Billionaire Elon Musk pulled out of his very public Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) deal on July 9, 2022, and Twitter has since vowed legal action against the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO.
Plenty of speculation has been made as to the ‘Why’ behind the change of heart. Some claim it was related to the numerous open calls for Twitter to review how many of their users were real vs. bots. Others claim that it may have to do with Tesla’s own worth, or the NASDAQ in general, which is down more than 22% since his announcement of the plan to buy Twitter.
This writer’s belief is that Elon is simply taking his own advice. Elon was recently quoted as saying that a “recession is inevitable” and that it’s generally better to own physical things in troubling times. By that logic, it seems that Elon is preparing for the worst and that he may not be as in love with Twitter as we thought.
The news also comes after George Noble and the Belkin Report called for an ‘Everything Recession’, meaning that virtually no market is safe.
It’s always wise to model those you wish to be like, and if you wish to be a billionaire, or at least somebody that is money savvy and knows how to navigate a failing market, you may want to make similar moves to Musk, Bill Gates and a host of others by switching up your investment strategy for the foreseeable future.
So, what ‘physical things’ make sense to own?
Land: Real Estate typically appreciates. If you’ve been watching the housing market or are into conspiracy theories, you may feel the urge to get to buying. You can invest in REITs that can focus on specific industries or market segments as categorized real estate. You can also invest in something like Farmland, via Farmland Partners (NYSE:FPI).
This move would be modeling Bill Gates who has been using shell companies to eat up tons of farmland throughout America and is the largest land owner in the country. His most recent purchase was met with some hesitancy by the Grafton, ND locals. This is just one of a string of land purchases by the billionaire and alleged anthropologist.
Other investors are gaining access to this asset class through fractional ownership by purchasing shares of rental properties with as little as $100, or buying into non-listed real estate funds that aren’t nearly as vulnerable to stock market volatility as publicly-traded REITs.
Art: If you’d rather be like Jeff Bezos than Bill Gates, consider investing in Art. Contemporary art prices actually outpaced the S&P 500 by nearly three times from 1995 to 2020. Contemporary art has also appreciated faster than equities, REITs and even gold during periods of high inflation. At a time when so much of the market feels volatile, art provides a historically steady lane for those with enough patience.
Retail investors that don’t have an extra few million dollars lying around to participate in this market can buy shares of valuable works of art that are expected to appreciate in value.
Looking for ways to boost your returns? Check out Benzinga's coverage of Alternative investments:
- Investors Are Getting Into Real Estate By Purchasing Shares Of Rental Properties For As Little As $100
- Fine Wine Continues To Outperform The Stock Market - Burgundy Index Up 24% YTD
- Why Billionaires Like Jeff Bezos Invest Millions In Artwork And How Retail Investors Found A Way To Get In On The Action
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