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August 29, 2014 En route to the United States Pop quiz: What do actor Jet Li, opera singer Maria Callas, writer T.S. Eliot, financier John Templeton, actress Elizabeth Taylor, and Queen Noor of Jordan all have in common? They are all former US citizens who went through the formal process of relinquishing or
August 28, 2014 Bangkok, Thailand For many people, where we are born has a tremendous impact on our lives. For example, being born in certain countries might mean that we are obliged to serve in the military, or go fight and die in some foreign war. In others, it might mean that we
August 26, 2014 Shanghai, China A few days ago I had a conversation with the Chief Operating Officer for our agricultural fund in Chile. We were discussing water, and he told me that roughly 60% of California right now is suffering “extreme drought” conditions. 30% of the state is in “severe drought”. And
August 26, 2014 London, England [Editor’s note: This missive was penned by Tim Price of PFP Wealth Management in the UK, a frequent contributor to Sovereign Man] Few films have managed to convey the feeling of approaching menace more effectively than Jeff Nichols’ 2011 drama, ‘Take Shelter’. Its blue collar protagonist, Curtis LaForche,
August 25, 2014 Shanghai, China I was sitting on the plane waiting for take off when the captain came on and uttered words you never want to hear in aviation: “Ladies and Gentlemen, I have some bad news.” It turned out that a German construction crew had dug up some WWII-era unexploded ordnance,
August 23, 2014 En route to Shanghai Only hours ago the US government announced that a Chinese fighter jet had intercepted an American military patrol plane over international waters east of China’s Hainan Island. A Pentagon spokesman called China’s actions “unsafe and unprofessional”, and blasted such unprovoked aggression. There was no mention as
August 22, 2014 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia This one is almost too sensational to be real. Almost. I’ve written to you before about the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), an agency of the US Treasury Department that chases around people they suspect of committing financial crimes. Unfortunately, their definition of ‘financial crime’ is not
August 21, 2014 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia By the late 1920s, Joseph Stalin became the unchallenged leader of the Soviet Union after having eliminated his opposition. He topped it off in 1929 by serving a decisive blow to anyone that would dare to oppose him by outlawing private gun ownership in the country. From
August 20, 2014 Frankfurt, Germany Sometimes I am convinced it was completely by design, and not a weird little coincidence, that one of Germany’s most sprawling red light districts is just steps away from the European Central Bank. This fact becomes comically obvious right around happy hour… as self-congratulatory ECB economists and their
August 19, 2014 Rome, Italy Imagine yourself hanging off a cliff, clutching to a single rope. There you are, dangling over the abyss, completely dependent on the strength of that rope. The rope could fray or it could be cut, and there you would go, tumbling straight down. So to be safe, you
August 18, 2014 Spoleto, Italy The sniper took a breath in as he put the fleeing form of Peter Fechter into the crosshairs of his rifle. As he exhaled, he squeezed the trigger, landing his bullet squarely in the young boy’s back. Watching Peter’s body fall, he mentally congratulated himself on what he’d
August 15, 2014 Spoleto, Italy Back in March serious allegations came out of the Senate that the CIA was monitoring and even hacking Senate computers. They were denied vehemently at the time by CIA director John Brennan, who went so far as to say “that’s just beyond the scope of reason.” Unsurprisingly, of
August 14, 2014 Spoleto, Italy Remember in the first Bourne movie when Jason wakes up after being rescued from the Mediterranean Sea? Suffering from amnesia he doesn’t remember who he is, or what had happened to him. The only clue he has is a tiny surgically implanted projector that displays a safe deposit
August 13, 2014 Spoleto, Italy For hundreds of years the Byzantine Empire coined the most popular reserve currency in the history of the world. Merchants all over Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and further, used it in trade for centuries. It was called the solidus, and was introduced by Constantine I in
August 12, 2014 Spoleto, Italy If you’ve been a reader of Sovereign Man for any length of time you’ve probably read about our annual youth camp. Each summer, we bring students from all over the world to a beautiful lakeside resort in Lithuania where my colleagues and I coach them about liberty, investing,
