Mark Spitznagel - Personal Life

Personal Life

Spitznagel keeps homes in Los Angeles's East Gate Bel Air neighborhood) and in Northport, Michigan, where he owns a Lake Michigan compound and large 150-year-old farm estate (Idyll Farms, a producer of artisanal chèvre).

According to Malcolm Gladwell (in The New Yorker and What the Dog Saw), “Spitznagel is blond and from the Midwest and does yoga. He exudes a certain laconic levelheadedness,” and (quoting Nassim Taleb) “wants to be like (Austrian conductor) von Karajan. Technically superior to the rest of us. No chitchatting. Top skier. That's Mark!” Bloomberg described Spitznagel honing his investing discipline with weekly training in Chinese Chen-style taijiquan, dodging oncoming taxicabs while skateboarding in New York City's Central Park, and piloting engineless sailplanes over California’s Sierra Nevada mountains (which he since gave up for his instrument-rated pilot's license). Forbes described the “unruffled”, loafered Spitznagel as looking “better prepared for a yacht race than for doomsday.”

Bloomberg reported in 2011 that Spitznagel seeded his family office (Dao Holdings) with $100 million.