Gambling And The Stock Market: One In The Same?

Is the stock market not that different from gambling? Hedge fund legend Michael Steinhardt has an interesting view on the matter. During a recent interview with Benzinga, Steinhardt spoke about the relationship that he had with his gambling father and how that might have been the catalyst for his interest in the stock market.

Part 1: Michael Steinhardt: Hedge Fund Legend – Zing Talk

Part 2: Michael Steinhardt: Hedge Fund Legend – Zing Talk

“I guess for most people the relationship with a parent is complicated,” he said. “Mine was particularly complicated with my father because he was divorced from my mother when I was a baby, and I didn't see him regularly. He was an unusual person. He was a gambler all his life. And I often speculate on the difference between gambling and speculating in markets.”

There were several times, Steinhardt said, when his father would sit in front of a television set, watching in frustration as he lost a bet in the last two minutes of a football game. “And I remember at one point him walking over to the television and kicking the screen and breaking it,” Steinhardt recalled. “He was so angry. That's who my father was.”

“My father was intense,” Steinhardt continued. “I'm a little intense. I was fortunate enough to get a good education because of him.

“But I can't accept the idea that some of his interest in gambling probably spread to my interest in speculating in markets, even though most people in the stock market would deny the gambling aspect of what they do. I don't. I think it has that element, and you have to deal with that.”

To hear more from the hedge fund legend – including his best investment* and his views on politics – don't miss Part 1 and Part 2 of Benzinga's full interview with Michael Steinhardt.

*Hint: It's not Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).