The first great financial war of 2013 has started, and it has nothing to do with Greek bonds or the debt ceiling or the Grand Bargain. Instead, it’s a hedge-fund-on-hedge-fund brawl about multilevel marketing of weight-loss supplements.
In one corner is Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management, in the other is Daniel Loeb of Third Point Capital. Both Jewish, both born in the 1960s, one from New York, one from Los Angeles, one educated at Harvard, one educated at Columbia, one long Herbalife (HLF, Financial) and one short Herbalife. Herbalife describes itself as a “global nutrition company” that sells its products through its exclusive network of dealers. Ackman (short Herbalife) says it’s an illegal pyramid scheme that should be shut down by regulators, thus cratering its stock and making him a nice pile of money.
Continue reading at Slate.com.
