CNBC EXCERPTS: LEON COOPERMAN, OMEGA ADVISORS CHAIRMAN & CEO ON CNBC'S "SQUAWK BOX" TODAY
Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of Omega Advisors Chairman & CEO Leon Cooperman on CNBC's "Squawk Box" today.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
COOPERMAN ON HIS PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS:
JOE KERNEN: LET'S GET TO HEDGE FUND MANAGER LEE COOPERMAN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF OMEGA ADVISERS. FORMER CEO OF GOLDMAN SACHS, ASSET MANAGEMENT. WE'VE ALREADY TALKED A LITTLE BIT, LEE, BECAUSE SOME OF THE STUFF IS IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT TALK ABOUT IT. WE CAN'T WAIT TO INTRODUCE YOU. YOUR GOING TO BE INVOLVED. WHAT SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT FIRST? I LOVE TALKING ABOUT YOUR PHILANTHROPIC EFFORTS BECAUSE ONE THING THAT GALLS ME IS WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, I THINK YOU MADE ENOUGH MONEY THAT YOU SHOULD STOP. I'M ALLUDING TO A COMMENT FROM THE PRESIDENT, ONCE AGAIN.YOU LOOK AT JOB CREATION OR YOU LOOK AT AN AMASSING A KEN LANGONE, BERNIE MARCUS, SOMEONE LIKE THAT THAT ENDS UP GIVING MOST OF IT AWAY.
LEON COOPERMAN: PART OF MY FAME IS I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO BERNIE MARCUS IN BOCA RATON. WE HAVE A HOUSE-
KERNEN: BILLIONAIRES CAN BE PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. THEY'RE NOT ALL --
CARUSO-CABRERA: YOU DON'T LOOK EVIL.
KERNEN: THEY'RE NOT ALL VILLAINS.
COOPERMAN: I JUST TOOK THE PLEDGE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. I HAD DINNER WITH WARREN, BILL AND MELINDA GATES, MAYOR BLOOMBERG.
KERNEN: YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, RIGHT?
COOPERMAN: WELL, I KIND OF -- YOU KNOW, MY STORY IS KIND OF LIKE THE AMERICAN DREAM. YOU KNOW? MY DAD WAS A PLUMBER IN THE SOUTH BRONX AND DIED CARRYING UP A SINK TO A FOURTH FLOOR. I WENT TO A PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE BRONX, HIGH SCHOOL IN THE BRONX, COLLEGE IN THE BRONX. I HAD A SHORT STINT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, GOT MY MBA. WENT TO GOLDMAN SACHS THE DAY AFTER I GRADUATED. WHY? I HAD A CHILD, NO MONEY IN THE BANKS, IF YOU COULD READ A BALANCE SHEET, NEGATIVE NET WORTH. THEY SAY I'M ON FORBES FOUR HUNDRED. I BASICALLY DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE IT, NO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE IT. MY WIFE AND I PLAN TO GIVE AWAY THE VAST BULK OF WHAT WE HAVE TO CHARITY.
KERNEN: YOU'RE SIGNING ON WITH WARREN?
COOPERMAN: I SIGNED ON. ACTUALLY I THOUGHT THEY WERE VERY MODEST. THEY ONLY ASKED TO GIVE AWAY HALF.
KERNEN: HALF, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE MORE THAN THAT?
COOPERMAN: I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY, EVERY DOLLAR I MAKE I GIVING AWAY, BECAUSE WHAT I PLAN TO GIVE TO MY CHILDREN HAS ALREADY SET. SO EVERYTHING I MAKE AFTER TAXES IS GOES TO CHARITY.
KERNEN: IF WE BELIEVE "FORBES" IT'S BETWEEN $1 BILLION AND $2 BILLION. SO THAT MONEY IT'S NOT A ZERO SUM GAME WHEN YOU MAKE $1.5 BILLION YOU DIDN'T DEPRIVE SOMEONE ELSE. YOU CAN CREATE WEALTH IN THIS COUNTRY STILL.
COOPERMAN: WELL-- THE ECONOMY. YOU KNOW? A COMBINATION OF LUCK AND HARD WORK. AND HEAVY DOSE OF LUCK. AND OVER THE YEARS, YOU KNOW, YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE, YOU WATCH PEOPLE, YOU READ AND I JUST HAVE BEEN IMPRESSED. I THINK AROUND 1900 I THINK IT WAS ANDREW CARNEGIE SAID HE WHO HE DIES RICH DIES DISGRACED. IN THE 1930s WINSTON CHURCHILL SAID YOU MAKE A LIVING BY WHAT YOU GET, YOU MAKE A LIFE BY WHAT YOU GIVE. IN 1961 I LISTENED TO JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY IN THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS HE SAID ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY...BASICALLY SAYS YOU MEASURE A MAN NOT BY WHAT HE'S WORTH, BY WHAT HE GIVES. I MENTIONED MY WIFE WAS A SOCIALIST AND THAT WAS AN EASY DEAL IF YOU'RE MARRIED TO A CAPITALIST. BUT THIS CAPITALIST HAS A HEART. MY WIFE AND I TOTALLY AGREE UPON THIS SO WE WANT TO GIVE BACK TO THE SYSTEM TO ENABLE THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE LESS FORTUNATE TO HAVE A SHOT AT THE AMERICAN DREAM THAT I HAD. IT IS AS SIMPLE AS THAT WE TAKE NO CREDIT. I THINK IT'S THE MORAL IMPERATIVE. IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. EVERY NICKEL I MAKE BASICALLY IS GOING TO GO TO THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR.
