The Smiling Short-Seller

New York magazine has a fascinating profile of one man making a major profit from the financial crisis, Jim Chanos, whose short positions have netted him a reported 50 percent return. Chanos, who manages $7 billion as president of Kynikos Associates and recently closed on a new $20 million triplex, made his career shorting Enron, and this summer he cashed out his portfolio’s stake in financial and real estate stocks. Chanos waxes philosophical about how short-sellers are viewed: “I’ll always understand the Schadenfreude aspect to short-selling. I get that no one will always like it,” he says. He also reveals his next targets: the health care industry and defense companies.