In this article, George Clooney lets hedge fund manager Dan Loeb have it.
Loeb has bought a piece of Sony Films and is now telling Sony what to do, and Clooney will have none of it.
His words will sound eerily familiar to all those who are fed up with the hedge fund managers who are pouring millions into charter schools and who think they know how to reform the nation’s public schools (testing, competition, no-excuses, harsh discipline, etc.).
Clooney says,
““I’ve been reading a lot about Daniel Loeb, a hedge fund guy who describes himself as an activist but who knows nothing about our business, and he is looking to take scalps at Sony because two movies in a row underperformed? When does the clock stop and start for him at Sony? Why didn’t he include Skyfall, the 007 movie that grossed a billion dollars, or Zero Dark Thirty or Django Unchained? And what about the rest of a year that includes Elysium, Captain Phillips, American Hustle and The Monuments Men? You can’t cherry pick a small time period and point to two films that didn’t do great. It makes me crazy. Fortunately, this business is run by people who understand that the movie business ebbs and flows and the good news is they are ignoring his calls to spin off the entertainment assets. How any hedge fund guy can call for responsibility is beyond me, because if you look at those guys, there is no conscience at work. It is a business that is only about creating wealth, where when they fail, they get bailed out and where nobody gets fired. A guy from a hedge fund entity is the single least qualified person to be making these kinds of judgments, and he is dangerous to our industry.”
Dan Loeb is on the board of Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain in New York City. He recently donated $3 million to the chain. He was the first honoree at the Success Academy gala last May. Loeb said, ”
“Success is a completely disruptive business model,” Loeb said in the ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental. “Not only does your money go to changing kids’ lives, but if we really succeed, we’ll set a higher bar for all schools to meet.”
The Success model includes teachers whose intensity is a mix of Internet startup and trading desk, and a vast amount of training, maniacal attention to data and replicable processes, Loeb said.
“It’s the Google of charter schools. We’re growing faster, it’s logarithmic,” he added, saying that 11,500 students will be enrolled in two years, up from 7,000 in August.”
And what a gala it was!
Loeb sat next to Jeb Bush. The keynote speaker for the evening was New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was introduced by Merryl Tisch, chair of the New York State Board of Regents.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Great! Perhaps Mr. Clooney can prod his friend Mr. Obama (hey, we can dream). As Chris Hedges points out here, “Anytime hedge fund managers walk into a city like Baltimore and propose charter schools, it’s not because they want to teach people to read and write. It’s because they know the federal government spends about $600 billion a year on education, and they want it, and they’re getting it” http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/print/chris_hedges_on_how_to_move_forward_20130725/
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I have posted often. I can only say… This makes me cry.
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Mr. Loeb also must not understand mathematics, because an increase from 7000 to 11,500 isn’t quite logarithmic. (I think he meant exponential. . .)
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I was about to post the same thing. So much for the wonderfulness of hedge fund managers. And I don’t even teach math!
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And the SONY board has unanimously rejected Mr. Loeb’s proposal.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-rejects-entertainment-spin-letter-599759
This blog is important, not only because it connects these two dots, but because the unchecked speculative finance sector is relying on its veneer of invulnerability to kill and cannibalize other sectors. They throw each other glamorous galas, and heap awards on one another, to create the impression that nobody would dare oppose their schemes.
Cluny uses intelligent analysis and contemptuous language to call them down, and so should we.
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I could not agree more. There is another article from deadline.com on Sony’s letter to Loeb, but in it, Loeb isn’t really backing down. He says, in essence, that he plans on micomanaging Sony.
With this new information (thank you, Diane!), it’s clear to me that Loeb is out to destroy the creative expression in movies, just like charter schools destruction of the creative.
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Gah, I mean Loeb’s letter to Sony. Sorry, dyslexic.
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You think Loeb bought stock in Sony so he could destroy the company?
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Teaching Economist, there is no “reply” button for your comment below, so I’ll reply here:
I’m not sure what Loeb’s game is–he certainly bought shares so that he could micromanage Sony to his liking. He tried the same thing with Yahoo and they rebuffed him.
