Michael Lewis Slams Wall St., Leadership Deficit

By Zinta Lundborg at Bloomberg

Michael Lewis’s “Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World” begins with Kyle Bass, a Texas hedge fund manager who’s buying guns and gold bricks.

Bass is also betting against European governments.

Following on last year’s “The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine,” Lewis’s exploration of the subprime mortgage debacle, “Boomerang” is a collection of articles Lewis wrote about his adventures in Iceland, Greece, Ireland and Germany, with a bonus look at the parlous state of California.

Films based on his books, like “Moneyball” and “The Blind Side,” have brought Lewis wider success. “Liar’s Poker,” about his short-lived Wall Street career, may finally start shooting. He has a couple of television series in the works and is a columnist for Bloomberg View.

We spoke at Bloomberg’s world headquarters in New York.

Lundborg: You’re writing the script for “Liar’s Poker.” Who should play you? John Gutfreund?

Lewis: Jonah Hill, after he gains some weight. I’d like to see Jeff Bridges play John Gutfreund.

Lundborg: You’re clearly on a roll, so what are you doing with all that money?

Lewis: I’m always cautious, so I’m not a barometer of the times. I always have about 40-50 percent in the stock market, and it’s all in large-cap, high-dividend-paying battleship companies that can withstand recession.

Dog Food

Lundborg: So you aren’t buying guns and gold like Kyle Bass?

Lewis: The difference between me and Kyle Bass is that I just assume if it gets to that point, I’m dog food. He thinks he can defend his gold.