[3]Michael Franzese, the former powerful mafia boss turned motivational speaker and author, warned on CNBC [3] that stocks are a bubble, Wall Street is crooked and advised people to own physical gold and silver bars.
Asked for his “top investment tips,” Franzese told CNBC:
“I did a lot of things at times with people on Wall Street and I don’t trust them … that is the bottom line … a lot of [Wall Street] guys are shady and they did shady things with me and I don’t trust them. And I don’t like other people that I don’t know really well taking care of my money. I think that I can do it better.”
Regarding stocks he said he thinks “there is a bubble there and when it bursts it is not going to be good.”
He said he would not invest in gold ETFs, rather he owns physical bars:
“No matter what, it’s <bullion bars> always going to have a value and there will always be something there.”
“Unlike stocks, where in our country, you go to sleep, everyone tells you everything is wonderful, you wake up and everything is gone. We have experience that. Fortunately, I wasn’t invested at the time.”
The interviewer asks “it sounds like you are bracing for Armageddon?”
Franzese says “Well I don’t think so … that’s been my experience and I have done that successfully and like I said I always have something to hold onto.”
Regarding diversification, he agrees with diversification but says you need to have knowledge and understand what you are investing in and not allow others to pick investments for you.
The Colombo crime family’s former boss – Michael Franzese – says even he doesn’t trust Wall Street.
Franzese – played by Joseph Bono in the 1990 Martin Scorsese movie “GoodFellas” – spent 10 years in prison after he was convicted on federal racketeering charges.
When he was 35, Franzese ranked number 8 on Fortune Magazine’s list of the 50 most wealthy and powerful mafia bosses. 44 of those on the list are now dead, and three are doing life in prison without parole. He reportedly raked in up to $8 million a week. Franzese is the only surviving high-ranking member of a major crime family to publicly walk away and refuse protective custody.
He also said that what made him turn over a new leaf was the love of a good woman who is now his wife of 29 years.
Franzese is right to be wary of Wall Street given the litany of fraudulent activities uncovered in recent years. Bullion banks have been found to be charging “storage fees” to store gold bullion … without having the bullion in storage. They also offer unallocated gold accounts where there is not the ounce for ounce backing of clients purchases - meaning that the same gold is pledged to numerous people.
Owning physical gold coins and bars, rather than paper gold or gold owned via a digital platform, remains the safest way to own gold.
Inform yourself of the 7 Key Gold Storage Must Haves [4] here [4]