Jim Cramer Introduction / His paying off for mortgage became a joke
Jim Cramer is a hedge fund manager, television personality, and author. He is the host of CNBC’s Mad Money.
Jim Cramer describes himself as a “populist” due to his focus on Main Street rather than Wall Street. In a 2007 interview with The New York Times, he said that
“I am not really a stock ■■■■ … I don’t care about the stock market today or tomorrow”.
It’s no secret that Jim Cramer has had his fair share of critics over the years. But, he remains one of the most influential voices in finance today. Not only is he a New York Times best-selling author, but he also hosts CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer, which airs weekdays at 5 p.m. EDT and is consistently one of the highest-rated shows on cable television.
It’s a typical conundrum that appears in the contents of every personal finance guru
Should you put a cash windfall toward your mortgage or invest it?
If your name is Jim Cramer and you make a job giving investment advice on TV, you should expect to get mocked if your solution is to pay off your mortgage — especially while rates are still around historic lows.
After buying “a lot of bitcoin” when it was at $12,000, the CNBC Mad Money personality has been selling “all the way up” and has already dumped roughly half of his holdings.
Cramer said his bitcoin income allowed him to pay off his mortgage this week, with bitcoin now selling at $60,000.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer
“Because I acquired this money (bitcoin),” Cramer remarked, “I now own a house, lock, stock, and barrel.” “So… I’m not sure, but I guess I won!”
Cramer quipped that he might have been the sole “natural seller” of bitcoin this week, as opposed to riskier options or futures that can be subject to forced sells or margin calls.
“However, paying off a mortgage was fantastic. While appearing on “Squawk on the Street,” he quipped, “It was like counterfeit money paying for real money!”
Cramer admitted that he was aware that his revelation would “infuriate a lot of people,” yet he “decided to become an apostate” nevertheless.
HodlDepot questioned whether Cramer would have been better off investing the money that is now locked up in his home if he had been paying only approximately 3% interest on his mortgage. “It’s like the mortgage is the asset and the house is the liability” with interest rates reaching historic lows.