HEDGE FUND GIANT BACON PROVES PERSONAL INTERESTS ARE HIS TOP PRIORITY

This month, Forbes laid out a lengthy exclusive expose on the hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon.  The timing couldn't have been better for Bacon, who is facing mounting criticism on several fronts for his mysterious and elusive behavior that has teetered on the verge of criminal responsibility on several occasions.  He has been so elusive to the media that Forbes' account (although bias by the standards of several other members of the press who read the feature posted on Forbes' website this month) have carefully dissected the script to learn more about the man who is spreading his wings across the four hemispheres in what appears to be a quest of extensive personal power.   

Louis Bacon

The Forbes article describes 54 year-old Bacon in a larger-than-life manner, titling the report as "Hedge Fund Giant Louis Bacon's Bold Mission To Save The American West".  It's a daring headline that appears to have sought to solidify Bacon's reputation as a conservationist who is willing to use his personal funds to help save massive expanses of land in the western region of the United States.  He is painted as a hero of sorts for the environment, and Forbes provides extensive detail into Bacon's $175 million purchase of Trinchera Ranch, which represented at the time, the most expensive residential sale in US history.  The ranch will be home to a 165,000 acre Sangre de Cristo Conservation area, a mosaic of public and private properties protecting a large area of the Southern Rockies.  

Ironically, Bacon purchased Trinchera from the Forbes family, and the lengthy expose which will be published in Forbes October 8 edition, could not help but be seen as a pat on the back.  What Forbes may not have realized when sitting the ever-elusive Bacon down for an exclusive interview with reporter Monte Burke is that the truth would come out in the plain words of the reporter who had to discern his interviewee for himself. 

Immediately Burke notices how uneasy the hedge fund czar is with the personal interview - an uneasiness which would raise suspicion in any interviewer.  Bacon literally parries away as the reporter places simple questions to him.  Even if Forbes operatives gave him the confidence that the exclusive would benefit his image, it couldn't stop him from feeling uneasy when having to sit face to face with a journalist.  It may be that he feared the reporter may slip in one of the many questions that continue to mount about the bizarre movements of Louis Bacon.  

Instead, the questions are aimed from an environmental standpoint.  For nearly two decades, Bacon served as a professional asset manager, assembling a portfolio of landscapes in New York, North Carolina and Colorado, putting them into conservation easements and permanently saving them from future development.  He settles in to the interview to reveal a quote which sums up his environmental ethic: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”  The Aldo Leopold quote he uses to define his intentions actually makes them quite clear.  If Bacon operates in any way contrary to what Leopold describes, one is indeed "wrong".  It is this very quote that gives the most insight into why the tactics Bacon is executing could be considered wrong as opposed to helpful for the environment as Bacons wants to portray them.  

Anyone who knows Bacon knows he is a wildlife enthusiast, and loves to shoot or bow hunt the healthy herds of elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep and other wildlife that roam the rockies.  As a matter of fact, the boss of Sotheby's Henry Wyndham was recently on a grouse shoot in Scotland organized by Bacon when he was shot in the face and throat and had to receive extensive medical treatment for 52 pellet wounds.  His purchases could be perceived as a billionaire setting up his eternal playground for the benefit of himself, his personal interests and those of his friends - a trump card that would solidify his stem of ownership in the west coast.

Trinchera Ranch a vast expanse of a playground for the wealthy whose pastime climaxes in the success of the hunt.  Forty miles of stream with trout makes it even more of a hunter's paradise. Bacon is managin g the entire property for fish and game.  Don't think that the miles of fence he tore down after making the purchase was for an environmental cause.  Bacon himself admits that the removal of the barriers "enhances the hunt".  His claim that his avid sporting interests makes him a perfect steward of the animals he hunts, but such a view is chided by the likes of environmental groups like PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, despite the major attempts to paint him as an environmental steward.  Reports are that his illustrious friends can pay at least $10,000 to spend a week hunting in one of Bacon's organized shoots.  

