Look up Peter or peter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Peter may refer to:

People[link]

Given name[link]

Religion[link]

• Saint Peter (died 68), Jesus' disciple
• Peter the Deacon (died 605), a confidant of Pope Gregory I and rector of Sicily
• Peter (Bishop of Pavia) (died 735), saint and Bishop of Pavia
• Peter of Anagni (died 1105), saint and Bishop Of Anagni
• Peter, bishop of Zaragoza (Spain) in 1112
• Peter the Deacon (chronicler) (died c.1140), "the Librarian" (Bibliothecarius)
• Peter of Tarentaise (1102–1174), Archbishop of Tarentaise and saint
• Peter Pareuzi (died 1199), Papal legate, martyr and saint
• Peter, a companion in martyrdom of Berard of Carbio (died 1220)
• Saint Peter of Verona (1206–1252), also known as Peter Martyr
• Peter of Auvergne (died after 1310), scholastic philosopher
• Saint Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow (died 1326)
• Peter of Aquila (died 1361), Italian Franciscan theologian and bishop
• Peter of Bergamo (died 1482), Dominican theologian
• Saint Peter the Aleut (died 1815?), Eastern Orthodox Christian martyr in California
• Pope Peter II, one of several 20th century antipopes

Other persons[link]

• Nice Peter, a YouTube celebrity
• Peter (usurper) (6th century), Roman general
• Peter the Patrician, Byzantine minister and diplomat
• Peter (curopalates) (died 602), Byzantine general and brother of Emperor Maurice
• Peter (floruit 926), Roman consul
• Peter Phokas, Byzantine eunuch general
• Peter I of Bulgaria (died 970), emperor of Bulgaria
• Peter, Duke of the Romans (11th century), Roman consul
• Peter of Maricourt, or Peter Peregrinus (13th century), writer on magnetism and astrolabes
• Peter I of Russia, or Peter the Great (1672–1725), the first Russian emperor
• Peter (actor) (born 1952), the stage name of Shinnosuke Ikehata, a Japanese dancer and actor who appeared in Akira Kurosawa's Ran
• Peter Aerts, a Dutch kickboxer
• Peter Asch, an American water polo player
• Péter Bakonyi (fencer born 1938), a Hungarian saber fencer
• Peter Carter (disambiguation)
• Peter Chandler (disambiguation)
• Peter J. Fos, university administrator
• Peter Revson, an American Formula One racecar driver
• Peter Stone (disambiguation)

Surname[link]

Fictional characters[link]

• Peter Pan, a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie
• Peter Pevensie, a character in the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
• Peter Griffin, the protagonist of the television show Family Guy
• Peter Stone (Degrassi character), a character from Degrassi: The Next Generation
• Peter Parker, the secret identity of Spider-Man
• Peter Solomon, a character in the novel by Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol
• Peter Bishop, a fictional character on the Fox television series Fringe, portrayed by Joshua Jackson
• Peter Lattimer, a fictional character on the US television series Warehouse 13, portrayed by Eddie McClintock
• Peter Petrelli, a fictional character on the NBC television series Heroes, portrayed by Milo Ventimiglia

Other uses[link]

• "Peter" (Fringe), an episode of the television series Fringe
• "Peter" (short story), a 1892 short story by Willa Cather
• Peter (album), a 1993 EP by Canadian band Eric's Trip
• Peter, the Lord's cat, a cat who lived at Lord's Cricket Ground in London
• The Peter, or Peter Pomegranate, medieval warship

See also[link]

• Pete (disambiguation)
• Peters (disambiguation)
• Pierre (disambiguation)
• Petrus (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with Peter, including many people with forename Peter

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Peter Griffin is a fictional character and protagonist of the animated comedy series Family Guy. He is voiced by cartoonist Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family in the 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Peter was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on Larry and Steve, a short made by MacFarlane which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the pilot was given the green light, The Griffin family appeared on the episode "Death Has a Shadow".

Peter is married to Lois Pewterschmidt and is the father of Meg, Chris and Stewie; he also has a dog named Brian. He has worked at a toy factory and at Quahog's Brewery. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences.

