And we’re not joking. UK paper The Mirror has led with a serious financial story today laying the blame for the worldwide recession at the door of the Jean Genie/the Thin White Duke/Ziggy Stardust/Jared The Goblin King From Labrynth (delete as to your favorite Bowie phase). Apparently, David Bowie invented something called “securitisation” back in 1997, where he produced bonds so investors could earn his royalties over the years, in exchange for him having all the cash up front.
“And the banks were catching on to the idea. They thought, ‘We have billions out there in mortgages which are going to pay us back very slowly. Why don’t we sell those and get the money now?’ So the banks started doing what Bowie had done — in a big way,” writes the paper.
Fast forward a decade or so and we’re all in a big pile of economic crap now. Thanks, Dave. Next week we explain why Mick Jagger invented the Internet and why Bono is actually responsible for world poverty. Hey, it could happen… [Photo: Getty Images]
