10 Winners of the Global Economic Meltdown

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“Everyone is suffering,” President Obama said in his speech to a joint session of Congress in late February. He was referring to the global financial and economic crisis, but he didn’t have it exactly right. There are some people who are doing well: dollar-store owners, bankruptcy lawyers, gun manufacturers (sales are up!), short-sellers of stock, foreclosure experts, and so on. But some who are doing well are doing really well. You’ve heard of some of them: John Paulson, the hedge fund guru; Andrew Lahde, the hemp enthusiast; Meredith Whitney, the super-prescient analyst. But what about the guy from New Zealand who got a 236 percent return last year? He’s on the list, too. Here’s a rundown of 10 of the financial crisis’ biggest winners.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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