Peter's voice was inspired by a janitor that MacFarlane heard at his school. His appearance was a redesign of the protagonist Larry from MacFarlane's previous animated short films, The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve. The Peter Griffin character has received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. He has appeared in several pieces of Family Guy merchandise, including toys, t-shirts and a video game, and has made crossover appearances in other shows, including The Simpsons, South Park, American Dad and the Family Guy spin-off The Cleveland Show.

[edit] Role in Family Guy

Peter Griffin is an overweight Irish American , blue collar worker with a prominent Rhode Island and Eastern Massachusetts accent.^[1] He's the husband of Lois and the father of Meg, Chris and Stewie. He is the son of Thelma Griffin and Mickey McFinnigan, and is the step-son of Francis Griffin. Peter and the rest of the Griffins live in the fictional town of Quahog, Rhode Island which is modeled after Cranston, Rhode Island.^[2][3][4] Peter primarily worked as a safety inspector at the Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory, until his boss Jonathan Weed choked to death on a dinner roll; he then became a fisherman on his own boat, known as the "S.S. More Powerful than Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and The Incredible Hulk Put Together", with the help of two Portuguese immigrants, Santos and Pasqual, until his boat was destroyed.^[5][6] He now works in the shipping department of the Pawtucket Patriot brewery.^[7][8] Peter is also shown in various jobs for single episodes and cutaway gags. In a running gag, storylines are randomly interrupted by extremely long, unexpected fights between Peter and Ernie the Giant Chicken, an anthropomorphic chicken who serves as a rival to Peter.^[9] These battles parody the action film genre, with explosions, high-speed chases and immense devastation to the town of Quahog.^[10]

Character[link]

Series creator Seth MacFarlane based Peter's voice on the voices of security guards and maintenance he had heard talking, while attending the Rhode Island School of Design.

Creation[link]

When he was still in college, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane created a cartoon short called The Life of Larry.^[11] The short centered on a middle-aged man named Larry and his anthropomorphic dog Steve.^[12] He made a sequel called Larry & Steve, which Cartoon Network broadcast in 1997.^[13] In 1999, MacFarlane was working for Hanna-Barbara Studios, writing for shows such as Johnny Bravo, Dexter's Laboratory, and Cow and Chicken.^[14] The short caught the eye of 20th Century Fox representatives, who asked him to create a TV series revolving around the characters.^[12] MacFarlane received a US$50,000 budget to develop a pilot for the show, which was about one twentieth of what most pilots cost.^[14] MacFarlane claims to have drawn inspiration from several sitcoms, namely The Simpsons and All in the Family.^[15] Several premises were also carried over from several 1980s Saturday morning cartoons he watched as a child, namely The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, and Rubik, the Amazing Cube.^[16]

In three months, MacFarlane created the Griffin family and developed a pilot for the show he called Family Guy.^[17] Brian's character was largely based on Steve from the Larry and Steve cartoon, with Larry serving as the primary basis of the Peter character.^[18] The character's personality was also partially inspired by a friend of his father who rudely fell asleep while watching the 1993 film Philadelphia.^[19] The network executives were impressed with the pilot and ordered thirteen episodes, giving MacFarlane a 2 million dollar per-season contract.^[17]

In "Peter's Two Dads", it is revealed that Peter's biological father is an Irishman named Mickey, which is based on the heritage of MacFarlane's biological father.^[12] MacFarlane said, "When I was growing up, my father had lots of friends: big, vocal, opinionated New England, Irish Catholics. They were all bursting at the seams with personality, and Family Guy came out of a lot of those archetypes that I spent years observing."^[12]

Voice[link]

The voice of Peter is provided by the show's creator MacFarlane who also provides the voice for Brian, Stewie and Quagmire, MacFarlane also provides the voices for various other recurring and one-time only characters, most prominently those of news anchor Tom Tucker, Lois' father Carter Pewterschmidt, and Dr. Hartman.^[21] MacFarlane has been part of the main voice cast from the beginning of the series including the pilot, as well he has been voicing Peter from the start.^[22] MacFarlane chose to voice Peter and the rest of characters voices himself, believing it would be easier to portray the voices he already envisioned than for someone else to attempt it.^[16] MacFarlane´s speaking voice is not very close to Peter´s as his normal voice is used to voice Brian.^[16] MacFarlane drew inspiration for the voice of Peter from a security guard he overheard talking while he was attending the Rhode Island School of Design.^[23] Macfarlane also voices many of Peter´s ancestors which share the same type of voice.^[22] He noted in an interview that the reason that he voices Peter and the rest of the characters is partly because they initially had a small budget, but also that he prefers to have the freedom to do it himself.^[20] In another interview he mentioned that Peter's voice is one of the most difficult to do.^[15]

