NormR
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Posts posted by NormR
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The first was a Non-fiction best seller in Canada which probably amounts to a check of 25,000 - $50,000.
He's an interesting character and quite jovial in person.
But your numbers are off when it comes to the books. He's sold about 60,000 in total and he self published them. That's quite a feat in Canada and shows that he's an excellent marketer. It also means that instead of earning a buck or two per book he nabs a good deal more. The total earnings on the books are north of $200k.
He also happens to be a little controversial.
Rather importantly, it's not entirely clear how he got his original 'FU' money. He did take a big leveraged position on Altria when it was in the dumps in the mid-90s where much of the portfolio is thought to come from. However, that wasn't mentioned in his books (IIRC) and is a fair bit different from the slow accumulation of dividend stocks.
The contradiction between what his books say and how he apparently got his retirement money drives some folks around the bend.
For more, see the following threads on other forums ...
http://www.financialwebring.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=100517
and a whole bunch at CB http://forums.canadianbusiness.com/forum.jspa?forumID=22 where Derek appears from time to time.
He has something of a anti-fan base ...
http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/2009/03/15/selling-puts-isn%e2%80%99t-money-for-nothing
http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/2009/03/17/bear-market-valuation-indicators
http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/2009/03/18/what-went-wrong-with-the-derek-foster-strategy
I could go on. ;)
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About 50% cash at the moment, slowly deploying more. Hopefully FFH will fall a bit further. :)
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Although MoS is something of a special issue. (Out of print, super $$$ used.) It strikes me that books may be going the way of songs and could suffer from rampant piracy. The Kindle comes to mind as a catalyst. I suspect that the hidden boost for such devices (which seem to be moderately expensive) is the benefit of 'free' content. Pay for the hardware and get the books for free ... I suspect that the economics of the book business just got even suckier.
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Shhhhhh :-X Don't give them any ideas, I want to buy more FFH on the cheap. 8)
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Y'all might be interested in Vito Maida who I've been following for a long time. He's been 80%+ in cash for years. But he recently started buying more vigorously.
Article: Patience pays off
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Kudos on the new board. It's much better than the old one! (A little hiccup or two is to be expected. No biggie.)
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Hi,
I'm looking for some early Fairfax history. Does anyone know how Prem grained control of Fairfax and any of his early trials and triumphs at the firm? Old articles, etc would be much appreciated.
Derek Foster
in General Discussion
Posted
Perhaps more importantly, I'm sure a bunch of us have 'FU' money. But what's the point to retiring when you're young? You've still go to do something with your life and I've found that lounging around, while fun for a while, gets boring fast. :)