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Economy
George Soros doubles gold investment
2010-02-18
US billionaire George Soros has more than doubled his investment in gold, despite calling it the "ultimate bubble" just weeks ago.

Mr Soros' investment vehicle Soros Fund Management increased its holding in SPDR Gold Trust to 6.2 million shares, worth $663m (£425m) at the end of 2009. It had held 2.5 million shares at the end of the third quarter of 2009.

The gold price hit a record high of $1,226.56 an ounce in December, but has since fallen back to about $1,100.

Mr Soros himself has suggested that gold may not be a good investment. At the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, he said: "The ultimate asset bubble is gold." However, he did not say whether he was investing in the precious metal.

But he also said that when he sees a bubble, "I rush out and buy".

Mark Heyhoe, senior mining analyst at Westhouse Securities, said: "He has previously said that gold is the ultimate hedge against inflation - if you think inflation's going to rise, then I'm not surprised he bought into gold.

"A lot of people were starting to look at gold, and a lot of people follow what he does," he added. "But you need to buy a lot of gold to shift the price."

As well as raising its stake in SPDR, Soros Fund Management also increased its holding in Canadian gold producer Yamana Gold. The company also bought more shares in seed producer Monsanto, Brazilian oil producer Petrobras, and Wall Street bank Citigroup.
Posted by:tipper

#15  Soros isn't primarily buying and taking possession of gold, at least so far as the article discloses. He's buying stocks and derivatives that make a lot of money when other people buy gold.

That's why he can call it a bubble and still invest.
Posted by: lotp   2010-02-18 20:44  

#14  Meanwhile the IMF is selling 400 metric tons of gold.
Posted by: DMFD   2010-02-18 19:36  

#13  Very true Ms. Skolaut. Turning up at a closed and boarded up Kroger with a hand full of Krugerrands will be rather meaningless.
Posted by: Besoeker   2010-02-18 18:36  

#12  Funny, I always thought of George Soros as Ernst Blofeld, not Auric Goldfinger.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2010-02-18 18:35  

#11  Maybe gold's an OK investment if you've got a lot of money to spare, but you can't eat it.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2010-02-18 18:28  

#10  I'm a thinking.... Soros is building a pyramid somewhere and wants to take the gold with him into the afterlife...
Posted by: 3dc   2010-02-18 16:36  

#9  @bman: Indeed, why is he! His ticket should have been punched a long time ago, miserable blood sucking parasite.
Posted by: Blinky Spique7717   2010-02-18 13:12  

#8  ...miracles of modern medicine and the fact the French haven't been able to get their hands on him.

I remember the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market in silver back in the 80s. When the price reached a certain point, it seemed like everyone dumped their family silverware, old coins, etc from the basement or attic or nook. Crashed the market, basically bankrupted the pair.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2010-02-18 11:48  

#7  why is this man still alive?
Posted by: bman   2010-02-18 11:40  

#6  The value of the world's entire known gold reserves is a small fraction of the total "wealth" held in the fiat money economy. Ultimately, gold's a great play if all that fiat "wealth" is going away. Paper money, indeed...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2010-02-18 10:25  

#5  Speculating on gold, even for a dedicated schemer like Soros, is a damned dangerous game. The major players in gold have been in there for generations, and are very bloody minded.

Hopefully they will take Soros for every dime he has, or could ever have.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2010-02-18 10:01  

#4  Reading this I have to ask.
Does Soros actually own any Gold, or only "Shares"?
The way it reads he 's invested in "Paper Gold" only?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2010-02-18 09:39  

#3  The man makes money by causing chaos.

The man makes money on the misery and suffering of others. He's been doing that since 1944.
Posted by: Steve White   2010-02-18 09:37  

#2  Mr Soros himself has suggested that gold may not be a good investment.

He would say that if he was about to buy ... Its probably one of the most stable long term investment around . Since 2000 it has rocketed in price with one small slump in early 2009 .

price per troy oz in 2000 =400 approx
" " in 2009-10 =1100 approx

Thanks to Gordon Brown (ok gold prices had stagnated for about a decade in the 90's ) the UK became a poorer nation , he was chancellor of the exchequer. He sold off more than half of our centuries old gold , at what now turns out to be rock bottom prices .

400 tons of gold , can you possibly imagine !!

/rant
Posted by: Oscar   2010-02-18 09:00  

#1  
The man makes money by causing chaos.

Watch Out!
Posted by: Parabellum   2010-02-18 08:34  

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