Bacon's Bahamian comrade Earl Deveaux

The Forbes reporter points out the obvious kickbacks from the ranch conservation easement as granted by Bacon.  The article states: "Conservation easements offer a neat way for wealthy environmentalists like Bacon to have their cake and eat it, too.  Easements come with some serious breaks on taxes.  The easements are valued by taking the present value of the land, as is, and contrasting that with an appraisal of the land if it were fully developed. The tax break is the difference of the two. It was reported that Bacon got an $8 million tax deduction on his $11 million purchase of Robins. He refuses to divulge what a potential deduction would be on Trinchera, which already has tax credits for its agricultural operation, but says it will be somewhere in the neighborhood of what he spent to save it from the transmission line. Easements also offer another benefit: They will allow him to pass along the land to his children without huge capital gains taxes, because the land, which will never be fully developed, is valued at a lower rate."

So Bacon's personal intentions here are clear, and explains the uneasiness that he approached the interview with Forbes - an uneasiness that made some readers perceive that he has something to hide.  What he may be trying to hide may not be as far away from the eyes of the American press as he thinks.  Florida's southern neighbor, the sunny isles of the Bahamas, became the site of Bacon's Point House a few years ago.  His home in the tropical paradise and his actions with the former government there seem to give the biggest clues in to what the hedge fund king may really be up to - an apparent quest to amass vast amounts of personal wealth under the guise of land protection, which means he can get vast amounts of land at a much cheaper cost and a greater benefit to him, even if he has to share some of it with the government.  That, in some ways, can be an advantage to him.  It is obvious that he has recognized this, as he has already donated large sums to the Republican Party in the US; the Tories party in the UK; and the Free National Movement Party in the Bahamas.  

At Point House, Bacon dredged the shoreline for a secret alcove that he could use to pull up in his sea vessels undetected, and without having to declare anything to the government.  The yacht basin is so secretive that it can only be seen from a boat facing the shoreline, where it becomes apparent that the dock is definitely constructed for maximum privacy.  The problem is, Bacon never thought it necessary to apply for permission from the Bahamas government to dredge the shoreline just like anyone else.  In addition, nothing came out of it when it became public knowledge that he had broken the pristine nation's environmental laws.  Since that was a cinch, it seems Bacon moved on to extend his property by creating what is called, interestingly, an easement.  The only problem is, the easement was build without permission from the Bahamas government, and its construction immediately resulted in several negative effects to his neighbor, Peter Nygard.  It became immediately clear to Nygard's visitors that something was wrong when they approached Nygard Cay and found the face of the entrance totally changed and no longer aesthetically appealing.  The Canadian fashion mogul found that his neighbors illegally built easement caused serious issues when it rains.  The land war,  or the border war as it stands, has yet to be resolved although no documentation exists which permits Bacon to build what he did.  

Bahamian media reports have explained the suspicion that Bacon is also involved in the major Andros Island development Kamalame Cay.  The cay is owned by Brian Hughes, close personal friend of former environment minister Earl Deveaux, who turned a blind eye to several major infractions that happened under his watch by his alleged friends.  Bacon is said to hide out at Kamalame Cay every now and then, and may be involved in the investment qualities of the development.  The problem is, environmentalists have already raised serious concerns as developers have already raped the sea bed in a particular spot where a large nursery for ocean fish existed.  

Deveaux allegedly orchestrated for Bacon to bring his elite friends to the forests of Andros and the recluse of Kamalame Cay to hunt for the precious white crown pigeon and wild boars there.  This idea was dashed and faced harsh criticism e because of the serious political, social, and environmental backlash it potentially had.

This is in stark contrast to the picture Bacon's friends and cohorts attempt to create concerning his philanthropic efforts.  If such efforts were genuine, they should coincide with efforts taking place in other parts of the world where Bacon's interests lie and not be seen as a contradiction in this place or that place, depending on how much power he may feel he is able to wield.

Leopold's muse, the very essence of Bacon's impetus when it comes to his recent philanthropy, is not being adhered to by the hedge fund king in actuality.  The philosopher called for "integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community", principals so brazenly avoided when Bacon frolicked to the sandy archipelago, where he has successfully evaded the press so much so that Point House has been for many months now, up for sale.  

Nygard's Fashion Still Shines

http://corporate.nygard.com/uploadedFiles/News/YEAR_2012/WFP%20-%2011X17.pdf

PHIL RUFFIN A BETTER FRIEND TO CHRISTIE & BAHAMIANS THAN LOUIS BACON

It is no doubt that the Bahamas, like the world over, is going through one of the most difficult economic periods where it is caught up in the GLOBAL MELT DOWN.   It's a country being faced with most challenging times, struggling in finding creative ways to overcome the dark days of financial travesty that has caused the loss of many jobs and the foreclosure of many homes. This was a challenge of the previous Free National Movement (FNM) administration who failed to attract the right investors or business partners to help to jumpstart our fragile economy. Instead, the FNM chose the company of millionaires and persons of special interest such as the Aga Khan and Louis Bacon who, through their disregard for the law of the Bahamas, showed that some government officials can be bought for a price.  

