Phil Falcone

The youngest of nine siblings, Phil Falcone was an avid and formidable hockey player as a youth in his hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota. He went on to play hockey for Harvard University, where he graduated with a BA in economics in 1984.

Falcone began his career in 1985, trading high yield and distressed securities at Kidder, Peabody & Co.

Before assuming his position as Senior Managing Director at Harbinger Capital Partners, Falcone was head of High-Yield trading at Barclays Capital.

From 1997 to 1998 he held a similar position with Gleacher Natwest. Prior to joining Gleacher, Falcone was a Senior High Yield trader at First Union Capital Markets in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Harbinger Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Harbert Management, is the multi-billion dollar hedge fund run by Philip Falcone.

Harbinger Capital is a successful activist hedge fund that generated massive profits by shorting the housing market. Falcone expected bonds backed by subprime mortgages to fall in value, profiting as foreclosures hit a record levels.

Harbinger also shorted Bear Stearns before its subsequent meltdown. On the long side, Falcone captured gains in commodities and related companies, such as Australian iron ore producer Fortesque metals. His holdings of commodities such as steel and copper rose in value as the S&P GSCI commodity index climbed steadily in the first nine months of 2007.

Along with Scott Galloway, Falcone bought a 4.9 percent stake in The New York Times and won a battle to land seats on the board.

Falcone is now the owner of one of New York’s most expensive residences – the 59 million dollar Upper East Side townhouse formerly owned by Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione. He has also been able to continue to participate in one of his life’s great passions having taking a stake in the Minnesota Wild NHL hockey team.