There have been several occasions were MacFarlane does not voice Peter. In the episode "No Meals on Wheels", (season 5, 2007) actor Patrick Stewart voiced Peter.^[24] In the episode "Family Gay", (season 7, 2009) Seth Rogen provided a guest-voice as Peter under the effects of the "Seth Rogen gene".^[25] In "Road to the Multiverse", (season 8, 2009) he was voiced by Japanese actor Jameson Yang, who was required for a scene where everything in the world was Japanese.^[26]

Personality[link]

Peter, a stereotypical blue-collar worker,^[27] frequently gets drunk with his neighbors Cleveland, Joe and Quagmire at "The Drunken Clam," Quahog's local tavern.^[28] After taking an I.Q. test, Peter discovered his low intellect falls slightly below the level for mental retardation.^[29] Peter is known for his brash impulsiveness, which has led to several awkward situations,^[30] such as attempting to molest Meg in order to adopt a redneck lifestyle.^[31] He is incredibly jealous of other attractions Lois has in her life, an attitude which has led to extreme situations, such as when he assaulted a whale that kissed Lois at SeaWorld.^[32] In the third season episode "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", Peter and Lois split up because of Peter's jealousy, only to discover that Lois has the same character flaw and the two decide to live with their mutually jealous nature.^[32] Peter has a very short attention span which frequently leads him to bizarre situations, as Chris points out in "Long John Peter", after Peter's parrot dies "He will get over it pretty quickly and then move on to another wacky thing", to which Peter finds a pipe organ and forgets about his parrot (Peter then destroys the pipe organ within seconds and then finds the deed to a cattle ranch).^[33]

Peter has a complex relationships with all three of his children. He normally makes fun of Meg and treats her badly. In "FOX-y Lady", (season 7, 2009) were Peter, Meg and Chris try to create a cartoon and they exclude Meg and her ideas.^[34] Though in some episodes Peter has had a good relationship with Meg, in Hell Comes to Quahog, (season 5, 2006) Peter almost tell Meg he loves her and in Road to Rupert, (season 5, 2007) he told Meg that he would treat her badly in front of the family, but that he would be her friend in secret.^[35][36] Peter communicates and has a much better relationship with Stewie. Peter and Stewie had their adventures when he took him to Walt Disney World Resort in the episode "The Courtship of Stewie's Father", (season 4, 2006).^[37] With Chris, Peter communicates well, but at times when in need of advice or in an adventure Peter tells Chris to do the opposite of what he should do, like in "Long John Peter", (season 7, 2008) where Chris is asking for advice on dating and Peter tells him to treat women horribly.^[38]

Ancestry[link]

Before Peter was born, his mother Thelma went to Mexico to have an abortion.^[39] However, she gave birth during the procedure, and smuggled him home to Providence, Rhode Island, where he spent his childhood.^[39][40] Peter was raised by Francis and Thelma Griffin in the Roman Catholic faith.^[41] However, in "Peter's Two Dads", he discovers that his biological father is an named Mickey McFinnigan.^[42] Peter visits McFinnegan, who neglects him at first, yet eventually accepts him as his son after beating him in the "game of drink". The game of drink referring to matching shots until one passes out.^[42] Peter has also referred to a large number of ancestors throughout the series, stating, "the Griffin family history is a rich tapestry".^[43] Famous ancestors of Peter include Moses Griffin, who led the Jews out of Egypt; Willie "Black-Eye" Griffin, Peter's great-grandfather, a 1920s silent film star; and Peter Hitler, the flamboyant brother of Adolf Hitler. Peter's ancestor Nate Griffin, an African American slave from Virginia, was owned by Lois' ancestors. He fell in love with their daughter, and secretly raised a family with her. Nate's family was eventually discovered and they escaped.^[43]