Aga Khan IV

Louis Bacon

During these tough economic times, foreign residents like the Aga Khan and Bacon really did not bring any true economic value to the country or the Bahamian people. The friendship that a few high ranking officials in the former FNM administration had with them made it all the more apparent that there was no benefit for Bahamians to their arrival.  Rather, they seemed to engage in their personal agendas with a blatant disregard for the Bahamas' pristine natural conditions and turquoise waters.  

This is what the FNM's rich and famous friends did to the Bahamas and the Bahamian people and yet the FNM party, who is now in opposition, has the gaul to try and chastise the new Prime Minister Perry Christie and his administration, which has good and decent friends such as Phil Ruffin. 

Phil Ruffin

If any government is to chose a friend for or to introduce to this country and it's people to, it should be  investors like Ruffin who has proven himself to the Bahamas and the Bahamian people. It is a known fact that Ruffin was the former owner of the Wyndham Nassau Beach Resort and Crystal Palace Casino and Nassau Beach Hotel. With such an investment, Phil Ruffin had created many jobs; putting many Bahamians to work, which allowed them to build homes and send their children to college. This is not the case for the Aga Khan and surely not that of Louis Bacon. The FNM business friends were totally different and brought unwanted international attention to the Bahamas and its people. The Aga Khan with a one million dollar gift to the Bahamas National Trust and the assistance of then FNM Cabinet Minister Earl Deveaux who allowed the Aga Khan to dredge into the historical and sacred Exuma Marine National Park just so the prince could comfortably sail his 200 foot yacht right into a new dock at Bell Island.  That caused much controversy and protests from the local and international environmentalists.  

The hedge fund King Louis Bacon on the other hand, brought much shame and scandal to the Bahamas - especially to the people that live behind the tranquil gates of Lyford Cay where Bacon's Point House home is.  It's at Point House where a number of mysterious deaths were reported.  Bahamian police raided Bacons home in Lyford Cay for a number of illegal military speakers and supposedly quite a large number of licensed guns that the Commissioner of Police found to be very suspicious.  So it appears to be very hypoticritical for the leaders in the FNM party to accuse Prime Minister Perry Christie of keeping unsavory friends while it appears to be very true that it is the previous administration led by then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham who cloaked the unsavory rich and famous people in the Bahamas who had their way with the FNM government.

Bacons True Colors Coming Out

More and more media houses are beginning to notice the unfriendly and cold, callous traits of Louis Bacon, the billionaire hedge fund manager who is now making more business news headlines than any other hedge fund manager trending at this time.

His latest move to chop 10 to 15 investment jobs in his company came as a shock to the business world who consider such a move to be drastic and out of the ordinary.  “Apart from a few hedge funds, it’s not that typical to see a large reduction in headcount in the industry,” said Ronen Schwartzman, founder of Ten Capital Advisors LLC, a New York- based firm that advises clients on investing in hedge funds. “Performance must be having an impact.”

To make matters worse, Bacon won't even stand up to the employees who have faithfully served him at Moore investments as portfolio managers and research analysts.  He has recruited his brother, Zack Hampton Bacon III to speak with the staff members about the axe; and security guards were waiting to escort him out of the building.

Bacon told clients last month that he planned to return $2 billion, or about 25 percent of his main fund, to investors, saying it may be too big for him to generate returns in line with historic profits as “liquidity and opportunities have become more constrained.”

This move caused much attention to turn to Moore Investments, and the results have not been pretty.  Here's how Dealbreaker summed up the hedge fund czar: "One thing you may or may not know about hedge fund manager Louis Bacon is that he likes to keep his human interactions to a minimum. It’s not a personal thing, just people in general thing. He doesn’t like ‘em and he doesn’t want to talk to or look at ‘em. For example, rather than taking five minutes to tell a subordinate he disagrees with a trade idea, Bacon has been known instead to retreat to his office and place an opposing trade, a tactic known as ‘fading’ a colleague.” Clients are treated similarly (“During meetings with…investors, Bacon, who often draws the blinds in his private office, frequently turns to his lieutenants to answer questions, often sitting silently through presentations”) and if you thought that being, say, the fruit of his loins meant special treatment, you were sorely mistaken (“One longtime assistant negotiates annual spending allowances with the elder of his children individually…Once they’ve agreed on the number, the assistant invites the child for a sit-down meeting with his or her father, during which Bacon usually signs off on the terms”).

