Friday, March 14, 2008
Al Gore Investing $35 Million In Hedge Funds
Former VP Al Gore may have list the Presidency to George W. Bush, but there seems to be more than one silver lining to his cloudy exit from elective politics. In addition to all his other achivements, including last year's Nobel Peace Prize and the Oscar he got for 'The Inconvinient Truth', Al Gore also has managed to make a lot of money since his 2000 loss. Over $100 million, to be specific. Before we get into an examination of his accumulation of wealth since becoming a private citizen, let's take a quick look at how he invests it.
Bloomberg News reports that Gore invested $35 million with Capricorn Investment Group LLC, a Palo Alto, California, firm that selects the private funds for clients and invests in makers of environmentally friendly products, according to a Feb. 1 securities filing. Capricorn was founded by billionaire Jeffrey Skoll, former president of EBay Inc. and an executive producer of Gore's Oscar-winning documentary film on global warming.
Now let's head back to how Al Gore earns his money. Well, first of all, he and his wife, Tipper, started off with about $2 million when they left the White House in 2000. Now he charges about $175,000 per speaking engagement, according to the Bloomberg article. But that hardly explains it all. He's long been a senior advisor to Google and he's a member of Apple's Board. He thus holds Apple shares and pre-public Google stock options, which alone should be adequate to explain the wealth. But there's more. He started Current Media Inc., which broadcasts user generated content to over 50 million homes in the US, UK and Ireland, and serves as a bridge between the internet and television content. The company recently filed an IPO for $100 million.
And in addition to being involved with a silicon Valley venture capital firm and some other concerns, he's also slam-bang in the middle of one of the biggest potential cash-cows of the next decade - Generation Investment Management, a London based company which has offices in Washington DC, for which Al Gore Serves as Chairman. This company sells carbon offset credits to people and organizations who wish to offset their carbon use. Things being as they are right now, Generation Investment Management could end up as one of the world's largest companies within the span of 5-10 years.
One thing you have to admit about Al Gore. He's got the Midas touch. Everything he touches turns into gold. If I were you, I'd be digging up more information about exactly which hedge funds are going to get a share of his $35 million investment.
Bloomberg News reports that Gore invested $35 million with Capricorn Investment Group LLC, a Palo Alto, California, firm that selects the private funds for clients and invests in makers of environmentally friendly products, according to a Feb. 1 securities filing. Capricorn was founded by billionaire Jeffrey Skoll, former president of EBay Inc. and an executive producer of Gore's Oscar-winning documentary film on global warming.
Now let's head back to how Al Gore earns his money. Well, first of all, he and his wife, Tipper, started off with about $2 million when they left the White House in 2000. Now he charges about $175,000 per speaking engagement, according to the Bloomberg article. But that hardly explains it all. He's long been a senior advisor to Google and he's a member of Apple's Board. He thus holds Apple shares and pre-public Google stock options, which alone should be adequate to explain the wealth. But there's more. He started Current Media Inc., which broadcasts user generated content to over 50 million homes in the US, UK and Ireland, and serves as a bridge between the internet and television content. The company recently filed an IPO for $100 million.
And in addition to being involved with a silicon Valley venture capital firm and some other concerns, he's also slam-bang in the middle of one of the biggest potential cash-cows of the next decade - Generation Investment Management, a London based company which has offices in Washington DC, for which Al Gore Serves as Chairman. This company sells carbon offset credits to people and organizations who wish to offset their carbon use. Things being as they are right now, Generation Investment Management could end up as one of the world's largest companies within the span of 5-10 years.
One thing you have to admit about Al Gore. He's got the Midas touch. Everything he touches turns into gold. If I were you, I'd be digging up more information about exactly which hedge funds are going to get a share of his $35 million investment.
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