Reception[link]

Commendations[link]

Editors of Variety put Family Guy in their contenders for the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series; they stated that, depending on your sense of humor, Peter is either " a comedy genius" or "an obnoxious idiot".^[45] MacFarlane has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Voice-Over Performance category in 2009 for voicing Peter.^[46] He was also nominated in 2008, for an Annie Award in the Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for voicing Peter.^[47] Peter has ranked in several of IGN's top 10s (generally these list are related to the show).^[48][49] Among these lists Peter ranked the third spot on IGN's "Top 25 Family Guy Characters", in the list it was stated that many of the shows best gags come from Peter and his shenanigans and that "Peter practically invented the "manatee joke".^[44] Entertainment Weekly placed Peter in their "18 Bad TV Dads" list (the list also included characters like Homer Simpson and Al Bundy).^[50]

Criticism and controversy[link]

Peter has been criticized for being similar to Homer Simpson. Peter has appeared in some episodes of The Simpsons, in these episodes which he has been featured he has been depicted as a Homer Simpson's clone or is accused of plagiarism. Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly stated that Peter is Homer Simpson "as conceived by a singularly sophomoric mind that lacks any reference point beyond other TV shows".^[51] Robin Pierson from the TV Critic criticized the Griffin family for being too similar to the Simpson family; and he said that Peter "has Homer Simpson written all over him".^[52]

Peter has created controversy in various episodes of Family Guy. In the episode The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire, (season 4, 2005) featured a sequence titled "You Have AIDS", in which Peter Griffin dances and sings in a barbershop quartet fashion around the bed of a man with end-stage AIDS about his diagnosis, this drew protests from several AIDS service organizations.^[53] In "The Son Also Draws", (season 1, 1999) Peter states that "Canada sucks" as part of the ending joke of the episode; the statement resulted in the producers receiving hate mail from Canadian viewers of the show.^[5] In the episode "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", (season 3, 2000) Peter sings a parody song of "When You Wish upon a Star", entitled "I Need a Jew"; on October 3, 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers filed a lawsuit accusing the show of infringing its copyright on the original song; Bourne Co., the sole United States copyright owner of the song, alleged the parody pairs a "thinly veiled" copy of their music with antisemitic lyrics.^[54]

Cultural influence[link]

Appearances in the media[link]

Peter has had several television appearances outside Family Guy, often in the form of direct parody. Peter has appeared in two episodes of The Simpsons, referencing how the two shows are frequently compared to each other. In the fourteenth season episode "Treehouse of Horror XIII", Peter is depicted as one of Homer Simpson's clones,^[55] and in the seventeenth season episode, "The Italian Bob", a photo of Peter is in a book of criminals, which says he is wanted for "plagiarismo".^[56] Peter also appeared in various episodes of the show's spin-off The Cleveland Show.^[57] In addition, Peter has appeared at the end of the American Dad! episode "Hurricane!" with guns on both Stan Smith and former neighbor Cleveland Brown. During the stand-off, Francine is accidentally shot by Stan, which Peter declares as "classic American Dad."

Merchandise[link]

Peter is also featured on the Family Guy: Live in Vegas CD,^[58] and plays a significant part in Family Guy Video Game!, the first Family Guy video game, which was released by 2K Games in 2006.^[59] Peter will be used in the game Family Guy Online as a character class for the game's character creator.^[60] MacFarlane recorded exclusive material of Peter's voice and other Family Guy characters for a 2007 pinball machine of the show by Stern Pinball.^[61] In 2004, the first series of Family Guy toy figurines was released by Mezco Toyz, each member of the Griffin family had their own toy, with the exception of Stewie, of whom two different figures were made.^[62] Over the course of two years, four more series of toy figures have been released, with various forms of Peter.^[63] Alongside the action figures, Peter has been included in various other Family Guy-related merchandise.^[64]

As of 2009, six books have been released about the Family Guy universe, all published by HarperCollins since 2005.^[65] This include Family Guy: It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One (ISBN 978-0-7528-7593-4), which covers the entire events of the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One",^[66] and Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded (ISBN 978-1-4051-6316-3), a collection of seventeen essays exploring the connections between the series and historical philosophers.^[67] which include Peter as a character. Peter appears in comic-book based on the Family Guy universe; by Titan Comics.^[68] The first comic book is going to be released in July 27, 2011.^[68]