The Financial Times referred to him as "publicity shy", while many other business reports pointed out how elusive Bacon is - a trait which has helped him to steer clear of some meaningful questions concerning criminal activity.  

In the meantime, he is making inroads for his most recent philanthropic donation.  He has vowed to protect thousands of acres of land in Colorado if the federal government moves ahead with plans to create a new 5 million acre conservation corridor in Colorado and New Mexico.  He has fought efforts by energy companies to put transmission lines across his land.  Maybe reporters covering the conservation angles should see how Bacon's environmental record stanched up in the Bahamas.  

Louis Bacon Attempts to Muzzle Bahamian Press

Louis Bacon

Louis Bacon is attempting to muzzle the Bahamian press through intimidation, utilizing his cheque book and lawyers. This is not a case of one or two law suits and threatening letters to journalists, it has been said that the Bacon legal team is targeting ten to twelve Bahamians to silence them and oddly, all of them were and are PLP supporters.

Recently The Tribune published a story “Billionaire's Claim Of Defamation” detailing how Bacon filed charges against an alleged contributor of a local blog, namely Bahamas Press.
Louis Bacon is also seeking an injunction against Earlin Williams for over four articles posted on BahamasPress.com, according to a Supreme Court writ dated July 11, 2012.

 Some of the words complained about, it's claimed in court documents, [in the article] meant and were understood to mean: that [Bacon] is running a sophisticated international smuggling and drug trafficking ring with the co-operation and/or consent of the previous FNM government of The Bahamas".  The article included "Today's smuggler and trafficker, Interpol Intelligence shows, is not the Hollywood image of Jack Sparrow or even Gordon Gecko or some internet wizard hacking into bank accounts and transferring millions at the whim of his fancy".  "The profile of today's modern day successful smuggler and trafficker is that of a highly successful investor with accolades for their business accumen and prowess coming from every internal quarter. These businessmen are the poster boys of various established institutions and fit very easily in the political mix of any country. Politicians want to be their friends".

In a different article concerning Bacon's legal team, it was stated: "Meet the three Louis Bacons on the right, the Louis Bacon who is suave, super intelligent, gritty, exact, austere money manager who has parlayed his Moore Capital Hedge Fund in to a billion dollar enterprise. On the left, the humorous, jocular, secretive, methodical Louis Bacon caught in a net web of Jack Sparros at Lyford and Kamalame Cays in The Bahama Islands. And in the middle, the Louis Bacon, who is cold, calculating, sinister and will use his wealth and power to crush anything or anyone that gets in his way very much the same way he attempted to drive his Lyford Cay neighbour, Peter Nygard, the Canadian fashion mogul from his home in the Bahamas"

It is important to note that a United States reporter for Business Insider wrote on Aug 9, 2012: "Staffers won't even tell you whether Bacon's in town. He's serious about confidentiality agreements and not above some intimidation. "If I talk, only bad things can happen," says James Capra of hedge fund Capra Asset Management in New York."

This is not the first time that Bacon’s local lawyers have sent threatening or intimidating letters to individual journalists and media houses in hopes of getting them to back off of Bacons trail and turn a blind eye to obvious news.

We understand that officials at JCN have also received such notices. Sources also indicate that several individual journalists have been approached by attorneys and threatened with defamation law suits. To make things worse, the former administration supported these actions by allowing these types of suits to be filed, leaving journalists to fend for themselves.


Some observers are of the opinion that Bacon is simply attempting to suppress the message by silencing the messenger. This will not happen with Ear to the Ground on the case; we intend on ensuring that both sides of the coin are presented in true journalistic form. That is the Freedom of the Press, the voice for the silent majority, and a main staple in a democratic society.

 One can only question the reasoning behind Bacon attacking journalists and obvious PLP supporters, when there are unanswered questions about a number of criminal acts. Some of them are presently being heard before Bahamian courts.