The U.S. economy may be smashing into a wall, but Rumson’s Mickey Gooch — owner of and columnist at the Two River Times, sometime quarrelsome neighbor and Wall Street billionaire — is still doing just fine, thank you very much, the Wall Street Journal reports today.
In fact, despite the collapse the credit-default-swaps market on which he made his fortune, the British native seems rather in a mood to boast about his bank account.
The founder and controlling shareholder of GFI Group — an “interdealer broker” of the financial instruments many critics say are at the root of the current global credit crisis — is among 15 or so CEOs of homebuilding and financial services companies who the Journal says reaped tens of millions of dollars in personal gains in the past five years.
As reported by the ProPublica.com site,
The Journal paints the lavish lifestyles of several other CEOs, including Michael Gooch, 50, of credit-default swap broker GFI Group, Inc. With a $82.5 million payoff [in cash compensation and stock-sales proceeds over the past five years], he is at no risk of default himself:
Mr. Gooch says his only major debt is a $1 million mortgage. “It could be paid off with the spare change in my bank account,” he says
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Suggested Correction:
Strike "despite the collapse of the credit-default-swap market."
Perhaps you have confused the CDS market with the CDO? The CDS market did not collapse.
CDS is basically insurance against a bond defaulting. A fear does exist that the market could collapse as it is not clear that the writers of these transactions have the collateral to meet a default event. Thus the urgent effort to put some level of regulation in place.
spare change in my bank account.. what a pompous douchebag. If I were Pete Dawkins I'd beat his face in. And his newspaper sucks.
The Gooch stole my milk money… and my house.
I'm glad to see there are a few "Masters of the Universe" to help us through these hard times
with GFIG at 2.80 he's probably going to need to keep that spare change for later use.
Credit default swaps are a big part of the credit bubble. Its an insurace contract that pays if the underlying debt defaults or its debt rating changes. Its a totaly unregulated market and CDS exposure was just as leveraged as firms exposure to CMOs. CDS was the primary culprit in the AIG demise. They underwrote more CDSs then anyone and when the underlying investments tanked, the swaps kicked in and AIG was swamped, over leveraged and unable to meet the CDS obligations.
what goes around comes around Mickey "Spare Change" Gooch
You pompous d'bag. I hope you trip over your pocket change and break your friggin' neck.
Imagine a world with more people like Mickey Gooch and less people like Mike. His foul-mouthed, rude comments filled of violence and hatred for someone who does so much for charitable organizations of Monmouth County are very sad! One day hopefully Mike will channel his anger towards doing some good for the world we live in!
by the way….."columnist" hahahahaha
Goochy Goochy Gooo!!
J-
Excuse me?
I think you are reading someone else's comments and attributing them to me. More careful people would also make the world a better place.
These comments come mere weeks after he slashed salaries at his newspaper.
People are suffering.
I think Mr. Gooch has a much bigger debt than his mortgage.
You might wanna think about purchasing a conscience with your spare change.
I disagree with y'alls comments.
Mickey's a good American and fulfillin' the American dream.
He works hard to put food on his family and knows that people and fish can co-exist together.
Who cares 'bout the middle-class anyway? If they get laid off they can always go to community college and get edumicated. Heck, they could probably even work for my pal and humanitarian Mickey (minimum wage of course) or just move to Canadia for free health care.
Pay cuts for everyone - more for me and my good buddy Beezlebub, I mean Mickey
Needless to say the offending comment to the wsj was taken out of context and used in a piece inteded to sensationalize which is beneath the wsj, but becoming more common since Rupert Murdoch took it over. I didn't intend my statement to come accross as arrogant or pompus, my only point was to be certain to let shareholders know that I don't have debt leveaged against the stock of the company and that I wouldn't have to sell my stock to pay my mortgage. That's important to invetors. But hey, like many of us, I do have a mortgage.
As for my role in the cds market, it is only as a middle man between the largest banks. CDS represents about 18% of our companies business and the cds market is functioning fine. However, I would welcome greater transparency in that market and am working to achieve that.
The entire economy will improve when confidence returns and it becomes clearer what our new administration will do.
Before you get on my case any more, I would like to say that the out of context quote does not present me in the way that I like nor is it representative of my true character. I am an immigrant to this great country and arrived here with less than $100 and no formal college eductaion at the age of 20. This past year I was the biggest contributor to the Red Bank July 4th Fireworks, I have suppoted Holiday Express as the largest sponsor of their Count Basie Christmas show that many people enjoy and benifits the homeless. I support Monmouth University, The Count Basie Theatre, Prevention First, Monmouth Conversation, Boys and Girls Club, and numerous other good causes. My 600k made the new football field at RFH possible and my contributions have given the public a 40k row boat for Crew on the Navesink. My company just contributed 250k to Stand up for Heroes to support injured troops returning from overseas. My contribution to the Count Basie Springsteen show enabled 40 vets to attend the show.
The Two River Times has never made money since I have been involved, but the staff are wonderful people and we have resisted selling it to Gannett who would lay off the entire staff. Meanwhile the economy is causing advetising revenues in Monmouth County to plummet.
You can sink to the level of the wsj in ignorance if you wish, but if the public trash the good people in hard times, the greater public suffers.
MG
If the TRT stopped putting out that crappy magazine they would probably be in the black
and buy a spell checker - you can get a good one with spare chnage
Well at least I have the balls to use my real name Mr. Plumber.
What was the last time you actually did something for someone else?? Probably never.
