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Cramer says he keeps track of every stock he picks; every Friday, he cops to bad calls. "I approach this with as much rigor as I can," he says. "But you have to make this stuff come alive, or no one will watch. I believe I am making people better investors." His analysis ranges from reasonably in-depth for the stock-of-the-week segment to almost nil during the exhausting lightning round--15 minutes of pure chaos, during which Cramer offers rapid-fire, unscripted advice to callers, who invariably start with "Booyah, Jim!" When the lightning round breaks for an ad, staff members rush to blot the sweat from his head, apply makeup and top off his soft drink. "This is the real me," Cramer says.
It took a long time for reality to set in. Cramer, 50, was successful but miserable managing his hedge fund. A bad trade would precipitate a phone-bashing, computer-hurling tantrum. But Cramer's barbed quips led to frequent CNBC appearances and to a show with economist Larry Kudlow, whom Cramer found too tilted toward politics. "I really hated interviewing Senators," Cramer says. "You have to be so respectful." Today "he skips down the hall," says Mark Hoffman, CNBC president.
Oh, Cramer still manhandles the equipment. There's a scar on the set where he regularly boots his chair; he has smashed phones and props. But it's contrived rage, designed to hold the attention of investors who haven't had much to grip them, which Cramer undeniably does. The last week of July, every stock he talked up in the analytical segments of his show traded higher the next day--some by a wide margin.
Yes, Cramer is moving the market, in more ways than one. Now CNBC is planning another business-oriented, personality-driven show to follow Cramer's. Furniture breakers are welcome to apply.