Dan Loeb Admits He Was Original Troll on Early Internet Stock Boards
"Some people use the term OG. Sometimes I say I was the OT. The original troll. Yeah, no, I did. I mean, it was fun. I didn't know I was one day going to run institutional money and have a big fund. And, you know, I was just having fun and blowing off steam."
About this episode
In this wide-ranging conversation, legendary activist investor Dan Loeb, CEO and CIO of Third Point, sat down to discuss his evolution from self-described 'original troll' on 1990s internet stock boards to managing nearly $30 billion across multiple strategies. Loeb revealed he anonymously taunted management teams of fraudulent companies he was shorting in the Wild West era of early internet chat boards, before anticipating he would run institutional capital. The discussion covered his investing philosophy's transformation from purely event-driven and catalyst-focused strategies to emphasizing business quality, management adaptability, and technological moats in an AI-driven era. Loeb made the contrarian call that Nvidia remains undervalued despite its unprecedented market capitalization, arguing long-short funds are structurally forced to short it as a 'safe' position, repeating historical mistakes with Google and Amazon. He disclosed government investment terms in portfolio company Atom Computing that he praised as taxpayer-favorable, a rare public-private partnership success. David Sacks joined to candidly discuss massive missed gains, including selling Palantir in the $20s and Enphase under $1, missing billions in returns. The conversation shifted to criminal justice reform and education, where Loeb directly blamed teachers unions for perpetuating income inequality by abandoning accountability and merit to benefit adults over vulnerable children. He detailed his successful four-year campaign to secure Ross Ulbricht's presidential pardon, working with Charlie Kirk and White House Counsel David Warrington to free the Silk Road founder from a double-life-plus-40-years sentence Loeb deemed disproportionate.
Key takeaways
- Dan Loeb admitted he was the original troll on 1990s internet stock boards, anonymously taunting management of companies he shorted before managing institutional money.
- Loeb declared Nvidia undervalued despite unprecedented valuation, predicting it will break out as long-short funds are structurally forced to short it.
- Third Point's Atom Computing received government quantum computing investment with terms Loeb praised as unusually favorable for taxpayers in rare successful public-private deal.
- David Sacks disclosed selling entire Palantir stake in the $20s missing 8-10x gain and Enphase under $1 missing $4 billion opportunity.
- Loeb directly blamed teachers unions for income inequality, arguing they abandon accountability and merit to benefit union-member adults over vulnerable children.
- Loeb led four-year campaign with Charlie Kirk securing Ross Ulbricht's presidential pardon after double-life-plus-40-years sentence for running Silk Road.
- Third Point evolved from $30 million event-driven fund to $30 billion multi-strategy platform including hedge fund, private credit, CLO business, and insurance company.