(Bloomberg) -- Neuberger Berman senior portfolio manager Steve Eisman was placed on a leave of absence after he posted remarks on social media indicating he was “celebrating” the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.
The leave is effective immediately, Alex Samuelson, a company spokesperson, said Friday. Eisman earlier deleted his account on X and apologized.
A user on the platform lamented that “the world is silent” about the devastation in Gaza, to which Eisman replied: “You must be kidding. We are not silent. We are celebrating.”
Eisman, who rose to fame betting against the US housing market, later wrote that the post was a “mistake” and that he had meant to comment on Israel’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“I posted about that multiple times, one time inadvertently in response to a post referencing deaths in Gaza and having nothing to do with Lebanon,” Eisman wrote. “When this was pointed out to me, I immediately deleted my post and I regret the mistake.”
Eisman didn’t reply to messages seeking comment.
“Mr. Eisman’s personal comments on social media are his alone, and he does not speak for Neuberger Berman,” the firm said Friday in a statement. “Even though Mr. Eisman has acknowledged that he mistook the content of the post he responded to, his actions on social media were irresponsible and objectionable.”
Eisman, 62, rose to fame as one of the “Big Short” fund managers who successfully bet against subprime mortgages before the 2008 financial crisis. On Thursday, in a Bloomberg Television interview, he rescinded an earlier prediction that Donald Trump would win the US presidential election in November, saying he now sees the race as “a toss-up.”
--With assistance from David Scheer.
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