In 2008, the character appeared in advertisements for Subway Restaurants, promoting the restaurant's massive feast sandwich.^[69][70] Chief marketing officer Tony Pace commented "Peter's a good representation of the people who are interested in the Feast, and Family Guy is a show "that appeals to that target audience."^[71] The Boston Globe critic Brian Steinberg praised the restaurant's use of the character for the commercials.^[69] NFL News reporter Michael Fabiano felt it was a bad decision to have an obese character advertise for a chain of restaurants that based their advertisement campaigns on health.^[72]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Peter Griffin at Fox.com
• Peter Griffin at the Internet Movie Database

Marco Antonio Regil (born December 27, 1969) is a Mexican television personality and game show host, born in Tijuana, Mexico. He began his career as a Radio D.J. when he was 15 years old. He has hosted the Mexican (Spanish) and US live casino show version (English) of The Price is Right, the Mexican version of which is called Atinale Al Precio, and both the US Spanish and Mexican versions of Family Feud, as well as Miss Mexico, Dancing with the Stars, Hazme Reir-Make Me Laugh, Telethon and Premio Lo Nuestro.

He was awarded many times as Mexico's number one TV host and was invited by United States President George W. Bush to host the Cinco de Mayo celebration in the White House in 2004.

He is one of the few international quiz show hosts to appear on a US game show. He appeared on The Price Is Right in 1997 and 1998 at the VIP section, where he was introduced by Bob Barker, and appeared on Family Feud in 2002. In 2008 he hosted the live Las Vegas casino show in English. He has also worked on both the 1972 Showcase and the British Showcase formats (as the Mexican version of Price in 2010 has adopted the Forsyth version).

He currently hosts the Mexican versions of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Price is Right, and Zodiac's Beyond Boundaries as well as the Teletón (Mexico) (Mexican National Telethon) for which he has raised over half a billion dollars. He is also the voice of Brad Pitt in the Mexican release of Megamind. Regil lives in Los Angeles, California where he teaches yoga while working on his crossover to U.S. English T.V.

Filmography[link]

100 Mexicanos Dijieron Teleton

Advertising[link]

He has appeared in advertisements of several companies like McDonald's, H-E-B, Telmex and PepsiCo.

In a national poll, conducted by Readers Digest in 2011, Marco was named "Mexico's Most Trusted TV Personality". Regil is considered by Mexicans and Mexican Americans to be one of their most beloved stars.

External links[link]

• Official site
• Information in English
• http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/05/images/20040505-6_web4-012t0814-515h.html
• http://www.vendedoresperros.com
• http://www.teamregil.com

This biographical article related to television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This Mexican biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Peter Schiff

Austrian School
Born	(1963-03-23) March 23, 1963 (age 49)
Nationality	United States
Field	Financial Economics
Alma mater	U.C. Berkeley (B.B.A.), 1987[1]
Opposed	John Maynard Keynes,[2] Alan Greenspan,[3][4][5] Ben Bernanke,[6][7][8] Paul Krugman,[9] Christopher Dodd,[10] Barack Obama,[11]
Influences	Irwin Schiff, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard

Peter David Schiff (pronounced /ˈʃɪf/; born March 23, 1963) is an American businessman, investment broker, author and financial commentator. Schiff is CEO and chief global strategist^[1] of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut^[12] and CEO of Euro Pacific Precious Metals, LLC, a gold and silver dealer based in New York City.^[13]

Schiff frequently appears as a guest on financial television and is often quoted in major financial publications. He is host of The Peter Schiff Show, a radio show broadcast on terrestrial and internet radio. He is a frequent guest on internet radio^[14][15][16] as well as the host of the former podcast Wall Street Unspun.^[14][17] In 2010 Schiff ran as a candidate in the Republican primary for the United States Senate seat from Connecticut.^[18]

Schiff is known for his bearish views on the dollar and dollar denominated assets, while bullish on investment in tangible assets as well as foreign stocks and currencies.

