‘Bond King’ Bill Gross is about to make a killing on his stamp collection, but he thinks the market is due for a correction and is getting out

Jason MaBy Jason MaWeekend Editor
Jason MaWeekend Editor

    Jason Ma is the weekend editor at Fortune, where he covers markets, the economy, finance, and housing.

    Bill Gross sit in front of image of old stamps
    Bill Gross is pictured in 2018 next to an image of an 1847 George Washington 10-cent stamp that was sold in an auction.
    Paul Bersebach—Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images

    Legendary bond investor Bill Gross amassed a hoard of rare U.S. stamps that’s reputed to be the most complete collection ever—and he’s about to sell them off.

    On Friday and Saturday, the Robert A. Siegel auction house will put the stamps up for sale individually with estimates for the total haul at $15 million to $20 million, which would set a record for U.S. stamps.

    In a video teasing the auction, Siegel said “this collection promises to set a new high-water mark for stamp collecting when it crosses the auction block.”

    The star of the collection is a “Z Grill” stamp from 1868 that has a face value of one cent and is expected to fetch $4 million to $5 million, which also would also mark a new record for a U.S. stamp.

    But according to the Financial Times, Gross believes a correction is headed for the stamp market and is getting out.

    Whereas the stamp market used to have a “fundamental base of kids” to support it, “that doesn’t exist any more,” the cofounder of bond giant PIMCO told the FT.

    Gross has already sold $50 million in stamps in recent years, including a collection of U.K. postage that set a record, too, the report said.

    Meanwhile, he is still opining on financial markets in interviews, newsletters, and social media. Last month, he said the bond market would suffer more if Donald Trump returns to the White House than if Joe Biden is reelected.

    “Trump is the more bearish of the candidates simply because his programs advocate continued tax cuts and more expensive things,” Gross told the FT, later adding that “Trump’s election would be more disruptive.”

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