What’s funnier than a hedge fund manager getting worked up over a garden hedge? Well, probably a lot of things. But in any case, James Chanos, head of short-selling hedge fund Kynikos Associates, is at war with his East Hampton neighbor Mark Spilker, managing director of Goldman Sachs, after the latter hired a work crew to tear down a hedge on Chanos’ property so he could widen his own path to the beach, according to an entry on the The New York Times’ financial news blog, DealBook.
This week, Chanos sent a scathing email to his East Hampton neighbor (he also cc’d a few of his Goldman colleagues for extra effect) voicing his outrage.
Once this bit of “news” hit the Internet, Spilker’s lawyer Christopher Kelley responded that Spilker has made "repeated attempts" to discuss the path project with Chanos. But that Chanos "has been unwilling to rationally discuss the situation."
Well, as they say, good fences make good neighbors. And you do have to wonder, why would anyone would need a beach path wider than four feet?