'It was scary and thrilling': Barbra Streisand's stock market gambling
Barbra Streisand once had an obsession with gambling on the stock market but gave it up after losing her nerve "in the 2008 financial meltdown".
Barbra Streisand once had an obsession with gambling on the stock market.
The 81-year-old actress and singer revealed buying and selling stocks gave her a "thrill" between 1998 and 2000 as she traded millions of dollars, including investing in Viagra maker Pfizer.
According to the Mirror, she wrote in her memoir 'My Name Is Barbra': "From about 1998 to 2000, I was trading Monday through Friday, from 6.30am to 1pm. At 6.25am my eyes would open wide, without an alarm.
"I'd get up, throw on my bathrobe, sit down at my new desk with a cup of hot chocolate, and start trading. That was a whole new learning experience. I like gambling. Whenever I sang in Las Vegas, I would play blackjack."
Barbra revealed her methods of picking new stocks were unusual, based on personal preferences rather than in depth research.
She said: "I had to follow the news and pick stocks. I read about this new drug for men called Viagra and thought, 'That’s going to be very popular!' It was made by Pfizer, so I immediately bought some shares.'
"I chose Apple because I liked their products. [My PA] Renata loves Starbucks coffee, so I bought Starbucks.
"One time I picked a stock because it had my initials. It was fun. I was riding the momentum of the market like a rollercoaster, and it was scary and thrilling at the same time."
Although she loved her time trading, Barbra revealed she eventually quit because it became too stressful.
She wrote: "The main reason I loved it was because it was private. I didn't have to act or sing. Nobody was looking at me. I could do all my transactions over the phone, in my nightgown.
"I'm no longer playing with such big sums. After being burned several times (I lost my shirt, my dress, and my nerve in the 2008 financial meltdown), I decided to stick to bonds."