Hi, I don't know Mickey personally, but I know people that know him and to the person thay say he is generous, down to earth, and very likable. You should know better than to believe anything the journal has to say. Beside's you have to feel bad for anyone living next to that pompous turd Dawkins. He is the real belligerent creep.
joe the plumber, I would get yourself a spell checker too, you DOPE!
Mr. Gooch,
You should know more than anyone else about how a publication can make you look bad. You once wrote a rather damaging and untrue story about my company which caused extreme harm to my small business. Your paper took the word of a convicted criminal without any research and rushed to run the story. The truth about this incident is that we did absolutely nothing wrong, yet no one wants to hear that story as it does not make for a very good headline nor sell papers. I had thought about suing you at the time and had I known that you had so much money, I probably would have.
Your real name is MG ?
just as he said it himself. There is a lack of transparcy and oversight in the CDS market. You could say this about most of the fixed income markets. If firms had to mark all there crap to market we would never have been in this problem. but its so much bigger, if your looking for a strating point of the credit bubble look no further then Mr. Greenspan keeping intrest rate so low. This was a big F-U to anyone looking for fixed returns. That gives you easy money to borrow, add in fixed rates of CMOs, bungling of rating agencies and changes to net cap requirments and you have the mess we see today. but theres so much more!
Actually I had given spare change once to the Knights of Columbus on the pier whilst waiting for the boat to NYC -
but it doesn't matter, you don't know who they are
Spelling issue's aside, you have to respect a philanthropist. But since MG put character on the table lets talk about it how it all stacks up. If your salary is lets say, about $50,000,000.00 a year (we'll forget for a moment that net worth may be closer to half a billion), and you contribute on average $500,000.00 each year, you've basically donated 1% of your income. Comparatively the person struggling to support his/her family making $50,000.00 donates the same percentage with $500.00, only his spare change jar damn sure isn't going to pay off his morgage and no one has to kiss his @!$ to keep their job. MG should remember this when he is feeling high on himself.
Hey MG, just one line for you,
" up the Villa "
have a beer in the dub, Villa Vs Man utd
eat the rich
I believe I'm to intoxicated to comment - so I won't.
But I do know this. People like Mr. Gooch burn in hell upon their departure from this earth.
It is late, and I am tired. But tomorrow I will rise, walk to the end of my street - cast- and perhaps catch a fish for my wife.
That is happiness.
Mr. Gooch could never imagine such happiness.
too
"Right now, there are millions of mothers and fathers who are lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills." - President-elect Obama
Such a pompous jack ass comment.
I feel sorry for his wife.
So grateful he is not my husband.
Let me see if I got this straight. Mickey Gooch reaps obscene profits in business transactions that have helped to put this planet on the brink of a worldwide depression. When the house of cards of his making collapses, he mocks the people who are losing their homes (one and only home, I'm sure) by telling the Wall Street Journal that he can pay his mortgage with spare change.
His defense? He calls himself a "philanthropist." A pittance from his ill-gotten gains has gone to some charities. Better than nothing, no doubt, but many people give much more of their modest incomes to charities.
If he really wants to be a philanthropist, he should dig deep into his bank account until it hurts and help the people who are suffering the most because of his greed. Maybe he could help some people who are about to foreclose on their homes.
You were part of the problem, Mickey Gooch. Use your wealth to become part of the solution. Then the world will see you as the "true character" you think you have, instead of the ass you seem to be.
You really have no idea how much of Mr. Gooch's wealth is given to charity, many people like him leave the bulk of their wealth to good causes and often begin the process many years before their death through charitable trusts. If I were Mr. Gooch and I read these ungrateful, character assinations by anonomous envious posters from Red Bank/Monmouth County, I would be inclined to direct my largese in the future away from Red Bank/Monmouth County. Good luck getting the Navesink Fireworks on in 2008 without his help.
I still cannot see how the Wall Street Journal really seems to think anyone really cares how Gooch is making out. I am more worried about the people trying to survive, save their house, and support a family in this state being laid off, funds being spent who knows where by politicians, young men and women going overseas to fight terrorism.
How about an article about one of thousands who lost their job recently? Maybe they can tell us about their "Spare Change".
What kind of name is Gooch anyway - is this guy an illegal alien or something
Did someone say illegal alien? I'm on it.
Mickey's immigration status does seem a bit dodgy. But apparently, Gooch is a proud and old British name. First time I heard it I thought it was a Mafia nickname. The first Gooch arrived in this country in 1630.
Here's more on the Gooches:
http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp.fc/qx/gooch-family-crest.htm
My favorite part is the family motto: "She [fortune] favors the bold." Apparently she also favors the insensitive.
Props to MG for coming on here and shouting down the nonsense with a good, civilized, thoughtful post. He wins the argument. I knew nothing of the guy before but have a ton more respect for him now. Nice.
I too am British. I would like to point out to people the importance of a free press.
Agree or don't agree — that is the great gift you are given as you read. Make a stand. Make your opinions known. Think it through.
Think about it.
Think about this: When a light goes out, it becomes more difficult to see.
When a light goes out, even in a place you know well, like your bedroom or your bathroom, you must suddenly feel your way blindly.
Light gives you a way to go; light illuminates your path. Light gives you wisdom you might not otherwise have.
Support the Two River TImes.
Support Red Bank Green.
Support the Asbury Park Press.
Support The Hub.
Support Tri-City News.
Support any publication that is helping to light the way.
Agree or disagree, argue or celebrate — this is what free speech is about.
But you must, you have to know how important it is that we live in a society that permits the publication of so many different points of view.