American Consequences - March 2020

Mark Minervini

A Conversation With

throw $100 out the window the next time they’re driving down the road in their car? Mark Minervini: This is something that I did with one of my very first proteges that worked for me. He was constantly saying how he was going to be a millionaire and going to be the best trader and he was going to even be a better trader than me. This was back in the ‘90s. One day we were in the car and I said, “So, you’re positive you’re going to be a great trader and you’re going to be rich and how long is that going to take?” He said, “Not that long. I’m going to be really great at this.” I said, “How much money you got in your pocket?” He went in his pocket and he said, “I got $200.” I said, “Well, then throw it out the window. If you’re going to be a millionaire in a year or two, what does it matter, right? Let’s make a declaration.” He was like, “You’re crazy. I’m not throwing money out the window.” So, I went in my pocket and I think I had like $400. We were on the highway and I just tossed it out the window and I said, “I’m so confident in my future that that just doesn’t mean anything. I know that it’s going to come back.” I said, “Now throw yours out” and he wouldn’t do it. It’s mainly a declaration of your confidence and to look at the bigger picture. If you truly are going to be wealthy and rich and have money, obviously $100 doesn’t mean very much. I know some people got upset and they said, “You could’ve given it to charity”, but I want to point out that I don’t deduct that from my charitable contributions. I can do both.

So, I went in my pocket and I think I had like $400. We were on the highway and I just tossed it out the window It’s crazy, but I used to look at the stock tables when I was like eight years old, and I was fascinated. My Uncle Benny, I was always told he was a stock guy, but I didn’t learn about that until I was a teenager. But I was fascinated with the tables, and I remember I used to follow Exxon for some reason, but it’s just kind of crazy how at a very young age I liked the stock tables. Dan Ferris: Now, you recently said one of the most controversial things I’ve ever heard said by anyone in finance. Can you retell a little bit, why our readers should if there was a particular event or a particular experience during those years that prompted your interest. Mark Minervini: Poverty. That’s the true answer, but to be honest, that got me interested in making money, and because I had no education, I really didn’t have many options, so I looked at the stock market as a place where I didn’t need a degree. There was no prejudice. I could just open an account and if I did well, I could make money. Of course, I didn’t have any money, so I had to start off with a very small amount of money, so it took a lot of years. Dan Ferris: I know from reading the Market Wizards interview that you got interested in the stock market as a teenager in the 1980s. I’mwondering

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March 2020

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