Early life and education[link]

Peter Schiff was born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut. His father, Irwin Schiff, is a prominent figure in the U.S. tax protester movement, currently serving a 13-year sentence for tax evasion.^[19] Peter Schiff attended Beverly Hills High School in California,^[20] and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987 with a Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting.^[1]

Financial career[link]

Schiff began his career as a financial consultant at a Shearson Lehman Brothers brokerage.^[1] In 1996 Schiff and a partner acquired a small brokerage firm that had been founded in 1980, reincorporated it in California and renamed it Euro Pacific Capital.^[21][22] The company today has more than 15,000 clients^{[citation needed]} and six offices nationwide, with its headquarters in Westport, Connecticut.^[12][21][23]

According to a 2005 article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut Schiff relocated the firm to Darien, Connecticut to find brokers "who think like him". The New York Metropolitan Area, Schiff says, has the biggest concentration of brokers in the country, making it easier to recruit employees.^[24] The company has offices in Newport Beach, California as well as in Scottsdale, Arizona, Palm Beach, Florida, Los Angeles and New York City. Euro Pacific Capital also holds the exclusive rights to broker some Perth Mint gold products in the United States.^[25]

Economic forecasts[link]

Peter Schiff voices strong support for the Austrian School of economic thought, first introduced to him by his father.^{[26][27][28][29]}

2002–2008[link]

In his 2007 book Crash Proof, Schiff wrote that United States economic policies were fundamentally unsound, and predicted that the United States dollar would lose much of its value.^[3] Schiff believed that the imbalance between the amount of goods the U.S. consumed and what it produced would eventually lead to problems for the U.S. economy.^[30][31] As a remedy Schiff favored increased personal savings and production which he said would stimulate economic growth.^[32] Schiff cited the U.S.'s low personal savings rate as one of the causes of its transformation from the world's largest creditor nation in the 1970s to the largest debtor nation in the year 2000.^[33] Schiff attributed the low savings rate to higher inflation and the artificially low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve.^[34]

In a May 2002 interview with Southland Today, Schiff predicted that the economic downturn triggered by the bursting of the dot-com stock market bubble, an event that he had also forecast well in advance, would lead to a bear market likely to last "another 5 to 10 years."^[35][36] Later that year, following a 30% decline in the Dow Jones, Schiff reversed his call, and became bullish on U.S. stocks in nominal terms. However, he remained bearish in gold terms. In November 2002, as Schiff predicted, US stock indexes began a nominal bull market uptrend that held steady for five years,^[37] until reversing course in 2008, when they began a decline to less than half of their peak 2008 values,^[38] followed in 2009 by the Dow climbing 61% from its low point over the following year.^[39] However, priced in gold, U.S. stocks remained in a bear market the entire time. In May of 2002, the date of the Southland Today interview,^[40] the Dow Jones was worth over 34 ounces of gold. By 2011 the Dow fell below 6 ounces of gold, a nine-year decline of over 80%, in line with Schiff’s 2002 forecast.^[41]

In an August 2006 interview he said: "The United States economy is like the Titanic and I am here with the lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship... I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States."^[42] On December 31, 2006 in debate on Fox News, Schiff forecast that "what's going to happen in 2007" is that "real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth".^[42]

As part of these exchanges on Fox News and his repeated appearances on financial news network CNBC, Schiff had mentioned factors such as speculators and "the absence of lending standards" which are now seen by many^[43][44] to indeed be contributing factors to the housing crisis which began in 2007. On December 13, 2007 in a Bloomberg interview on the show Open Exchange, Schiff further added that he felt that the crisis would extend to the credit card lending industry.^[45] Following this observation, it was soon reported on December 23, 2007 by the Associated Press that "The value of credit card accounts at least 30 days late jumped 26 percent to $17.3 billion in October from a year earlier at 17 large credit card trusts examined by the AP... At the same time, defaults -- when lenders essentially give up hope of ever being repaid and write off the debt -- rose 18 percent to almost $961 million in October, according to filings made by the trusts with the Securities and Exchange Commission."^[46]

Since 2007, Schiff has stated many times that if the government doesn't change course there will be hyperinflation in the US.^[3] Schiff is one of a minority of economists credited with accurately predicting the financial crisis of 2007–2010 while "nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs".^[47][48] In his book Crash Proof, he described several aspects of the U.S. economy that would lead to a recession.^[3]

