Billionaire John Paulson is Selling These 6 Stocks

Published September 21, 2022 at 9:17 am EDT Updated September 7, 2026 at 2:27 pm EDT

In this article, we present the list of the top 6 stocks billionaire John Paulson is selling off.

American billionaire hedge fund manager John Alfred Paulson is the CEO of Paulson & Co., an investment management company he established in New York in 1994. When the credit bubble peaked in 2007, John Paulson made his fortune betting against subprime mortgages.

In July 2020, Reuters reported that John Paulson had decided to quit managing money for external customers and converted his company into a family office. He now joins a number of well-known fund managers, including Carl Icahn, George Soros, and Stanley Druckenmiller, who have all returned outsiders’ money and released themselves from the demands of sending quarterly client letters, explaining complex positions to clients, and remaining tethered to the office. Forbes estimates that Paulson is worth $3 billion as of September 16.

On August 12 last year, in an interview with David Rubenstein of Bloomberg Wealth, Paulson called cryptocurrencies a bubble. In the interview, Paulson termed gold as a good hedge against inflation. Surprisingly enough, Paulson dumped SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) completely during Q2 when the US inflation rate was one of the highest, touching its four-decade high of a 9.1%. In the same interview, he was asked about the best investment idea if one wants to invest $100,000. His answer was to buy their own home. According to Paulson, if you take that $100,000, pay 10% down, and secure a $900,000 mortgage, you can purchase a home for $1 million. Home prices increased by 20% in July 2022, according to a report. Therefore, if you put $100,000 down to buy a home for $1 million and it went up 20%, you would have made $200,000 on your $100,000 investment. The house will increase in value and the return on your equity investment will increase the longer you wait.

Paulson & Co. Investors’ Portfolio

John Paulson’s 13F portfolio value decreased from $3.25 billion to $2.03 billion in the second quarter. For the portfolio date of 2022-06-30, Paulson & Co. disclosed 32 total holdings in their most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The top three positions are at 43% of the portfolio. The hedge fund has a top 10 holdings concentration of 78.64%, with the health care sector comprising 36.52% of the portfolio. Paulson & Co.’s largest holding is Horizon Therapeutics PLC (NASDAQ:HZNP), with shares held of 6.19 million.

Some of the notable holdings of Paulson as of the end of the second quarter include Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY), Bausch Health Companies Inc (NYSE:BHC) and Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE:GOLD).

Billionaire John Paulson is Selling These 6 Stocks

Our Methodology

For this study, we used John Paulson’s Paulson & Co. Q2 2022 portfolio. We picked the stocks that Paulson’s fund entirely exited during the three-month period ending June 30.

Billionaire John Paulson is Selling These 6 Stocks

06. VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSEArca:OIH)

VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSE:OIH) is a 100% oilfield service exchange-traded fund. Over the next five years, it is anticipated that the demand for oil and gas will either stay the same or increase. The drilling and completion of new wells are required to maintain production levels as the existing reservoirs’ productivity is on a decline. Drill rig counts are rebounding, which suggests that energy producers are spending more money on new wells, leading to rising oilfield services income. VanEck Oil Services ETF is a great bet on recovering oilfield services.

VanEck Oil Services ETF has gained 16% in value as compared to the S&P500 return of -19% year to date. Paulson & Co. initiated its stake in VanEck Oil Services ETF during Q2, 2021, by purchasing 220,000 of its shares worth roughly $48.165 million. Before dumping its complete stake during the most recent quarter, Paulson & Co. held 165,000 shares of VanEck Oil Services ETF, valued at $46.621 million.

05. TIM S.A. (NYSE:TIMB)

A telecommunications business called TIM S.A. (NYSE:TIMB) offers broadband internet access, value-added services, mobile phone and data services, as well as other telecommunications services and products in Brazil. In addition to providing corporate solutions for small, medium, and large businesses, the organization also provides services for individuals. It had 52.6 million subscribers as of December 31, 2021. The corporation has its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On June 30, TIM S.A. price target was increased to $17 from $16 by Barclays analyst Mathieu Robilliard who maintained an Overweight rating on the stock. Paulson & Co. initially acquired 1.001 million shares of TIM S.A. during Q4, 2020, valued at $13.937 million. Before exiting its position during the current quarter, Paulson & Co. held 961,455 shares of TIM S.A. in the previous quarter, worth roughly $13.941 million.

04. SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD)

SPDR Gold Shares is a US-based SPDR family of exchange-traded funds that currently has a $57.7 billion market capitalization. SPDR Gold Trust is launched and managed by World Gold Trust Services. It provides investors with a cutting-edge, comparatively inexpensive, and safe means of gaining access to the gold market. The largest physically backed gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the world is SPDR Gold Shares, which debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in November 2004 and is now traded on NYSEArca since December 13, 2007.

Paulson & Co. initiated its stake for the first time in SPDR Gold Shares during Q4, 2010. It purchased 31.5 million shares of SPDR Gold Shares valued at $4.36 billion. Paulson & Co. held 1 million shares of SPDR Gold Shares in the previous quarter, worth roughly $180.65 million. However, it completely exited its position in SPDR Gold Shares during Q2.

