Forget Wall Street, You Can Be A Real Pirate - Millennial Money with Cliff Mason

BIO

Cliff Mason is the author of Millennial Money. He is the Senior Writer of CNBC's Mad Money with Jim Cramer, and has been that program's primary writer, in cooperation with and under the supervision of Jim Cramer, since he began at CNBC as an intern during the summer of 2005. Mason was the author of a column at TheStreet.com during 2007, which he describes as "hilarious, if short-lived." He graduated from Harvard College in 2007. It was at Harvard that Mason learned to multi-task, mastering the art of seeming to pay attention to professors while writing scripts for Mad Money. Mason has co-written two books with Jim Cramer: Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich and Stay Mad For Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer). He is 100% responsible for any parts of either book that you did not like. Mason has also had a fruitful relationship with Jim Cramer as his nephew for the last 23 years and will hopefully continue to hold that position for many more as long as he doesn't do anything to get himself kicked out of the family.

MILLENNIAL MONEY RELATED LINKS

LATEST FROM OUR BLOGS

» More

RSS FEED

» Help

Subscribe to this RSS feed
Stay up to date with the Millennial Money blog.

CNBC ON DIGG

Text Size

Feb.11

8:38 AM ET

Wednesday, 11 Feb 2009

Forget Wall Street, You Can Be A Real Pirate

Posted By:Cliff Mason

Topics:Stock Market

Pirate Flag
Photo: Nick Humphries
With companies around the world slashing jobs left and right, it's good to know that there's at least one growth industry left where hard work and ruthlessness still count for something: piracy.

Somali pirates recently got a $3.2 million ransom for returning a Ukrainian ship filled with Soviet-era weaponry. Last year they captured 42 ships in the Gulf of Aden, and they've captured at least three more so far in 2009!

Somalia is a long way from here, and it's hot and disorderly place, but if you've been laid-off, at least keep this idea in mind. So far I think only about five pirates have actually been captured, which is pretty good for a violent, illegal, not to mention reprehensible, business. The risk/reward seems much better than, say, being a drug mule.

Since there's not much in the way of a central government in Somalia, a perennial condition caused most recently by a U.S. backed invasion from Ethiopia, it's very difficult to catch pirates on land. It's only at sea where anyone is even trying to catch you.

Now the U.S., along with a host of other countries, have beefed up their naval presence in international waters in the Gulf of Aden where Somali pirates operate , but anyone who knows the history of piracy (call it a hobby...) understands that unless you can take out their safe-havens on land, you can't stop pirates at sea.

Being a modern-day pirate isn't flashy or glamorous, but at least these guys are making money, and they're probably less hated than investment bankers.