I did some of my own research after reading Diane’s blog and found that foreign investors are investing in charter schools, too. Get this–they are given green cards for investing!
So….not only are they given tax breaks courtesy of Bill Clinton, they are given the green cards. Mindboggling.
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What nerve. Leob obviously isn’t hiding under any false “Save the Children” pretenses with Sony. It just goes to show what really matters–money and power. I am convinced this man has no scruples.
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Apparently he is not giving up yet…
I think Matt Damon should recruit Clooney to speak out for public education.
Loeb Wants Sony to Lay Out Specific Goals for Entertainment Unit
By Reuters
Tuesday, August 06, 2013 Email this story | News Tracker | Reprints | Printable Version
NEW YORK (Reuters)—Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb expects Sony Corp to lay out a specific improvement plan and set financial targets for its entertainment business before the company’s annual general meeting next May, according to a source close to the hedge fund.
Mr. Loeb views Sony’s announcement on Tuesday [Aug. 6] as a “good outcome” even though the Japanese company rebuffed his hedge fund’s proposal to spin off its movies, television and music business, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The source said Third Point LLC’s initial statement that it was “disappointed” with Sony’s decision may have created the wrong impression that the $13 billion hedge fund was unhappy with the outcome of the Sony board’s deliberations.
While Third Point would prefer a spin-off, it is satisfied with Sony’s promise to boost transparency and profits in its entertainment unit, said the source.
Mr. Loeb, one of the best known managers in the $2.25 trillion hedge fund industry, has waged a three-month campaign urging Sony to sell as much as one-fifth of its money-making entertainment arm to free up cash to revive the electronics business.
Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said on Tuesday that the entertainment unit is “integral to Sony’s strategy,” but he promised more financial disclosures, such as quarterly updates on revenue in the music and pictures segments.
The source close to Third Point said the announcement shows Sony has sharpened its focus on improving the entertainment unit and is addressing concerns the firm brought to management earlier this year.
Third Point is pleased with the progress in the electronic unit in recent months, the person said, adding that the hedge fund now wants to see Sony lay out a specific plan to boost the entertainment division’s profitability and transparency before the next annual general meeting, expected in May 2014.
The hedge fund is not currently considering taking a so-called proxy fight to Sony shareholders, though it remains a theoretical possibility, said the source.
Sony’s U.S. share price slid roughly 5 percent in afternoon trading to $20.67, though the stock price has climbed about 85 percent since the beginning of the year. Sony’s Tokyo-traded shares closed down 4.59 percent on Tuesday.
While it is unclear exactly when and at what price Mr. Loeb started buying stock in Sony in the first quarter, the investment is one of the hedge fund’s biggest winners this year, the person close to the firm said.
The hedge fund still thinks Sony’s current share price is both attractive and undervalued, the person said.
Mr. Loeb’s flagship Offshore fund rose 2.9 percent in July, boosting yearly returns to 15.9 percent, according to an investor who was not authorized to publicly discuss the private fund’s performance.
That gain trounces the average hedge fund, which is up about 3.6 percent for the year, according to Bank of America data.
By Katya Wachtel
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I don’t follow the entertainment scene closely, but aren’t Damon and Clooney pals? Maybe they can lend a much-needed, popular megaphone to our issues. Maybe NEA and AFT can join forces with SAG somehow?
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The best part of this whole story is that Elyisum, the movie Loeb is so worried about, is a dark, distopic take on income inequality. The super-rich Loeb types have fled to an exclusive space station, leaving squalid, environmentally wrecked earth behind. Damon, a factory worker who has been poisoned thanks to his venal bosses, desperately needs to get to the space station where excellent medical care is available to all. Loeb’s fear is that the movie won’t make enough money…
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Well then let’s “Won’t back down” this venture of Loeb’s.
Off my list with amazon, Walmart, Microsoft, Netflix….the list keeps growing.
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I wouldn’t mind if the 1% took the spaceship to Mars in a couple of years … They’d go and never return!
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Intelligent comment, except that Clooney mixes hedge funds up with big banks. Hedge funds were not bailed out. Well, except, long ago, for LTCM.