Even though Paulson sold GLD in Q2, he owns several gold and mining stocks. Some notable defensive names in his portfolio include Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Bausch Health Companies Inc and Barrick Gold Corp.

Kinsman Oak Equity Fund, in its Q1 2021 investor letter, mentioned SPDR Gold Shares, and shared its insights on the company. Here is what the fund said:

“SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) – Closed Long Position

We initiated a position in GLD last summer to hedge against potential currency debasement. Our long-term thesis hasn’t changed much since then. The United States continues to run enormous fiscal deficits and we believe the Fed will eventually have to choose between the dollar and the stock market.

We chose to close our GLD position for two reasons. First, gold is inversely correlated to real yields in the short run and behaves like a long duration asset in that regard (Appendix E). The precious metal is correlated to M2 money supply growth only over long periods of time. Second, we are exploring more asymmetric and creative ways to profit from debasement rather than owning the physical metal.”

03. People’s United Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT)

People’s United Financial, Inc. was serving as the holding company for People’s United Bank. It used to provide wealth management, retail banking, and commercial banking to customers who are individuals, businesses, and municipalities. On April 2, M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB) completed the acquisition of People’s United Financial Inc. (PBCT). The deal was valued at $8.3 billion. People’s United Financial, Inc. common stock no longer trades on the NASDAQ after Friday, April 1, 2022.

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T Bank, the main banking division of M&T, offers banking services and products in 12 states in the northeastern United States, from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Paulson & Co. held 25,000 shares of People’s United Financial, Inc. in the previous quarter, valued at $500,000.

02. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), a natural gas company headquartered in Irving, Texas, was established in 1999. Paulson sold all of its stake in Exxon Mobil Corporation during Q2, comprising 1 million shares valued at $82.590 million.

On September 12, Ryan Todd, an analyst at Piper Sandler, cut his price target for Exxon Mobil Corporation from $109 to $108 while maintaining an Overweight rating for the stock. The analyst maintains a positive outlook for integrated oils, stating that near-record distillate margins are still expected to boost refining forecasts over the winter and into an “equally tight” 2023. Todd finds no shift in strategic priorities across his upstream coverage, despite some upside risk to upstream cost inflation.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, First Eagle Investments Global Fund mentioned Exxon Mobil Corporation and explained its insights for the company. Here is what the fund said:

“Integrated oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil performed well in the second quarter as continued high prices for energy products supported the stock. As the largest refiner in the US, the company has benefitted from wide “crack spreads,” or the margin between the cost of crude oil and the petroleum products extracted from it. Exxon continues to invest in refining capacity in the US, which industrywide has been in steady decline since 2019. We are pleased that Exxon has been using its strong cash flows to reduce debt and to return cash to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases.”

01. DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDIY)

Founded in 2012, DiDi Global Inc. (NYSE:DIDI) is a Beijing, China-based mobility technology platform with a $16.4 billion market capitalization. DiDi Global Inc. provides ride-hailing and other services in the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, Mexico, and internationally. Paulson & Co. dumped its entire stake in DiDi Global Inc. during Q2, comprising of 33.148 million shares valued at $82.871 million.

According to Bloomberg, on July 21, after concluding a year-long investigation into the company, China’s cybersecurity authority fined DiDi Global Inc. a hefty $1.2 billion, but the method used to determine the sum has generated controversy in the market. Analysts think that before the business can proceed with its Hong Kong IPO plan, it must first use internal resources to pay down the punishment. Investors are cautious about the company’s future because of the stringent regulatory guidelines.

In a more recent development, Apple discreetly resigned from the board six years after making a $1 billion investment in DiDi Global Inc.. Uber China was acquired by Didi Global in July 2019 for $1 billion, and Apple invested the same sum in the business later that year. Adrian Perica, Apple’s vice president of corporate development, was appointed to the Didi board as a result of that agreement. Bloomberg reports that Perica has resigned from the board and that no other Apple executive appears to have taken Perica’s place. Despite the fact that the information was only recently made public, Perica actually left the board on August 4, 2022.

In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Horos Asset Management mentioned DiDi Global Inc. and explained its insights for the company. Here is what the fund said:

“Didi Global (the so-called Chinese Uber) recently announced that on May 23 it will vote at an Extraordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting on whether the company will continue to be listed on the U.S. stock exchange. In addition, it communicated that, although it is considering alternatives, it has no plans to list on other markets before its shares are delisted in the United States. Investor reaction was swift, with the company’s share price tanking by around 20% in a single day.

In the case of Didi Global, the accusation by the Cyberspace Administration of China that its IPO was conducted without completing a state data security audit is having an even greater impact. This has led to significant pressure from the government, cancelling many of the company’s mobile apps and hurting its business. All in all, Didi Global has collapsed by 87% since its IPO just under a year ago. Although some media commented that Didi Global would possibly recover these apps once it was delisted in the United States, it seems that the Chinese government is not very happy with the fines that were agreed between the company and the CAC, which may explain the delay in its potential listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This is certainly a clear indication of the extent to which China is willing to preserve certain information from the scrutiny of the United States.”

You can also take a look at 10 Blue Chip Dividend Stocks to Buy After the Market Selloff and 10 Monthly Dividend Stocks with Highest Yields

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