Stooped about the witness box, Crispin Odey was barely audible as he was cross-examined by a lawyer for the City watchdog.
asserted
he → stoop → watchdog
The normally ebullient hedge fund boss, 67, was giving evidence as part of his attempt to overturn a lifetime ban from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
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boss → give → Authority
The hearing earlier this year focused on an arcane section of the watchdog’s rule book: whether Odey – who twice fired his executive committee before it could discipline him about allegations he “lacked integrity” – acted “recklessly” and breached its rules.
uncertain
he → focus → rules
But everyone in the room knew the subtext to the proceedings: the hedge fund tycoon’s history of alleged sexual misconduct stretching back decades.
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everyone → know → misconduct
Perhaps it was the toxicity of these allegations that made Odey vacillate between proud and evasive when answering questions from the FCA’s chief counsel, Clare Sibson, KC.
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Odey → make → counsel
Asked later by the judge why he chose to close Odey Asset Management (OAM), his eponymous hedge fund, instead of trying to sell his stake, he responded: “I am a proud man.”
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I → ask → stake
‘Mr Odey’s only purpose was self-preservation and to avoid being held to account for his behaviour.’Financial Conduct Authority
This defiance pushed Odey into an expensive legal battle with the London City watchdog – one which cast fresh light on repeated allegations of sexual misconduct stretching back decades.
That battle ended in defeat for Odey on Monday.
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battle → avoid → Monday
A court upheld a £1.53 million ($2.89 million) fine for the financier – reduced from an initial claim of £1.8 million – and a lifetime ban from financial services, ruling in favour of the City watchdog.
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court → uphold → watchdog
The Upper Tribunal, which decides on appeals against the FCA, ruled in its favour, finding Odey had deliberately worked to frustrate an internal investigation into misconduct allegations, while showing “reckless disregard” for City rules.
It said Odey had “repeatedly prioritised his own interests at the expense of risk of detriment to OAM, its staff members and investors” while seeing “nothing wrong with his approach”.
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Odey → decide → approach
“Mr Odey’s only purpose was self-preservation and to avoid being held to account for his behaviour,” the FCA said.
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FCA → avoid → behaviour
For many observers, the spectacle of Odey in court laid bare the other side of a man once lauded as one of the “sharpest and most contrarian brains” in the City.
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spectacle → lay → City
Odey was a rarity among his secretive hedge fund peers, enjoying an outsized and flamboyant public persona.
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Odey → enjoy → persona
Born to Yorkshire industrialists, Odey was educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford, where he read history and economics.
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he → bear → history
After graduating, Odey was handed control of the 4000-acre (1619-hectare) Hotham Hall estate that had been in his family for centuries, but soon sold everything off to settle his father’s substantial debts.
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that → graduate → debts
After entering the City, he was briefly married to Rupert Murdoch’s eldest daughter, Prudence, but the relationship only lasted 15 months before they divorced.
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they → enter → daughter
Then, in 1991, he married Nichola Pease, a fund manager whose family helped found Barclays, creating a power couple often called the “Posh and Becks” of the City.
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family → marry → City
The same year, Odey set up his eponymous firm, with backing from early investors, including billionaire George Soros.
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Odey → set → Soros
During the ensuing decades, Odey became one of London’s best-known hedge fund tycoons, in part because of his astute ability to cash in on chaos.
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Odey → ensue → chaos
The hedge fund boss correctly predicted that the value of insurance companies would rise after 9/11, before pocketing £28 million in 2008 after successfully predicting the financial crisis.
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value → predict → crisis
The Brexit-backing financier gained further notoriety among political opponents in 2016 when he made £220 million by betting that markets would drop after the referendum result.
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markets → back → result
OAM, whose assets under management stood at $US13.3 billion at its peak in 2015, went through volatile shifts in fortune.
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assets → stand → fortune
One of his funds lost 44 per cent of its value in 1994.
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One → lose → 1994
Undoubtedly, though, Odey has done well out of his bets.
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Odey → do → bets
His pay peaked at £36 million in 2010 and he and his wife were estimated to be worth £775 million in 2019.
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he → peak → 2019
In addition to his own fund, Odey held a significant stake in Sky, which he cashed in after its $US39 billion takeover by Comcast.
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he → hold → Comcast
Odey, who in 2010 threatened to leave the UK in protest against high tax rates, has complemented his financial gains with forays into politics.
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who → threaten → politics
He made political donations valued at £1.7 million between 2007 and 2019.
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He → make → 2007
Some went to Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party.
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Some → go → Johnson
More recently he donated to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
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he → donate → UK
The majority of his donations were channelled into groups campaigning for Brexit.
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majority → channel → Brexit
Odey also captured the imagination with his wholehearted embrace of the rarefied world of Mayfair high finance.
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Odey → capture → finance
More than 1.80 metres tall and of ample build, Odey strikes an imposing figure.
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Odey → strike → figure
Known for his trademark City uniform of red braces, the financier has also been described as a “country gent”, whose passion for enriching himself was rivalled only by his enthusiasm for country pursuits, such as hunting and fishing.
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passion → know → hunting
Nor has he shied away from displays of extravagance.
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he → shy → extravagance
He spent more than £130,000 building a Palladian-style chicken coop in 2012, nicknamed “Cluckingham Palace” by the tabloids, at his Gloucestershire estate, Eastbach Court.
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He → spend → estate
The financier, who has a sausage named after him, was also notorious for his prodigious appetite.
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who → have → appetite
At one midweek meal with a journalist, he paired steak and kidney pudding and mash with a “side order” of a loin of beef and two bottles of wine.
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he → pair → wine
Odey’s larger-than-life personality contrasted with allegations of a more menacing side.
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personality → contrast → side
Media reporting and the lengthy dispute with the City watchdog have detailed incidents in which women were allegedly sexually assaulted.
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women → detail → which
In one case, a woman accused him of rape, which he strenuously denied.
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he → accuse → which
…and 52 more, not listed.
The Aporia