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“Success is a completely disruptive business model,” Loeb said in the ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental. “Not only does your money go to changing kids’ lives, but if we really succeed, we’ll set a higher bar for all schools to meet.”
Keyword is IF. What is the risk if they don’t succeed? Lives can be changed in positive or negative way.
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They’re immensely rich, therefore they know they’re immensely better than us.
How do they know? How else, but by going to their counting house and tallying their gold, which is the tangible proof of their superiority. In fact, their behavior and attitudes suggest that they virtually consider themselves a separate species from the lowly rabble they govern and extract wealth from.
Puny Earthlings, you dare to resist the invincible power of your rulers from Oligarkia?
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I wish we didn’t need “star power” to get the massage across. I appreciate the tireless activism of Dr. Ravitch and others, but I wish there wasn’t such a tsunami of wealth, power, influence, access and especially hubris, on the other side. But it seems as though the message is getting more exposure and that is encouraging.
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Wealth is not intelligence, and it is certainly not expertise.
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And Michael Bloomberg, our “Education Mayor”, is a prime example of what you’re saying
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Go, George Clooney!
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DL is from the Palisades and I went to school with him. He didn’t remember me, but my friend Adam engaged him in conversation – and asked me what he was all about. I didn’t know DL was in on that conversation at first, but then he “got me.” Alas, I was too angry to articulate well and actually argue with him. But his replies reveal what he thinks of public schools and teachers. Beware reading though, he’s oily.
Adam Ellwood posted to Carrie Jacobson
April 15 near Los Angeles
Carrie, do Teachers Unions put the needs of adults over the children in their negotiations? This is an argument that Daniel Loeb, one of our friends from childhood and the owner of Third Point LLC, a hedge fund, is promoting. I would like to get your serious take on this topic. At first it sounds plausible, however, on second thought, it sounds like a ploy by the 1% to bust yet another union. He is in essence saying that teachers put themselves first above children.
Carrie Jacobson Adam, Daniel is full of shit. I can’t post too much now, but will be able to go into detail later
April 15 at 1:34pm
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Carrie Jacobson Well Adam, where shall I begin? Articles for citations or opinions? Just know, this is the same old, same old song and dance we’ve heard for time infinitum. At contract time, our number one goal is to reduce class sizes so kids can get more attention. Then we advocate for music, art, drama, shop classes, and fully funded libraries, nurses, and counselors. Here in LA, we’ve taken pay cuts for 6 straight years to save jobs and prevent our already overloaded classes of 35-40 growing by another 10-20 students. And before that, it had been another 5 years since we’ve had a raise. So the next contract, we’re asking for a well deserved raise after we ask to reduce class sizes, bring back adult school, etc. Hedge fund managers brought our economy down, and have been after the billions of tax dollars given to public schools, a la the charter school movement. Student’s First is a sham – and are finally being proven to be the crooks that they are. Danny will be taken down – hopefully before he does real damage. On Sunday, CA Democrats have slammed Student’s First, and Rhee has been publicly proven to be a liar. We’ll see how much further this plays out. Meantime, I’m too tired…
April 15 at 6:51pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson Oh, and another point. Since when is a billionaire hedge fund manager interested in anyone but himself? What good has he done for this world? How many hours of his life has he devoted to helping people? Liars, thieves, and scum one and all.
April 15 at 6:52pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson Here, read this on his lovely boss at Student’s First… http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=6232
Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error | Taking Note
takingnote.learningmatters.tv
With the indictment of former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly A. Hall and 34 other public school employees in a massive cheating scandal, the time is right to re-examine other situations of possible illegal behavior by educators. Washington, DC, belongs at the top of that list.
April 15 at 6:55pm ·
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Daniel Loeb: Thanks Carrie for that mature, civil and thoughtful, response. It is so sad o see the ranks of low performing teachers adopting thuggish behavior and bullying. You seem to be living proof of the need for teacher evaluations and the ability to fire low performing teachers. Take care, DL
April 15 at 7:00pm
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Adam Ellwood Whoa, I think the one, two punch has just begun. Its a lie to think that the teachers are self serving and put themselves before the very kids they teach. A teacher gives up everything to teach. Thank you Carrie for your clarification on the subject and helping me understand these positions. I have always been pro union, in your case it sounds like the union is neither serving the teachers, nor the children, and the administration is serving but themselves and the union seems to be kowtowing to the administration given the teachers have to teach larger class sizes and get paid less and have not gotten a raise, The teachers are the blessing, they are willing to give up their raises to keep class sizes smaller and to keep music, the arts, drama and shop classes going… Teachers are willing to give it all up for their kids.
