The Mooch came back to Vegas this week, but it was a different kind of gig.
After putting his SkyBridge Alternatives Conference on hold last year following a rough patch -- a foul-mouthed interview led to his firing after 11 days at the White House, then came his investment firm’s scrapped deal with HNA Group Co. -- Anthony Scaramucci struck a more restrained tone for the 10th anniversary of his swanky hedge fund show. As investors flocked to the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas for three days of panels and hobnobbing, gone were the celebrities and fund titans that presented in years past.
So-called masters of the universe like Bill Ackman, Jim Chanos and David Tepper, who once graced the stage at SALT, were absent. Marc Lasry and Jason Mudrick, among the highest-profile hedge fund names on this week’s agenda, canceled at the last minute.
Political Heavyweights
Hollywood types like Will Smith and singer Jewel, who spoke at the 2017 edition, were gone too. In their place were political heavyweights -- Valerie Jarrett, Ben Carson, John Kelly, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions and Corey Lewandowski. The latter two were fired by President Donald Trump.
“We’re FBLs,” Scaramucci, who founded SkyBridge Capital, said on the sidelines of the conference Thursday. “You know what FBLs is? Fired but loyal.”
The conference impresario said he invited “all the blockbuster hedge fund names, but if they don’t want to come, I can’t pull their teeth.”
The $3 trillion hedge fund industry hasn’t done well lately, he said, “so if you haven’t had a great year and you’re a household name you’re like, ‘OK, I’m going to stay out of there,’ you know?’”
Speakers included Angelo Mozilo, the former Countrywide Financial Corp. chief executive who the New Yorker called “the face of the financial crisis” in the wake of the housing collapse. He warned on Bloomberg Television of a coming rout in luxury homes.
Logan’s Gaffe
Omeed Malik, who founded merchant bank Farvahar Partners this year, moderated a panel. The former Bank of America Corp. executive was fired in January 2018 after a woman alleged he made unwanted advances. His attorney said Malik hadn’t engaged in any misconduct. The company ultimately agreed to pay Malik a multimillion-dollar sum to settle a defamation suit.
In a slightly awkward moment, journalist Lara Logan made a gaffe as she introduced Malik for his panel, saying he’s “no saint” before correcting herself to say no “stranger” to the SALT audience.