Billionaire investor Howard Marks' son owns 'a meaningful amount' of bitcoin for family

Bitcoin • January 13, 2021, 4:35AM EST
UPDATED: January 13, 2021, 4:45AM EST
The Block

Billionaire investor Howard Marks has said that his son Andrew owns "a meaningful amount" of bitcoin for the family.

Revealing the news in the latest client memo published Monday, Marks said despite Andrew's bitcoin investment, his skeptical view on crypto has not changed yet.

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"The natural state for the value investor is one of skepticism," said Marks, co-founder, and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management. "Our default reaction is to be deeply dubious when we hear 'this time it's different,' and we point to a history of speculative manias and financial innovations that left behind significant carnage. It's this skepticism that reduces the value investor's probability of losing money."

Marks, who manages client assets worth more than $140 billion, further said that he is not yet fully informed to form a firm view on cryptocurrencies and is striving to learn more about the space.

The value investor has previously called bitcoin "a pyramid scheme." He then, at the time, went on to compare cryptocurrencies to the Tulip mania of 1637, the South Sea bubble of 1720, and the internet bubble of 1999-2000.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.