April 15 at 7:06pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson Daniel, can you use other language besides the reformy BS of thugs and bullying? Be real. The truth hurts, and you’re on the wrong side. Good luck to you, you’ll need it.
April 15 at 7:15pm ·
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Adam Ellwood I think its a real low blow to call Carrie a ‘low performer’, who is the ‘bully’/’thug’ here? Discourse is good, throwing your opponent under the bus in a debate shows bad form.
April 15 at 7:24pm
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Carrie Jacobson And Daniel, the USDOE sent a letter to me offering me a huge bonus to teach kids in an inner-city school because my kids test scores landed me in the top 1% of teachers in LA. I’m not a low performer by any stretch.
April 15 at 7:19pm ·
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Daniel Loeb: Carrie, i don’t think i know you but we have lots of friends in common. Glad you are teaching kids effectively and keep the good work. I don’t take you insults personally; I appreciate that it is sometimes for a fish to understand the ocean. I’d be happy to take your call to share my perspective and get your comments. FYI, I am also on the board of Success Academy Charter Schools, where I funded 3 schools for underpriveliged kids in Brooklyn, am on the board of Prep for Prep, and fund 4 scholarships each year for underpriveliged kids at Columbia College, my alma mater. I just urge you not to let your negative view of capitalism and markets infect the kids you teach…there is no better system to lift kids out of poverty…we need more boot straps and fewer safety nets, not to mention hamocks! keep up the good work teaching!
April 16 at 1:17pm ·
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Daniel Loeb: not to adam….i don’t know Carrie but her first words were that I was “full of shit”, and referring to people in my profession as “liars, thieves and scum”….i am not sure who is bullying her….everybody lighten up and remember the value of civil discourse…..Carrie, I can imagine how intense this issue is for you, but remember some of your kids might be on Facebook and you might want to set an example of civility and politeness……maybe too much time wiht the unions!
April 16 at 1:21pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson Don’t further belittle me with a lecture, Daniel.
April 16 at 5:01pm ·
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Caroline Grannan If I had taken that well-sourced and fully justified beating on the Rolling Stone blog I’d just be laying low, myself. Daniel, the more publicity-minded “reformers” actually make a show of pretending to respect teachers and not be openly, flat-out anti-union. I’m not discouraging honestly, but you might want to consult with them so you can stay on the same PR wavelength. (Even though I appreciate seeing the pretense stripped away, I think the all-out expressions of hostility to teachers and workers do harm to our society in greater ways, so my preference is to discourage them.)
April 16 at 5:24pm ·
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Adam Ellwood: Caroline Grannan is damn right Dan. Called out in a big way in Rolling Stone, worldwide distribution, your public image is now tarnished, your reform movement will not gain any movement at all if you happen to be disrespectful to both teachers and unions.
April 16 at 7:19pm ·
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Adam Ellwood He is straight up anti-union. That right there will not win the hearts and minds of the hard working men and women of the United States of America. Period.
April 16 at 7:20pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/hedge-fund-manager-teachers-give-me-your-pe
Hedge Funder Lures Teachers’ Unions While He Helps Break Them
crooksandliars.com
Hedge fund manager Dan Loeb is wooing teachers’ pension funds to invest their funds with him, while simultaneously working to eliminate their jobs.
April 17 at 4:49pm ·
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Daniel Loeb: lol…not wooing anyone as my fund is totally closed ot new investors..i came to talk about corporate governance.
April 17 at 6:58pm ·
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Daniel Loeb: guys, I am exiting this discussionm stage left, not because i cant take the heat but because there seems to be a lack of curiosity and objectivty on this issue. I wish you all well and trust me, i want a better world for poor kids. I have no bones to pick with workers, unions etc. best of wishes to you all…..Peace/Out
April 17 at 7:05pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson Wish I could believe you, but I don’t.
