Fooling Some of the People All of the Time
by David Einhorn
“A rare and revealing look into the dark corner of finance and politics where you find fraudsters, investors, politicians, and regulators all gaming the system. Einhorn’s memoir is a gripping and informative tale, told with verve and passion, that carries a powerful message for anyone who cares about the future of our economy.”
“Einhorn’s gripping account is a detailed dissection of the world of short-selling, corporate malfeasance and the politics of wealth management.”
Fooling Some of the People All of the Time is a book written by David Einhorn, the founder and president of Greenlight Capital, a hedge fund company. The book is a memoir and an investigative account of Einhorn's experience with Allied Capital, a publicly traded business development company (BDC). Einhorn's investigation revealed that Allied Capital had been misrepresenting its financial performance, which ultimately led to the company's downfall.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book is a memoir that tells the story of Einhorn's experience with Allied Capital. He begins by describing how he first became interested in the company and how he began to investigate its financial performance. As he delved deeper into the company's financials, he discovered that Allied Capital had been consistently overstating its earnings and understating its losses. Einhorn also found that the company had been engaging in a practice known as "factoring," which is the selling of accounts receivable to a third party at a discounted rate. This practice allowed Allied Capital to inflate its earnings and deceive its investors.
The second part of the book is an investigative account of Einhorn's findings. He presents a detailed analysis of Allied Capital's financial statements, showing how the company had been misrepresenting its financial performance. Einhorn also provides evidence of the company's insider trading and manipulation of its stock price. He goes on to describe how he tried to bring these issues to the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but the agency was slow to respond and ultimately did not take any action against the company.
Einhorn's investigation ultimately led to the downfall of Allied Capital. The company's stock price dropped significantly and it was forced to restate its financials. Einhorn's book helped to bring attention to the issue of corporate fraud and the need for greater oversight and regulation of publicly traded companies.
The book also highlights the importance of due diligence, the investigation of the company's financials, and the dangers of blindly trusting the numbers provided by companies. It emphasizes the need for investors to be vigilant, to question the information provided by companies, and to be willing to speak up when they suspect something is not right.
In summary, Fooling Some of the People All of the Time is a memoir and investigative account of David Einhorn's experience with Allied Capital, a publicly traded business development company (BDC). The book tells the story of how Einhorn discovered that the company had been misrepresenting its financial performance and engaging in insider trading. Einhorn's investigation ultimately led to the downfall of Allied Capital. The book highlights the importance of due diligence, the dangers of blindly trusting the numbers provided by companies, and the need for investors to be vigilant and to speak up when they suspect something is not right.
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