10 Fascinating Facts About The Fabulous Life Of Hedge Funder Kyle Bass (2024)

Advertisem*nt

Kyle Bass learned to love trading by playing Risk as a child.

Michael Lewis wondered how a Texan who had barely left the country could be so interested in the debt of foreign countries, especially Iceland— which was Bass' first obsession.

Very simple. Bass loves Risk, and Iceland was his favorite place to put troops because they're easy to defend there.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

He has a plan for when every thing crashes — buy guns and gold.

He even told his mom:

"You need physical gold.” He explained that when the next crisis struck, the gold futures market was likely to seize up, as there were more outstanding futures contracts than available gold. People who thought they owned gold would find they owned pieces of paper instead.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

Aside from gold bricks, he also keeps platinum bars.

Some is in his desk at Hayman, some is in vaults in Houston.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

Some things he collects are a little strange— like nickels.

Yes. Nickels. The coins (From Boomerang):

“The value of the metal in a nickel is worth six point eight cents,” he said. “Did you know that?..I just bought a million dollars’ worth of them,” he said, and then, perhaps sensing I couldn’t do the math: “twenty million nickels.”...

“How do you buy twenty million nickels?”

“Actually, it’s very difficult,” he said, and then explained that he had to call his bank and talk them into ordering him twenty million nickels. The bank had finally done it, but the Federal Reserve had its own questions. “The Fed apparently called my guy at the bank,” he says. “They asked him, ‘Why do you want all these nickels?’ So he called me and asked, ‘Why do you want all these nickels?’ And I said, ‘I just like nickels.’”

He pulled out a photograph of his nickels and handed it to me. There they were, piled up on giant wooden pallets in a Brink’s vault in downtown Dallas.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

This is less strange— Bass also has a ton of semi-automatic weapons.

Latest issue U.S. Army sniper rifle with infared scopes.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

Also explosives that he buys online and has Fed-Exed to his house.

He blows up beaver dams on his property with them sometimes.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

Speaking of his property, he has a 41,000 square foot ranch house outside Dallas.

With thousands of acres of land attached.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

And how does he get around that land? With a U.S. Army Jeep!

To match the guns, naturally.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

But the jeep isn't his only vehicle. He goes to work in a tricked out Hummer.

Lewis says that there's a button you can push in the car that will automatically coat the road behind it with giant tacks...cartoon style.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

He also spends money on his favorite cause. Wounded veterans.

Bass has a bumper sticker on his car that says, "God Bless our troops, especially our snipers."

also, Lewis says that there's a button you can push in the car that will automatically coat the road behind it with giant tacks...cartoon style.

Source: Boomerang, by Michael Lewis

Advertisem*nt

Now find out why Bass may be right about France.

AND NOW: Here's The Story Of Why People Are Starting To Flip Out Over France>>