Called a publicist once. I was sick of getting smeared. The Financial Times had just done a drive-by shooting, using a still from a video of a speech I had given years ago, at a broker conference. They had paused it to where my face and mouth were contorted while talking, and used it with the article. The publicist said I should actually do some controlled media appearances. I could pay her ten grand, and she would arrange it. Said that not talking just made people more curious. Raise the curtain, let people see the real Weber.

The real Weber.

Balanced the wax paper from the sandwich on top of the trash like Jenga, then pulled a warm Poland Spring out from behind the computer monitor.

When I was in business school, I wrote letters to all the big hedge fund managers, looking for advice, like some kid writing to his favorite ballplayer. I expected zero responses, but I actually got quite a few. Dan Waterson invited me to his office for lunch. We talked about the market. We talked about a lot of things. But we also talked about publicity. It you’re rich hedge fund guy, nobody likes you, unless maybe you buy a sports team, turn it around, then it starts to win. So you try to avoid publicity at all costs. But here was this guy—Dan Waterson—and he’s talking about VC investing and investing in Europe and currencies and commodities and it occurs to me, this guy just loves what he does, and he’ll do it if taxes are thirty percent or sixty percent or one hundred percent. He doesn’t care. This is who he is. He is just wired this way. He loves investing like some people like playing basketball or bridge. There’s nothing so amazing to watch as someone doing what they were intended to do. So when you talk about hurting a guy like Dan Waterson, like taxing him, or regulating him, or taking his toys away, it’s not just about the money, you’re fucking with someone’s dreams, what makes them happy.

People don’t like or dislike Dan Waterson because most of them don’t know who Dan Waterson is, because he’s successfully protected his identity. I haven’t. If they knew who he was, they would hate him, because he is the best. That is what people do. Look at Bill Gates. Bill Gates builds the software architecture of every computer in the world, creates the word processor that people will eventually use to attack him. Occasionally word will get out about a successful money manager, like what happened to me. Then a rich guy is no longer just an abstraction. He’s an asshole.

It’s highly likely that the source of the leak was CN’s ex-wife, who was constantly running her mouth around town. The sister-in-law of a Wall Street Journal reporter lived right down the street from CN’s ridiculous house. Or, maybe an investor letter grew legs. Everyone seemed to know my returns to the decimal point.