Alessio Rastani
Anyway, I think people really appreciate people who don’t bullsh*t them. Most people go on television channels with a supposed solution, I am not about solutions. And I am willing to make money from it. A lot of the traders wrote to me and said, “Hey, you are right.” There is a phrase, I don’t know who said this, but: “The best things in your life come as your worst nightmare.” So the first few days were a real nightmare for me. I had never had that sort of attention in my life. All the newspapers in the world were on my doorstep, and calling me! I wasn’t expecting that level of attention for one second. It was a nightmare for me, but I think the best things come to you as a nightmare. It was really a good thing for me, however, as I have made friends with hundreds and thousands of people around the world. What I said about “Goldman Sachs, ruling the world” resonated.
ZM:
Economy? Conspiracy against the Euro? By the US credit agencies?
AR: I don’t think so, no. The credit ratings
agencies initially gave Greece a good rating but, in reality, they didn’t really know. Europe is still in a big mess, with debt issues affecting the peripheral economies. I can’t really see a big American credit ratings conspiracy, no.
ZM: Are you an anti-establishment hero? How are you regarded in the City?
AR:
First of all, I wouldn’t describe myself as a hero. There are people out there who do far more deserved things than I, to be described as a hero is preposterous. I am also not really anti-establishment either. I just said what I felt was true. Interestingly enough, it divided people. I had one guy who used to work at Goldman Sachs who said to me you are wrong to say that Goldman Sachs ruled the world. Newspapers were attacking me, in the aftermath of the interview. But then the very same newspapers came back and changed their tune. The Telegraph initially attacked me, but are now saying Alessio is right. A year on we have had the Libor scandal, Greece… With regards to the US elections, it doesn’t matter who is elected, Barack Obama or Romney, they all sleep in the same bed with the Feds and the big corporations. There really isn’t anybody out there we can trust. The only really alternative candidate is someone like Ron Paul.
November 2012
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