- Leon Cooperman sounded the alarm on the ballooning federal deficit and downplayed the medium-term prospects for US stocks in a RealVision interview released this week.
- The billionaire boss of Omega Advisors also praised “big tech” stocks, called out Tesla CEO Elon Musk, criticized both Republicans and Democrats, and revealed that he recently bought gold for the first time.
- Scroll down for Cooperman’s 12 best quotes from the interview.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman tackled a range of topics including the outlook for stocks, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s conduct, and President Trump’s performance in office in a RealVision interview filmed on September 25 and published this week.
The Omega Advisors chief also revealed that he recently made his first investment in gold, becoming the latest big-name investor to bet on the metal.
Here are Cooperman’s 12 best quotes from the discussion:
1. “We were just starting to knock on the door of euphoria before the virus hit. In some respects, we’re knocking on the door of euphoria again now” — on the current state of the stock market.
2. "I have a very conservative view about the market presently, because I'm worried about who pays for the party when the party is over" — on the outlook for stocks and the cost of massive government stimulus.
3. "We're pulling it off, because interest rates are zero, but interest rates aren't going to be zero forever. If they are, they're going to destroy the whole capital market line, they begin to destroy capitalism. It just doesn't make sense to me" — on the sustainability of the rising national debt.
4. "Those stocks, to a degree, are better than gold. They are selling at very rich valuations, but if you look at interest rates, they're not expensive" — on the appeal of "big tech" stocks such as Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, and Microsoft, all of which Cooperman holds.
5. "I don't pay any attention to that market, it'll end in tears, et cetera. Stay away from it" — on the "ludicrous" Robinhood market that has seen day traders pile into questionable stocks such as Hertz and Kodak.
6. "I'm not involved in Tesla, because I'm like a corporate type of guy, and Elon [Musk]'s behavior, the guy's obviously a genius, but his behavior is such that I'm not comfortable, with his tweeting and this and that, and the market cap of company is just way beyond anything."
Read more: BANK OF AMERICA: Buy these 29 high-quality value stocks primed to cash in on the economic recovery
7. "The market will probably peak within 24 hours of [finding a] solution to the virus, and I'm optimistic that we will find a vaccine, we will cure the virus."
8. "I expect the market to provide very little in the way of returns over the next few years. I think that the economy will slowly recover, interest rates will slowly rise and price-earnings ratios will decline."
9. "I bought gold for the first time in my life a week ago. I understand the case for gold. We're on the way to some banana republic situation. Nobody's worrying about the debt that's being created."
10. "Trump is worse than I feared. However, what I fear more is socialism."
11. "That's the American dream, and these left wingers are pissing all over that dream" — on the creation of Home Depot, a $300 billion company, by a pair of men who raised the money to open their first store from 40 or 50 families, and went on to give "untold millions to society."
12. "I'm disappointed with both political parties. I'm surprised that more Republicans have not spoken out against Trump's antics, and I'm disappointed that more Democrats have not spoken out about the violence that's occurring in a lot of these democratic states."