A YouTube video entitled "Peter Schiff was right" became popular in late 2008 and 2009.^[49][50] The video consists of a compilation of clips of his many appearances on various financial news programs from networks including CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC and Bloomberg, most of which took place from 2005 to 2007. In the video segments Schiff explains the fundamental problems he saw with the United States economy at that time. Schiff's warnings of a coming economic collapse earned him the moniker "Dr. Doom."^[22][51][52]

2009–present[link]

Despite predictions regarding the housing bubble and automotive industry difficulties coming to fruition, as early as 2009 Schiff was receiving criticism due to the performance of some of his client's accounts in 2008, as well as controversies over the predictions themselves. In January 2009, economic blogger and investment adviser Michael Shedlock reported, "I have talked with many who claim they have invested with Schiff and are down anywhere from 40% to 70% in 2008."^[53] Later that week an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal reporting that Schiff's broker-dealer firm, Euro Pacific Capital Inc., "advised its clients to bet that the dollar would weaken significantly and that foreign stocks would outpace their U.S. peers" and that instead, the dollar advanced against most currencies, "magnifying the losses from foreign stocks Mr. Schiff steered his investors into."^[54]

The Director of Communications at Schiff's investment firm responded to the original Shedlock piece by saying, "While it is true, that our accounts have suffered badly in 2008, a fact that we have never disputed or ran from, [Shedlock's] estimates for the size of our typical client losses are exaggerated and unfair."^[55][56] Schiff personally responded to Shedlock's criticism by saying, "to examine the effectiveness of my investment strategy immediately following a major correction by looking only at those accounts who adopted the strategy at the previous peak is unfair and distortive" and called Shedlock's blog entry "nothing more than an overt advertisement (and a highly deceptive one at that) to use my popularity to advance his career," adding that losses were felt mostly by recent clients and not by others.^[57]

Schiff responded similarly to criticisms made by Wade Slome of Sidoxia Capital Management, LLC. in a September 2009 blog entry entitled, "The Emperor Schiff Has No Clothes."^[36] Schiff stated not only were the losses suffered by his clients in 2008 highly exaggerated, but also that most of those losses have already been recouped, stating that many who were down then are now up, and most long-term clients were never down at all, but merely temporarily lost some of the profits they had earned over the years.^[36]

The January 2009 Wall Street Journal article discussed the value of Schiff's predictions, and stated how deficiencies "made mincemeat of investors who took his advice in 2008."^[54] In an interview the following week Schiff likened himself to billionaire investor Warren Buffett, saying they were both "buy and hold" long-term investors. Contrasting his negative press he compared claims about accounts managed under Schiff's firm to the stock market value of Buffett's company, saying: "His approach is you buy stocks and you never sell them—you hope to never sell them—and Berkshire Hathaway is down 40% in the last thirteen months; I don't see the Wall Street Journal saying 'Warren Buffett made mincemeat out of his clients.'"^[58] The Wall Street Journal also published a letter written by Schiff in response to his critics saying: "My central investing premise, a weakening dollar and safety in gold, commodities and foreign stocks, didn't materialize in 2008. But all the ingredients were (and remain) present for those movements to occur. Over the past year, market reactions that I didn't foresee—massive global deleveraging, a knee-jerk 'flight to quality' into U.S. Treasuries and a sharp counter trend rally in the U.S. dollar—have kept the scenario from playing out."^[59]

In a November 2009 videoblog, Schiff said that five stocks he picked for Fortune Magazine in January 2009 had gained a total of 360%.^[60][61]

In a March 2009 speech Schiff said that it would be impossible for the U.S. debt to China to be repaid unless the U.S. dollar's value is substantially diluted through inflation. In September 2009 Schiff said that "I would not be surprised to see [gold] at $5,000 over the next several years" and that the 2009 stock market rally was a "bear market rally".^[62]

According to economist Paul Krugman, Schiff's Austrian approach to economics led him to incorrectly predict hyperinflation in the United States.^[63]

Political career[link]

