A billionaire hedge fund manager dubbed "The Oracle of Boston" by Warren Buffet says President Donald Trump's "erratic tendencies and overconfidence" in leadership could trigger a financial crisis.
Baupost Group co-founder Seth Klarman — in a private letter to investors obtained by New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin — writes:
"President Trump may be able to temporarily hold off the sweep of automation and globalization by cajoling companies to keep jobs at home, but bolstering inefficient and uncompetitive enterprises is likely to only temporarily stave off market forces.
"While they might be popular, the reason the U.S. long ago abandoned protectionist trade policies is because they not only don't work, they actually leave society worse off."
He's also worried about the billionaire real-estate tycoon's leadership style.
"The erratic tendencies and overconfidence in his own wisdom and judgment that Donald Trump has demonstrated to date are inconsistent with strong leadership and sound decision-making," Klarman writes.
"The big picture for investors is this: Trump is high volatility, and investors generally abhor volatility and shun uncertainty … If things go wrong, we could find ourselves at the beginning of a lengthy decline in dollar hegemony, a rapid rise in interest rates and inflation, and global angst."
Klarman's Baupost Group manages some $30 billion.
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