Hannity Flat-Out Asks SVB Depositor Kevin O’Leary, ‘Why Did You Keep Your Money There If It Was Run by Idiots?’
Investor Kevin O’Leary, who had a substantial chunk of change at the now-failed Silicon Valley Bank, said the institution was run by “idiots.” In response, Sean Hannity asked the next logical question.
The bank failed last week after enduring a run and liquidity issues before being taken over by federal regulators on Friday.
O’Leary appeared on Tuesday’s edition of Hannity, where the host asked him about the money he had with SVB.
“Did I get this right that you had money in SVB?” Hannity asked. “A lot of money?”
“I had many companies that we invest in our private equity portfolio from Circle on down,” O’Leary replied. “Circle had about $3 billion and it was the largest depositor and others. You know, when you’re in my situation, you don’t care that much about politics. You care about policy.”
O’Leary actually slammed the federal government’s decision to backstop the deposits in the banks, stating that such a move provides incentives to bank managers to act irresponsibly because they know if the institutions fail, they will be bailed out.
“I think this is a very bad mistake,” he said.
“The reason I was asking that question is that we all know the FDIC insures [deposits] up to $250,000. I’m assuming that you had a lot more money in there than $250,000,” Hannity said. “So, you will be the beneficiary of this bailout like every other depositor at SVB. However, the difference between you and probably everybody else, is you’re saying this bank should not be bailed out. Am I wrong on that?”
“No, you’re not,” O’Leary replied. “This bank was run by idiots with an incompetent board. It’s one bank, no one ever heard the name before.”
“Why the hell’d you keep your money–Kevin, you’re a smart guy. Why did you keep your money there if it was run by idiots?” Hannity asked.
“It’s one of many, many banks I keep my money in,” he replied. “And look, I’m a big boy. And my whole point is, if you have more than $250,000 in any institution, you’re basically a hedge fund or a savvy investor or a business. You understand your risk and you act accordingly. So, I think the Fed’s mandate about keeping FDIC insurance at $250,000 makes sense to me. But we changed all that over the weekend.”
He reiterated that the bank was run by “idiots” and said, “At the end of the day, let this thing go under.”
Watch above via Fox News.
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