April 17 at 7:19pm ·
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Daniel Loeb: Carrie, i’ve got alot going on in my life…i care about ed reform, not harrassing teachers. I love great teachers but the lack of civility in the disucssion is not of interest to me. good luck..
April 17 at 7:27pm ·
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Adam Ellwood Daniel, with all due respect to my childhood friend, I really believe that you are the one who has been lacking in civility. I am trying to elicit a discussion between a veteran teacher in LA and a hedge fund manager, I only speak the truth of what I…See More
April 17 at 7:35pm
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Carrie Jacobson Look in the mirror Daniel. Backhanded compliments and bashing lack civility. At least I’m honest.
April 17 at 7:46pm ·
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Carrie Jacobson Good luck to you, too
April 17 at 7:47pm ·
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About how old is Dan Loeb?
Just saved this exchange just in case it disappears.
Sleazy, nasty, self serving, egotistical, parasitical, sociopathic piece of _____ !
(And I’m being nice)
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He should be 52 by now. We graduated HS in 1979 and I was always a year younger than my classmates 🙂
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I thought you were 29, Carrie.
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“Carrie, do Teachers Unions put the needs of adults over the children in their negotiations?”
How old are these people and where did they go to school? This is a common theme with reformers, this idea that “adults” are islands apart from “children”.
It’s just nonsense. That isn’t how the world works.
Children live in families and families live in communities. The “adults” they’re surrounded by matter, a lot. Of course things like pay and income “matter” to children.
Did they all go off to boarding school at 6 or something? What world is this that they’re describing? And how weird is it that they’re always trying to divide “the children” from “the adults”, and insisting they’re the only adults who care for these children. It’s bizarre. Is ed reform a cult? Who does this divide and conquer stuff?
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Teacher’s unions care only about their members.
That’s why, here in NYC, the ONLY thing preventing Bloomberg and his lapdogs from increasing class size to infinite is the UFT contract.
Funny how so-called reformers never seem to mention that inconvenient fact, while Gates’ funded fifth columnists like E$E studiously avoid it, and pontificate about how they’re the only ones who care about “excellence.”
Of course, what they can’t admit to themselves or others is that “excellence” should be translated as “test scores as a way to erode public education and union protections.”
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Here’s info about Loeb’s involvement in privatizing public education and union-busting by funding charter schools, “Marriage of Convenience: Behind the Alliance of Hedge Funds and Charter Schools”
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Diane, If you know Nancy Carlsson-Paige, can you please talk to her about asking Matt Damon to approach Clooney and explain to him the plight of public education?
Clooney is such a humanist that I think if he knew what the hedge fund guys are doing to dismantle public education and rob the public coffers, he’d become an advocate for public ed, too.
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George Clooney and Matt Damon….America’s students, teachers, and parents are reaching out to both of you to be strong voices for public education. Those who care about the future of children are hoping you’ll positively use your public platform, and speak loudly in support of this great cornerstone of our democracy. Your work and voice are respected by so many, and adding your voices cannot be underestimated. I sincerely hope you’ll consider making public education support an important part of your life’s work and legacy. Thank you for being committed and ethical individuals.
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I loved this when I read it. Clooney is saying what we all already knew. Hedge fund managers are about making money any way possible. They don’t care about art, education, people’s career’s, etc. They would have a negative impact on the types of movies made.
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WHY are hedge fund managers running our country? WHO put them in charge? No, really, I want to know.
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Gawd!
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Someone really needs to write a musical comedy about the current state of the business of education. Just imagine the emperor holding forth at a fine gala before his audience of drunken, well-fed sycophants — and he’s butt-naked. Maybe with a choral number reminiscent of The Music Man’s “Pick-a-little, Talk-a-little” with singers from every table and percussion from clinking champagne glasses.
What would they be singing, I wonder?
Think I’ll pass this by George Clooney.
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May I be the music director? 😀
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Absolutely! And the composer, as well, LG.
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I can see it now: A chorus line of girls wearing Jeb Bush masks.
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