Odey founded Odey Asset Management in 1991 . George Soros was one of the original investors , seeding Odey $ 150 million . He suffered large losses in 1994 when the Federal Reserve unexpectedly lifted interest rates ( one of his funds lost 44 per cent of its value ) , but went on to thrive , for instance by foreseeing that the value of insurers would rise after the September 11 attacks on New York in 2001 . Through the early part of the 2000s Odey worked closely with Hugh Hendry , whom he had recruited and who ran Odey 's top performing Continental Europe Fund . Hendry left in 2005 to establish Eclectica Asset Management . In reference to Hendry , Odey himself said : " Odey in the 1990s was a one-man band ; Odey in the 2000s was a two-man band . " According to '' The New York Times , '' Odey " came to prominence during the 2008 financial crisis when he shorted banking shares , a lucrative wager that helped him to earn almost 28 million pounds that year . " Odey came to wide attention in 2008 when he paid himself £ 28 million after successfully anticipating the credit crunch . That year his return was 54.8 per cent . He had been bearish about the position of banks for a number of years , shorting Bradford & Bingley as early as 2005 , questioning the German landesbanks and warning consistently about the dangers of debt and inflated house prices . He continued his short positions into early 2009 but in April took longer positions as he predicted the market rally of that year . '' The Times '' newspaper selected Odey as a " Business Big Shot " in 2008
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Crispin Odey