CARUSO-CABRERA: IT'S UNIQUE TO THE UNITED STATES. YOU DO NOT SEE PHILANTHROPY AROUND THE REST OF THE WORLD TO THIS DEGREE.
COOPERMAN: THAT IS KNOWLEDGEABLE. I KNOW WARREN AND BILL AND MAYOR MIKE ARE TRYING TO DO THEIR BEST TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK THAT WAY.
CARUSO-CABRERA: ARTS IN THIS COUNTRY, ARTS, THE PROGRAMS FOR THE NEEDY ARE FOR THE VAST MAJORITY IS FUNDED BY PRIVATE DONATIONS WHEREAS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO FUND THE ARTS, THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO FUND THOSE THINGS AND INSTEAD WE RELY ON INDIVIDUALS.
COOPERMAN: IT'S GOOD THING. YOU CAN'T TELL SOMEBODY ELSE WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR MONEY, BUT I THINK IT'S THE RIGHT THING TO DO. I SAY NEXT TO SEEING MY CHILDREN GROW UP PURPOSEFULLY AND HEALTHY AND MY GRANDCHILDREN, WHICH ARE GREAT, I HAVE THREE OF THOSE, MY WIFE AND I GET THE MOST ENJOYMENT HELPING PEOPLE LESS FORTUNATE.
COOPERMAN ON GOVERNMENT CONTROL:
"I AM A LOYAL AMERICAN, I AM A TAXPAYER I ABIDE BY THE RULES AND THE LAWS, BUT LEFT TO MY OWN DEVICES I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE CONTROL OVER THE RECYCLING OF MY MONEY RATHER THAN THE GOVERNMENT TAKING CONTROL."
COOPERMAN ON THE FEDERAL RESERVE:
WHEN I CAME TO WALL STREET 43 YEARS AGO THERE WAS AN EXPRESSION THAT THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD WROTE THE MARKET LETTER FOR WALL STREET AND BASICALLY I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT AS OVERT, OR AS CLEAR AS IT IS TODAY, THEY WANT THE ECONOMY TO GROW AND BASICALLY THEY WANT HIGHER INFLATION AND THEN OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME INFLATION IS A PLUS FOR COMMON STOCKS. WHY? BECAUSE INFLATION IN A COMPANYS COSTS WORKS INTO THEIR SELLING PRICES WHICH RAISES THE NOMINAL LEVEL OF REVENUES AND EARNINGS."
COOPERMAN ON INFLATION:
"INFLATION IS A PROBLEM FOR THE MARKET IF THE FED IS LOOKING TO CURB INFLATION, BECAUSE CURBING INFLATION IS THE SAME THING AS CURBING GROWTH, BUT RIGHT NOW WE WANT INFLATION, WE WANT GROWTH AND I AM GOING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE FED AND THE FISCAL SIDE OF GOVERNMENT WILL GE THEIR WAY."
COOPERMAN ON MONEY:
"MONEY GENERALLY GOES WHERE MONEY IS TREATED BEST, BUT I THINK THE PUBLIC IS FEARFUL OF EQUITIES AND AS A RESULT THEY WANT TO GO WITH A MORE CERTAIN INCOME STREAM BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING YOU WANT TO GO WHERE THE LESS FAVORABLE ASSET IS."
COOPERMAN ON HOSTILE BIDS:
"CORPORATE AMERICA DOES NOT LAUNCH HOSTILE OR FRIENDLY BIDS FOR COMPANYS WHEN THEY SEE THEIR BUSINESS DETERIORATING OR THEY ARE PESSIMISTIC SO WHEN BHP BIDS 37 BILLION FOR POTASH WHEN 3PAR BIDS WITH A 2 WAY BIDDING CONTEST INTO IT INTEL THERE ARE A SERIES OF DEALS TAKING PLACE AT MATERIAL PREMIUMS TO THE LAST SALE AND I THINK THAT IS INDICATIVE OF THE FACT THAT THE ECONOMY IS GETTING BETTER SLOWLY, CORPORATIONS WANT REVENUE GROWTH."
About CNBC:
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.
Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.