Paulson ?

Just in case you were wondering why the name Paulson is ringing a bell...

S.E.C. Accuses Goldman of Fraud in Housing Deal

”According to the complaint, Goldman created Abacus 2007-AC1 in February 2007 at the request of John A. Paulson, a prominent hedge fund manager who earned an estimated $3.7 billion in 2007 by correctly wagering that the housing bubble would burst. Mr. Paulson is not named in the suit. “

...that would be because I wrote about him nearly two years ago to the day.

The Wrong Message

And every reference to him was made because I was reading the greatest newspaper in the county -- The New York Times.

I used Mr. Paulson’s compensation ($3.7 billion in 2007) to demonstrate the 90% tax implications in this blog. It is still one of my favorite posts. One guy’s taxes (if we had such a tax rate) would close the school budget gap in California. One guy. And he’d still take home $370 million.

There are people out there that think a 90% tax rate is criminal. I think a 3.7 billion-dollar payday is criminal. What will be most interesting to see as this story unfolds is just what is considered criminal and what isn’t. As you see from the quote above, Mr. Paulson has not been accused of a crime nor named in the “suit”. That’s right. Criminal charges haven’t been filed against Goldman Sachs. It’s a civil suit.

Don Brown
April 16, 2010