Schiff was an economic adviser to Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign. In support of Paul's economic revitalization plan, he said: "We need a plan that stimulates savings and production, not more of the reckless borrowing and consumption that got us into this mess in the first place. Ron Paul's plan is the only one that amounts to a step in the right direction. If you want meaningful change—for the better that is—Ron Paul is the only candidate capable of delivering it."^[64]

In 2008, Schiff also endorsed Murray Sabrin for the U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey.^[65]

In an interview in February 2009, Schiff's position was summarized as a nonpartisan critique of American policymakers, comparing former presidents George W. Bush to Herbert Hoover and President Barack Obama to former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, with neither of the more recent incumbents comparing favorably to the earlier ones.^[66]

Schiff supports the reduction of government economic regulation, and is concerned that President Obama's administration may increase such regulation.^[67] Schiff says that the economic crisis of the late-2000s provides an opportunity to transition from borrowing and spending, to saving and producing. He is critical of the U.S. government's efforts to "ease the pain" with economic stimulus packages and bailouts. According to Schiff, the U.S. government's approach of replacing "legitimate savings with a printing press" could result in hyperinflation.^[68]

2010 U.S. Senate campaign[link]

In December 2008, Connecticut citizens created a website encouraging Schiff to campaign against the incumbent Senator Christopher Dodd.^[69][70] Approximately 5,000 people made campaign contributions using the web site.^[69] On February 21, 2009, a moneybomb raised over $20,000 for Schiff's campaign.^[71] In a May 2009 video blog, Schiff said that he was seriously considering a run for the senate and when questioned by a Washington Post reporter, he said the chance of him entering politics was "better than 50-50".^[72] In June 2009 Schiff commissioned a poll of likely voters which indicated that he trailed Dodd in popularity by four percentage points.^[73] On July 9, 2009, Schiff launched an exploratory committee and an official campaign website.^[69] He began accepting donations in an attempt to see if "people who really believe in freedom, liberty, sound money and the constitution are prepared to support that with an actual political contribution or to volunteer their services and work on this campaign." He received over 10,000 donations and many e-mails from around the world.^[69]

After giving some hints on The Daily Show^[74] Schiff officially announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination on September 17, 2009, during the MSNBC Morning Joe show.^[18][75][76] By October 2009 Schiff had received more than 10,000 telephone calls and letters^[69] and raised over $1,960,000 (USD) in campaign contributions.

At the May 2010 Republican convention, Linda McMahon received the most delegate votes but not enough to prevent an August primary election. U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons received more than the required 15 percent of the total votes necessary to force the primary. Schiff then collected the signatures necessary to earn a position on the August 2010 GOP primary ballot, submitting at least 400 signatures over the state requirement.

In July 2010, Schiff's campaign received endorsements from Steve Forbes and Ron Paul.^[77][78]

In the Republican primary, held on August 10, 2010, Schiff lost the nomination to Linda McMahon.^[79] McMahon collected 49% of the vote, with Simmons on 28% and Schiff 23%.^[80]

Ultimately, the election was won by the Democratic Party primary winner, Richard Blumenthal.^[81]

Broadcasting[link]

From 2005 to 2010 Schiff hosted a weekly podcast named Wall Street Unspun. In October 2010 Schiff began hosting a new radio show named The Peter Schiff Show. The show is broadcast weekdays from 10am-noon ET on internet and terrestrial radio. The show has featured guests such as Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Niall Ferguson, Dennis Kucinich, Rick Santelli, and others.^[82]

Books[link]

Peter Schiff is the author of six books published by John Wiley & Sons. His book, Crash Proof 2.0, appeared on both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

• Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse, February 2007, ISBN 978-0-470-04360-8 1
• The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets: How to Keep your Portfolio Up When the Market is Down, 2008, ISBN 978-0-470-38378-0 2
• Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse, 2nd Edition, September 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-47453-2 3
• The Little Book of Bull Moves, Updated and Expanded: How to Keep Your Portfolio Up When the Market Is Up, Down, Or Sideways, 2010, ISBN 0-470-64399-4 4
• How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes, 2010, ISBN 978-0-470-52670-5 5
• The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy---How to Save Yourself and Your Country, 2012, ISBN 978-1-250-00447-5

References[link]