Whitney Tilson, famous for blowing up two hedge funds before becoming a newsletter writer, has announced he is running for mayor of New York City.
Tilson fired off an email and press campaign last week where that led with him complimenting himself for running a Tough Mudder: "I just filed to run for mayor of NYC. Why? Those who know me well might think I’m a glutton for punishment and, because I wasn’t able to run my annual 24-hour World’s Toughest Mudder sufferfest earlier this month, I’m doing this instead!"
The email eventually got to the point, stating: "But seriously, I’m deeply concerned – and a majority of New Yorkers agree – that our beloved city is headed in the wrong direction. I am committed to turning our city around and have many bold ideas for how to do so."
Tilson says his 5 biggest priorities are:
1. Cut violent crime by 50%;
2. Address the cost-of-living crisis, much of it driven by housing costs and unnecessary regulation, and put more money in working people’s pockets;
3. Rein in out-of-control spending by eliminating corruption, reducing inefficiency and delivering better services for less;
4. Improve our public schools; and
5. Prioritize citizens (and permanent legal residents) in the allocation of city resources.
And of course, Tilson also introduced the news by releasing a 16 page letter and posting a 32-minute interview with none other than Don Lemon, which you can watch above. No word yet on whether either included ruminations about his recent colonoscopy.
Last time we checked in on Tilson people on social media were scrambling to try and figure out ways to get off his mailing list...
As a reminder, Tilson famously blew up closed Kase Capital Management in 2017 (5 years after shuttering its predecessor T2) after getting his ass handed to him by the market "sustained underperformance".
“Reporting sustained underperformance to you was making me miserable,” Tilson wrote to his investors in 2017. He continued: "I couldn’t in good conscience continue to manage your money unless I had a high degree of confidence that I could turn things around within a reasonable time frame."
Recall, Tilson had relaunched his first fund, T2 Partners, as Kase Capital in 2012 after losing 24.9% in 2011.
And so if you thought financial newsletter spam and political ad spam on their own were each forces to be reckoned with, imagine when they combine...
