Ron Paul, John Paulson and David Einhorn Lose Fortunes In Gold

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The former Texas congressman Ron Paul has been one of the most popular proponents of gold. So, how have his investments fared in the last four days as gold prices tumbled at the record pace? About 64 percent of Ron Paul’s portfolio comprises of gold. He has invested most of his money in gold miners and a few juniors. Paul’s lack of diversification caused a significant loss of his net worth.

Ron Paul, John Paulson and David Einhorn Lose Fortunes In Gold

Business Insider looked at the latest publicly disclosed portfolio of Ron Paul, and here is what they found. The former congressman’s gold investments are down 40.3 percent in the past six months. The Wall Street Journal estimates that Paul’s portfolio is between $2.44 million and $5.46 million, and the old man has invested a whopping 64 percent of his assets in gold stocks. A simple calculation tells us that Ron Paul lost between $624,640 and $1,397,760 in the last six months, assuming that he lost 40.3 percent on 64 percent of his holdings.

Here is the six month performance of Ron Paul’s three biggest holdings:

  • Newmont Mining Company: –24.17 percent
  • Goldcorp Holdings: –24.21 percent
  • Barrick Gold: –27.14 percent

Now let’s look at how these three gold stocks have fared since last Thursday when the massive decline in gold prices started:

  • Newmont Mining Company: -12.51 percent
  • Goldcorp Holdings: –11.38 percent
  • Barrick Gold: –18.03 percent

Ron Paul is not the only one to lose money in the gold bloodbath. Billionaire hedge fund managers John Paulson and David Einhorn have incurred a combined loss of about $640 million since last Friday, based on their latest SEC filings. The yellow metal skidded about 15 percent in just two sessions. Paulson lost over $171 million just from his positions in gold miners.

Additionally, he owns 21.8 million shares in the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:GLD). Based on its Thursday closing price of $151.05, SPDR Gold Trust has caused Paulson a loss of $430 million, which takes the total to $601 million.

David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital also suffered heavy losses. Einhorn had large positions in Barrick Gold and Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX). His hedge fund lost about $9.7 million from Barrick Gold stake, and about $31 million from his 3 percent stake in Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX).

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