[Leanan]

Biggs's Tips for Rich: Expect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')arton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with ``seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.''

The ``etc.'' must mean guns.

``A few rounds over the approaching brigands' heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage,'' he writes in his new book, ``Wealth, War and Wisdom.''

Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners. He doesn't lock and load until the last page of this smart look at how World War II warped share prices, gutted wealth and remains a warning to investors. His message: Listen to markets, learn from history and prepare for the worst.

[Narz]

Thanks. I sent it to my mom (though she's not rich by bloomberg.com standards).

[yesplease]

One outa four isn't bad, but it ain't good either. I wonder what his and/or his associates asset holdings look like...
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Wikipedia', 'C')orrect Calls

* He called the technology bubble and recession that declined a full year before it burst. (International Herald Tribune, 10/3/1998)

Mistakes

* He said he was bullish on China just before the market went into a two-year slide.[1]

* He said he was bullish on Mexico shortly before the peso crashed in 1994.[1]

* Biggs did not see the rise in oil prices to nearly the level they came to by the summer of 2004.[3]

[alokin]

This is simply unfair!
Those who would like to buy farm land, doing something environmental friendly, planting lost of trees etc. can't and the rich can. I feel a bit reminded at the times before the Thirty Years' war were rich landlords sqeezed out poor labourers.

[Leanan]

The New American Gentry

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ffluent retirees and other high-income types have descended on these remote areas, creating new demand for amenities like interior-design stores, spas and organic markets. For many communities, it's the biggest change since the interstate highway system came barreling through in the 1960s and 1970s.

With the Internet allowing people to work from almost anywhere, the distinction between first and second homes has become blurred. Many people are buying retirement property while they're still employed. Millions of soon-to-retire baby boomers, say demographers, will propel this trend for years to come.

"What we're seeing is a class colonization," says Peter Nelson, an associate professor of geography at Middlebury College and an expert on rural migration. "It really represents a shift in the nature of the economy from a resource-extraction economy to an aesthetic-based economy."

[frankthetank]

Wish i could Barton... Must be "for Rich eyes only"...

I could do a tent, bag of rice, and an 870 Express...!

[dorlomin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')xpect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets

[cube]

I have this silly theory that rich people do NOT need advice about money, if you know what I mean.

[Twilight]

That's great advice, I bet some will actually think they can keep buying in everything they need at that "remote area" of theirs.

[Aaron]

bump

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')It really represents a shift in the nature of the economy from a resource-extraction economy to an aesthetic-based economy."

[roccman]

A handful of kids I went to HS with (25 years ago) belonged to families on the Forbes 500 list.

Most of them have farmland in the Southwest...In fact Cheney has a cabin due north of our farmlette.

The Hopi believe the southwest will fair well in the coming end times...but then again they could just be talking their book...eh?

[gnm]

So if there are going to be all these rich, well stocked, lightly armed types out in the hinterlands all any potential reaper need do to prepare is make sure they have better guns.



-G

[Twilight]

What I'm thinking is if something breaks or a specialist job they had not thought of needs doing, the local guys who do it will have the choice of a lonely two hour drive in an ATV through wilderness, then back the same way, or taking a couple of lower paid jobs in the small town down the road that day, making the same money and getting home early. I'm guessing given the choice they will always stay local.

For example, if you needed a chimney sweep or horse saddle fixing, you might have options a mile or two away. When some guy in the middle of a plain needs the same and it's fifty miles of track... oops. The multi-millionaire forgot he might need a chimney sweep. Aw, shucks!

I appreciate the desire to get out of the city, I did, but escaping civilisation entirely means you probably forgot something that will come back to haunt you.

[Pops]

The thing missing in this conversation (and obviously from the brain on the end of the original link) is that corn is at $5 and beans are at $13 or some crazy level and so farmland is higher than it has been in a generation or more.

So why do you imagine that is? I’m thinking Ethanol and very little change in Americans’ buying food habits.

If I were rich I would get big into cash and other essentials then bide my time and buy my compound from the sheriff when the economy goes caput…

[Revi]

Farmland is a great thing to have. Unfortunately those of us in the middle and lower classes are priced out. I would love to pick up a nice garden spot though. I am looking around here. I want a flat and fertile piece of in-town land.

I also have my eye on a hayfield, but it's a bit out of my price range right now.

It's hard to make a hayfield pay right now. Even if I had the equipment to make hay it barely pays the cost of production. Things may change around however.

[Jenab6]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cube', 'I') have this silly theory that rich people do NOT need advice about money, if you know what I mean.

[Revi]

Even us lower middle class people would do well to buy as much farmland as we can. A garden spot could make the difference between starvation and living pretty well. I just visited a guy who has a small farm and raises cows, chickens, pigs and ducks all on about 10 acres. He has a garden and is making maple syrup right now. I think that is the way to go. It's kind of a hobby for him now, but when the time comes he's set up with all the food he and his family needs and some extra to trade.

We are maple syruping now, and with the shortages of sweeteners happening it's nice to be producing something that could be very useful as a trade item. I think it's better than money in the bank. Maple syrup holds it's value for a year or two. I can't say the same about the dollar.