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The octogenarian
corporate-raider-turned-hedge-fund-investor also mused about
politics, saying he has put his money on former Florida Governor
Jeb Bush. He complained about gridlock in Washington and called
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton a "loser."
At age 86, Pickens packed a ballroom at the annual SkyBridge
Alternatives Conference, or SALT, where hedge fund managers and
investors are meeting to talk markets and politics and later
held court for a group of journalists.
Talking about what he knows best, Pickens said the price of oil
would climb because demand has picked up anew, with worldwide
demand hovering around 1.5 million barrels a day, up from
660,000 barrels a day in 2014.
At the same time, oil inventories have peaked as fewer rigs are
pumping oil now in the United States.
Last year's unexpected decline in oil prices hurt many hedge
fund managers.
As Pickens was speaking, oil prices tumbled 3 percent on
Thursday as a resurgent dollar erased gains from the past two
sessions, setting the market up for its first weekly loss in
five. U.S. crude settled down $1.99, at $58.94 a barrel.
Turning to politics, Pickens clearly had a favorite candidate in
mind even as most hedge fund managers are still evaluating an
ever-growing field on the Republican side and Hillary Clinton,
who leads in the quest to capture the Democratic nomination.
"I'm backing Bush," Pickens said about former President George
W. Bush's younger brother Jeb. Pickens said he had donated
$100,000 to the campaign effort, although Bush has not yet
formally entered the race.
Asked what Bush's first priority should be if he should win the
White House, Pickens said "get that mess in the Middle East
straightened out."
Other prominent conference guests also weighed in on the 2016
race. David McCormick, President of hedge fund Bridgewater
Associates and a former Treasury Department official, said he
expects Bush to beat Clinton while Randal Quarles, managing
partner at Cynosure Group said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker would
beat Clinton.
A few guests, however, said Clinton could become the country's
first female president. William Daley, who had been chief of
staff to President Obama, predicted Clinton would beat Bush.
(Additional reporting by Barani Krishnan in New York; Editing by
Ken Wills)
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