Why has one of the most powerful men in the finance industry, a self-made billionaire, been trying so hard to keep a 23 year old PBS documentary out of circulation? That is the question that many have been asking over the years, especially in the past few weeks as the video has once again surfaced, and once again been squashed into obscurity by lawyers.
Filmed a year before the stock market crash of 1987, the documentaries "Trader" features a 32-year old Paul Tudor Jones II. In the film, Jones correctly predicts the crash saying, "There will be some type of a decline, without a question, in the next 10, 20 months," he says in his rich Memphis drawl. "And it will be earth-shaking; it will be saber-rattling." Jones proved right, netting his investors over 200% after Black Monday.
VHS copies of the documentaries have sold on eBay for thousands of dollars. According to legend, Jones bought up all the copies that he could in the early 1990's as he felt that the film gave away too much information on him and his trading style. The film's director, Michael Glyn, even acknowledges that Jones requested that the documentary be removed from circulation.
This saga became more interesting in late July of this year, as the video surfaced on YouTube. It's public viewing was limited however, as YouTube soon removed it due to alleged copyright violation. The video was uploaded by "doctationsmarketing", and the official reason for its removal was a copyright claim from the film's director, Michael Glyn. With a little work, the film can still be found online, but unfortunately it's not as easy as simply viewing on YouTube!