Hall-of-Fame golfer Phil Mickelson has been named by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) as being involved with insider trading, in connection to a Dean Foods position he allegedly took after receiving a text message from gambler William “Billy” Walters, who in turn received a tip from former Dean Foods chairman Thomas Davis.
If we’ve learned anything from the show Billions, it’s that our sex life can get pretty weird as we get older and that you can’t go making trades based on information you obtain that others don’t have. The specific term is “material nonpublic information,” and that’s a no no.
Update: Phil’s attorney has announced that his client will return the money he earned. It was also reported earlier that Phil had been charged, but now the SEC has announced he is being sued instead.
The more we read about this story, the more it becomes apparent that the real goal of this investigation is to lock down Billy Walters, a man who has evaded the government for decades–betting (and winning) more money than statistically possible.
What Happened?
All we can report on is what’s alleged to have happened. So here it goes:
According to the SEC, former Dean Foods chairman Thomas Davis owed gambler Billy Walters a ton of money. In order to pay off that debt, Davis provided Billy with some inside information on earnings results, the future outlook, the spin-off of Dean Foods’ Whitewave-Alpro.
In turn, Phil Mickelson also owed Billy a large sum of money. The SEC alleges that Billy called and texted Phil, after which Phil turned around and bought $2.4 million of Dean Foods stock between three separate accounts.
How Much Money Was Involved?
As we stated before, Phil Mickelson bought $2.4 million of Dean Foods stock. But that’s chump change for a golfer who’s earned $80 million throughout his lifetime right? Unfortunately, Phil wasn’t an involved investor. His other holdings in the market came out to a whopping $250K.
So when Phil invested 10x the amount of money he currently had in the market, that sent some smoke signals to the SEC.
Phil is believed to have made $931K from the trade.
Who Is Billy Walters?
ESPN
Billy Walters is a legend among sports bettors, a 68-year-old man who ESPN claims “is thought to have bet more money more successfully than anyone in history, earning hundreds of millions of dollars.” What makes him so particularly interesting is that he wins everywhere–the stock market, horse racing, real estate, and sports gambling.
Hell, he’s even avoided criminal proceedings. Until now. This new case against Billy seems to be particularly sticky.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6FAUQ6SFKM&w=656]
Back in 2011, Billy spoke to 60 Minutes. If you want to feel like a worthless POS, do yourself a favor and watch it. He talks about winning $400K on one hole, and upwards of $1M on a round of golf.
Not too bad for someone who grew up in the hills of Kentucky.
