When presented with the age old question — which is more worth it, the MBA or the CFA — Leon Cooperman, the famed CEO of Omega Advisors, didn't skip a beat.
"In my case, the MBA," he said.
Cooperman sat down with OneWire's Skiddy von Stade to talk about MBAs, his hobbies (which include cleaning out the pool), and giving to charity.
Cooperman explained that getting his MBA opened up new opportunities for him to advance from humble origins in the South Bronx, and a job at Xerox where he was earning $7,000 annually, to starting a career on Wall Street.
"During my last semester [at Columbia], I got a job with Goldman Sachs for $13,500 a year to start," he said. "So 16 months in school almost doubled my income, so the rate of return was enormous and it put me on a terrific growth path," he said.
Of course, Cooperman's trajectory to success didn't hinge completely on his MBA — but also a pure enjoyment of his work. It's pretty much his favorite thing to do.
"I'm a pretty boring guy in all honesty. I play golf about ten times a year. Nine holes is my maximum attention span," he said. "I consider it a collosal waste of time, but you know, it's social and I'm a member of two golf clubs."
Aside from that, Cooperman says he's into weekend walks with his older brother and maintaining his swimming pool as hobbies.
I "put chlorine in the skimmers and clean out the pool," he said.
It's a pretty great image of the 72-year-old billionaire carefully cleaning out his pool, no?
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