Hedge fund operator Kyle Bass has done well for himself. I spoke this morning to a fellow who had recently visited Bass’ out-of-town getaway, where he has built a top-notch private golf course. We wrote about Bass in April 2008, when he turned a $110 million investment into $700 million by shorting firms that were caught up in the subprime mess. Now he has his sights set on countries carrying a lot of sovereign debt. He figures prominently in a story about countries that might go bankrupt in the current issue of Forbes. Here’s the lead of the story:
Kyle Bass has bet the house against Japan — his own house, that is. The Dallas hedge fund manager (no relation to the famous Bass family of Fort Worth) is so convinced the Japanese government’s profligate spending will drive the nation to the brink of default that he financed his home with a five-year loan denominated in yen, which he hopes will be cheaper to pay back than dollars.
Bass has made some investments that didn’t work out. He’s not infallible. But a lot of people are watching the bets that his Hayman Advisors is laying now.
