiring material goods. If you've ever been to the US, you'll know that consumerism rules all.

Seriously, everyone will eventually give in to the marketing machines of big corporations. I mean everything in America is about getting you to spend your cash... you even sit and watch American Idol and you have to watch those guys continuously drink out of their Coca-Cola cups. It's ridiculous.

Same goes for mortgages and loans. They just don't have proper education with these things. It's all buy, buy, buy and spend, spend, spend. It's no wonder that the average American credit card has thousands of dollars worth of debt. But it's not people's fault, they're brainwashed by evil companies.
 
if he yells how americans are so stupid for causing this then i really wont like him anymore

he will also make an idiot out of himself because, even though we contributed quite a bit to the times we were not the only ones


also the reason this was caused is because the SEC (run by left-wing wackos) and congressmen Barney Frank lifted laws requiring looking into peoples background, financal status, and other thing to make sure that they can pay it back because the felt that is was discriminating against people . HOW CAN U GIVE MORTGAGES TO PEOPLE WHO CAN PAY IT BACK! it just blows my mind

I also work for AIG so i no alot about this situation, the whole bailout thing is not taking taxpayers money it is simply a loan the government is giving to aig, aig will have to pay it back over time, the government has done this in the past and has made a huge profit off it and most of the time it was the start of a bull market. also expect a hughe rally in the market in the next 2-3 weeks from now


i apologize for the clarkson like rant,

anyway back on topic, jezza will get most of all his money back in time and plus how can he complain, he is the star of the biggest car show in the world , and gets to drive the coolest new cars and get paid for it, i would even do that for free
 
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I think both of you are forgetting one key group of short sighted idiots here: The former American homeowners who first remortgaged their house to have either more money to spend or pay off their consumer loans and then defaulted on these loans without having any consequences to their personal wealth (well other than losing their house). In most of Europe they would be stripped of all personal wealth to pay off their mortgage.

That may well be true, but the banks didn't have to lend them the money. It is their loose lending criteria that allowed these people to remortgage/obtain mortgages they had no real possibility of paying.

funny-pictures-raccoon-subprime-mortgage.jpg
 
That may well be true, but the banks didn't have to lend them the money. It is their loose lending criteria that allowed these people to remortgage/obtain mortgages they had no real possibility of paying.

Ah well it's never the fault of the little man. :rolleyes:
 
I agree with all of that - saved me typing it.

However...

Retailers are falling over themselves to make a sale, so if you walk into a shop and wave your Debit card at them, they become very receptive to a deal. If you have the cash, this is a great time to go shopping :) I'm absolutely loving it. :)

one of the better things that comes out of government bail outs is that the companies accounts will be under severe scrutiny.... if theyre caught flaunting money on putting up execs in nice hotels when it isnt necessary they'll have explaining to do.

same with bonus's, apparently theres gonna be a review into that and city bonus's are going to be regulated in an attempt to stop brokers/financiers taking the huge risks that bring on the ?1m + bonus'

thats been unregulated for ages now.
 
from what I can gather many of these people just wanted to own their own home and a slick Mortgage sales man talked many of - how best to describe them, er, innocents in the ways of finance, into deals which meant that they were taken for an expensive ride and could not keep up the payments. No doubt some people were financing a certain lifestyle but others have been just as much of a victim as you or I. In my case - Pension fund down the toilet.
You're right when you mention that some were 'financing a certain lifestyle'. Some homeowners were honestly duped, but there were also many who were... less than intelligent... because they refinanced, then thought "hey, I've consolidated! My credit is clear!" and went on spending binges, then found out later that they were going to have to pay interest, ridiculous amounts on their principal, and huge payments for whatever they bought. So yeah, partly big guy vs. little guy, partly little guy being materialistic. (I think we're saying the same thing here. :D) Four houses on my street alone are now bank-owned for that very reason.

You mentioned your own pension fund though- *grimaces* I am sorry about that!

I do wish Jeremy the best (it must be a pretty frightening thing to have to deal with when a 'sure-thing' deal goes so wrong- doesn't bode well for other, more serious 'sure-thing' investments), but I'm not quite sure I understand what he's saying- is he talking about the Resort scandal when he says the money was squandered on "a Mexican's house in San Diego and a stupid football team"? It doesn't sound much like it but I live here in SD and have no clue what he's talking about. (If it has to do with the Chargers, he should have replaced the word 'stupid' with 'rubbish' :lol:) Does anyone have a news link or something so I don't feel so out of the loop? Tried google but nothing comes up.
 
I have no sympathy for 1) People who bought homes they couldn't afford, 2) Fund managers/banks/etc, 3) Jeremy Clarkson.

Clarkson will get his money back at some point, he can complain all he wants about Amurrika but the fact is that he dumped more money into a fund and he got burned.
 
I have no sympathy for 1) People who bought homes they couldn't afford, 2) Fund managers/banks/etc, 3) Jeremy Clarkson.

Clarkson will get his money back at some point, he can complain all he wants about Amurrika but the fact is that he dumped more money into a fund and he got burned.
I have sympathy for him because he did it on the advice of his banker. It's not like he willingly went in there and screamed to have all of his money transferred over... I mean, yea, he could have done some research, but he's got other things to do. Like yelling POWER! on his way home... ;)
 
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