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"Dr. Gloom" Said the S&P Should Drop 50% After Obama's Re-Election. It Rallied 46% Instead.

Posted February 23, 2026

"I am surprised with the reelection of Mr. Obama. The S&P is only down like 30 points. I would have thought that the market on his reelection should be down at least 50%... I think Mr. Obama is a disaster for business and a disaster for the United States."

— Marc Faber, Publisher of "The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report"

November 7, 2012

What Actually Happened

The day after Barack Obama won re-election in 2012, Swiss investor Marc Faber — known as "Dr. Gloom" for his perpetually bearish outlook — went on Bloomberg TV and delivered this gem. He predicted the S&P 500 should crash 50%, and would "minimum" drop 20%. He also recommended viewers buy machine guns.

What actually happened? The S&P 500 closed 2012 up 16%. Then 2013 delivered a face-melting 32.4% gain — one of the best years in decades. By the time Obama's second term ended, the market had nearly tripled.

Faber's total miss: Instead of crashing to ~700 (his 50% target) or even 1,115 (his "minimum" 20% drop), the S&P rallied from 1,394 to over 2,000. The machine gun recommendation aged about as well as the stock call.

"Dr. Gloom" Said the S&P Should Drop 50% After Obama's Re-Election. It Rallied 46% Instead.

What Actually Happened

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