Kerkorian and Ford: The Gambler Takes a Hit.

In the last 24 hours, much has been made about Mr. Kerkorian selling Ford shares. Why? He is a big investor. Note I did not say a savvy investor, however. And I did not say a huge investor. This week he cut his owners hip from 6.43% to (gasp!) 6.09%. It represents a huge sum of money and he took a bath, but it does not mean he is selling anywhere near a majority stake in the company.

So what makes his exit from Ford a harbinger of doom? I have no idea. Remember this was the man who donned his cheer leading sweater and megaphone and pushed for the Chrysler / Daimler deal when he had a large stake in Chrysler. Then he bought into GM and pushed for GM to merge with Nissan/Renault. He failed to get the GM management to see his point of view and went into a huff and walked away. Now he is walking away from Ford, because....who knows? Clearly he is no success story when it comes to investing in Detroit - perhaps it is a good thing that he is walking away now so that Ford executives can keep their focus (pun intended).

Mr. Kerkorian made his millions in the gambling industry and he is now having to dig into that fortune in order to dig himself out of an automotive hole. There is a lesson for all of us in this: Stick to what you know unless you are willing to give yourself a very expensive education.