insidemadmoney
11-14-2005, 10:27 PM
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The 60 Minutes interview details Jim Cramer’s mentality that formed very early on. Cramer comments on additional interesting events that have defined his life. The following is an excerpt from CBS News’ 60 Minutes article, “Mad Money Man Jim Cramerâ€:
But success turned Cramer into a monster who screamed and cursed, smashed telephones and computers and terrorized his employees.
Cramer agrees he had a violent temper in those days. “Yeah, I did. Yeah, I’m not going to disagree with that. I mean, I had a very bad temper.â€
What made him so angry? “Because I wanted to achieve. And I felt that I could master it. And whenever I didn’t master it, it was usually because of a mistake that I made. And I would think that the mistakes should have been avoided. So I was very hard on myself,†says Cramer.
On weekends, Cramer retreated to his 65-acre estate in the New Jersey countryside. It’s the house the hedge fund built, and it’s where Cramer came to escape. But even here, with his wife Karen, herself a former stock market trader, and their two daughters, he couldn’t shake his hedge fund mentality.
He remembers an incident that occurred when he was coaching his daughter’s soccer team.
“Sure enough, we’re down four nothing after the first half. And I go in. I say, ‘Girls, you are all letting me down.’ And one girl raises. She says, ‘We all had a sleep over. We were up really late last night.’ And they all start crying,†recalls Cramer. “And it’s like uh, uh, uh, uh, girls, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just…you didn’t let me down, you know. It took me awhile to kinda recognize that you had to…you can’t be like at the hedge fund. I mean, I was so cloistered at the hedge fund that I didn’t even know what it was like to deal with people.â€
It took something his father said to finally bring Cramer to his senses. “And he just said to me, he says ‘Look, I just know that, you know, I’m gonna outlive you. I just know that…’ And I said, ‘Well, dad, I am a very successful hedge fund…’ He says, ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna outlive you. I’m gonna outlive you. You can’t go on like this.’â€
At age 45, Jim Cramer went to the office and turned his life around. “I went in after Thanksgiving, and I stood on the desk. And I said, ‘It’s all yours.’ Just, ‘I just never wanna be bothered again. It’s your company.’ And I just gave it up.â€
But he didn’t give up his intensity. He just changed his game. He is said to be worth somewhere between $50 and $100 million. Except for the stake he has in his Web site, he only plays the stock market now for his charitable trust, from which he does not personally profit. Always an optimist, he nevertheless believes that the real estate bubble is about to burst.
“I think real estate is very similar right now to what the dotcoms were like in 2000. Everybody thinks you can’t miss with real estate. Actually I shouldn’t say that. In the last five months, I think it’s starting to dawn on people that real estate can go wrong,†says Cramer.
On weekends, Cramer now assumes the role of gentleman farmer, feeding his animals, clearing his pumpkin patch and finding time to relax and unwind. But, come Monday, it’s show time.
Rather asked why Cramer comes in every day like he does, beating himself up.
“I have a gift, Dan. I have a gift to turn people on to this stuff, to get them involved… And I love doing it. I love to teach and educate this stuff. This stuff is for me. This stuff is really for me. It is the right thing. I cannot believe how lucky I am, at this age to have come across an unbelievable thing, which is a show that I run, and I love,†Cramer replied.
The full article can be read here.
More news, commentary, and analysis at http://www.insidemadmoney.com
The 60 Minutes interview details Jim Cramer’s mentality that formed very early on. Cramer comments on additional interesting events that have defined his life. The following is an excerpt from CBS News’ 60 Minutes article, “Mad Money Man Jim Cramerâ€:
But success turned Cramer into a monster who screamed and cursed, smashed telephones and computers and terrorized his employees.
Cramer agrees he had a violent temper in those days. “Yeah, I did. Yeah, I’m not going to disagree with that. I mean, I had a very bad temper.â€
What made him so angry? “Because I wanted to achieve. And I felt that I could master it. And whenever I didn’t master it, it was usually because of a mistake that I made. And I would think that the mistakes should have been avoided. So I was very hard on myself,†says Cramer.
On weekends, Cramer retreated to his 65-acre estate in the New Jersey countryside. It’s the house the hedge fund built, and it’s where Cramer came to escape. But even here, with his wife Karen, herself a former stock market trader, and their two daughters, he couldn’t shake his hedge fund mentality.
He remembers an incident that occurred when he was coaching his daughter’s soccer team.
“Sure enough, we’re down four nothing after the first half. And I go in. I say, ‘Girls, you are all letting me down.’ And one girl raises. She says, ‘We all had a sleep over. We were up really late last night.’ And they all start crying,†recalls Cramer. “And it’s like uh, uh, uh, uh, girls, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it. I just…you didn’t let me down, you know. It took me awhile to kinda recognize that you had to…you can’t be like at the hedge fund. I mean, I was so cloistered at the hedge fund that I didn’t even know what it was like to deal with people.â€
It took something his father said to finally bring Cramer to his senses. “And he just said to me, he says ‘Look, I just know that, you know, I’m gonna outlive you. I just know that…’ And I said, ‘Well, dad, I am a very successful hedge fund…’ He says, ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m gonna outlive you. I’m gonna outlive you. You can’t go on like this.’â€
At age 45, Jim Cramer went to the office and turned his life around. “I went in after Thanksgiving, and I stood on the desk. And I said, ‘It’s all yours.’ Just, ‘I just never wanna be bothered again. It’s your company.’ And I just gave it up.â€
But he didn’t give up his intensity. He just changed his game. He is said to be worth somewhere between $50 and $100 million. Except for the stake he has in his Web site, he only plays the stock market now for his charitable trust, from which he does not personally profit. Always an optimist, he nevertheless believes that the real estate bubble is about to burst.
“I think real estate is very similar right now to what the dotcoms were like in 2000. Everybody thinks you can’t miss with real estate. Actually I shouldn’t say that. In the last five months, I think it’s starting to dawn on people that real estate can go wrong,†says Cramer.
On weekends, Cramer now assumes the role of gentleman farmer, feeding his animals, clearing his pumpkin patch and finding time to relax and unwind. But, come Monday, it’s show time.
Rather asked why Cramer comes in every day like he does, beating himself up.
“I have a gift, Dan. I have a gift to turn people on to this stuff, to get them involved… And I love doing it. I love to teach and educate this stuff. This stuff is for me. This stuff is really for me. It is the right thing. I cannot believe how lucky I am, at this age to have come across an unbelievable thing, which is a show that I run, and I love,†Cramer replied.
The full article can be read here.
More news, commentary, and analysis at http://www.insidemadmoney.com