Trump adviser Steve Bannon attributes his worldview to a simple stock-investing mistake his dad made after listening to Jim Cramer
(Steve Bannon.Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist under President Donald Trump, has described his view of the US economy as "economic nationalism."
Bannon, a former Goldman Sachs banker and editor of the far-right website Breitbart, has advocated greater trade protectionism, large government investment in infrastructure, and negative interest rates — policies that many economists have said could harm the US economy.
In a profile by The Wall Street Journal's Michael Bender, Bannon attributed his shift in economic ideals and distrust of institutions in part to a "Today" show segment featuring financial advice from CNBC's Jim Cramer.
In October 2008, in the throes of the financial crisis, Cramer, the host of "Mad Money," told people during a "Today" show appearance, "Whatever money you may need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market right now."
Marty Bannon, Steve's father, had been accumulating stock in AT&T — where he worked — throughout his career to give to his children. Marty, however, saw the Cramer segment and decided to sell all his shares, at a loss of about $100,000, according to The Journal.
Since then, the S&P 500 total return has been 192% if dividends had been reinvested, and it was up roughly 98% with dividends reinvested in the five years after Cramer's call.
According to Bannon, this move shattered his confidence in institutions and helped form his brand of "economic nationalism." He told The Journal that during the recession, "the Marty Bannons of the world were getting washed out to sea, and nobody was paying attention to them."
As Financial Times' Matthew Klein noted, Cramer's advice wasn't necessarily bad — if you need cash, pulling funds out of the market is a viable way to raise that money. But panicking and selling during downturns is one of the basic mistakes that any investor should avoid.
Despite this, the losses sustained by his father clearly left Bannon feeling as if the elites of the US had advantages over average Americans.
Bannon felt that Wall Street had created the bubble that ultimately led to his father's mistake, according to The Journal.
"The government created this problem," Marty Bannon told The Journal. "The elites, they got bailed out. Everybody else in the country, whatever happened, happened, and they just had to move on."
But Cramer is not a financial adviser, and Marty Bannon sold his shares of his own accord, knowing the price of AT&T stock. Additionally, the opinion Steve Bannon holds about the relative beneficiaries of the postcrisis recovery is typical of many Americans.
Regardless, one of the most influential voices on US economic policy could be based on one stock-investing mistake made on the advice of a financial-TV host.
Read the full profile of Bannon at The Wall Street Journal ?
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