In 2010, John Paulson personally earned $5 billion, vaulting him into the ranks of the world’s wealthiest persons. Incredibly, this was not a one time event precipitated by a heavily leveraged bet that just happened to turn out right. Mr. Paulson had previously made another brilliant call prior to the financial crisis. Based on his analysis of the subprime mortgage market, Mr. Paulson had the acumen to establish a major bearish position in mortgages, prior to the mortgage meltdown, that resulted in billions of dollars in profits.
It was how Mr. Paulson made $5 billion during 2010 that makes his every move the object of intense scrutiny by gold investors worldwide. Mr. Paulson believes that the Federal Reserve is determined to re-inflate every asset class possible, using whatever means necessary. Without the “benefit” of inflation, the crushing levels of national debt would eventually lead to massive defaults and an economic disaster. Based on this conviction, Mr. Paulson invested heavily in gold futures, the SPDR Gold Shares Trust (GLD), and other gold structured investments that resulted in his massive paycheck for 2010.
Last October, while speaking at the University Club in New York, Mr. Paulson predicted that the price of gold could easily reach $4,000 an ounce.
With Mr. Paulson’s track record, any change in his gold holdings would obviously be of great interest to gold investors worldwide.
Mr. Paulson directs most of his investments through his hedge fund, Paulson & Co, and is required to report major holdings to security regulators with 45 days after the end of each quarter. The latest regulatory Form 13-F filing shows that Mr. Paulson’s position in the SPDR Gold Shares Trust was unchanged for the latest quarter.
At December 31, 2010, Mr. Paulson’s holdings in the GLD amounted to $4.37 billion dollars or about 8% of the total value of the Gold Trust. The value of the GLD’s holdings are currently $53.95 billion.
Other big time successful investors also maintained or increased their holdings in the GLD. The Soros Fund Management at year end held $655 million of GLD while PIMCO (run by super star bond manager Bill Gross) had holdings of $307.7 million.
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