Marc Faber

Swiss investor based in Thailand

Faber is credited for advising his clients to get out of the stock market before the October 1987 crash, and with
in 2005 06 writing extensively about an impending crash of home prices, prior to the 2007–2008 financial crisis. In 2017 he was criticized for racist remarks.

Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland, and schooled in Zurich and Geneva, where he raced for the Swiss National Ski Team (B Team). He studied economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, earned a Ph. D. degree in Economics, graduating magna cum laude. During the 1970s, Faber worked for White Weld & Co. in New York City, Zurich, and Hong Kong. He moved to Hong Kong in 1973. He was also a managing director at Drexel Burnham Lambert Hong Kong from the beginning of 1978 until the firm's collapse in 1990. In 1990, he set up his own business, Marc Faber Limited. Faber now resides in Chiang Mai, Thailand, though he keeps a small office in Hong Kong.

Faber is credited for advising his clients to get out of the stock market before the October 1987 crash.

In 2001, Faber told investors to buy gold; it then more than doubled. He correctly predicted a decline in the US dollar since 2002. In 2005 06, Faber wrote extensively about an impending crash of home prices. In May 2006 Faber said he would advise Swiss pension funds to move assets out of the US, because the Fed had “created bubbles all over the place that could lead to one volcanic eruption after the other”. Faber in 2007 correctly predicted the rise of oil, precious metals, other commodities, emerging markets, and especially China in his book Tomorrow's Gold: Asia's Age of Discovery. He also expressed temporary bullishness for the U. S. dollar in mid 2008, before it dramatically recovered and positive expectations for holding the Japanese yen. In December 2008, Faber said, "I think a recovery will not come in the next couple of years, maybe in five, 10 years' time". His prediction was incorrect. Subsequently, the S&P 500 index rose by 48% from 865.58 on January 1, 2009 to 1282.62 on January 1, 2011. In 2009, Faber predicted with 100% confidence that the Federal Reserve's policy of keeping interest rates near zero would lead to hyperinflation approaching levels seen in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe's inflation rate reached 89 sextillion percent in a previous report. His prediction was incorrect. Subsequently, annual increases in the CPI were 2.7% in 2009, 1.5% in 2010, 3.0% in 2011, 1.7% in 2012, 1.5% in 2013, 0.8% in 2014 and 0.7% in 2015.

In 2012, Faber claimed that there was a "100% chance" of a global economic recession later that year or in early 2013. His prediction was incorrect. Subsequently, the average world product grew steadily by 3.4% in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014, and 3.5% in 2015. In 2012, Faber predicted that the S&P 500 index would fall at least 20% within 6–9 months following the re election of Barack Obama. His prediction was incorrect. Subsequently, the S&P 500 index rose from a low of 1359.88 on November 16, 2012 to 1480.40 as of January 1, 2013, 1570.70 on April 1, 2013 (up 15% from the November low, 6 months after Faber's prediction), 1668.68 on July 1, 2013 (up 22% from the November 2012 low) and 1783.54 on November 1, 2013 (up 31%). On March 27, 2013, Faber said that the U. S. was creating nowhere to hide bubbles in many emerging economies such as Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand (up four times from 2009 lows). On January 14, 2015, Faber predicted that gold prices would rise by 30% in 2015. His prediction was incorrect. Gold prices subsequently fell by 14% from $1234 on January 14, 2015 to $1060 on December 31, 2015. On July 23, 2015, Faber stated that investors must hold cash for better buying opportunities after correction.