First Buffett, now Bundchen become bearish on US dollar
NEW YORK - Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen is proving to be as savvy as professional investors hedging risks in the foreign-exchange market.
Bundchen, who Forbes magazine says earned an industry-best $33 million in the year through June, is making sure she is paid where she works, according to Patricia Bundchen, her twin sister and manager. Bundchen's website says of her advertising campaigns for 16 companies this year, nine are with ones in Europe, three are Brazilian, one is Turkish, and another is for part of a Japanese firm. Two are from the United States.
The 27-year-old model's currency prowess surfaced in the Sept. 12 issue of the 1 million-circulation Brazilian weekly Veja, which quoted Bundchen's preference to be paid in euros for representing Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co.'s Pantene hair products.
Bloomberg News has spoken to her manager and agent several times since then and was the source of worldwide media reports on Bundchen after an exclusive Nov. 5 story, "Supermodel Bundchen Joins Hedge Fund Managers Dumping Dollars," that showed the model's affinity with Warren Buffett and Bill Gross, both longtime bears on the dollar.
"It's false that she only takes euros," Patricia Bundchen said in a phone interview Nov. 7 from Brazil. "It's a Brazilian contract, in reais," she said of the Pantene contract.
That's turned out to be the better choice. The real has risen 21 percent against the dollar this year, while the euro gained 10.4 percent. The real is the best performer among the 26 emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg. 