It's just a TV show, says Cramer

Andrew Clark of The Guardian profiles CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer, who says during the course of the interview that if people don’t like his show, they should simply turn it off.

Clark writes, “Cramer, 53, has a vast following among America’s millions of armchair investors. His act, in which he hurtles dementedly around his studio on the business channel CNBC yelling stock tips, moves share prices daily, and his angry rants routinely become viral videos on the internet.

“During a phone-in segment, Cramer delivers on-the-fly advice to William from Oklahoma, who holds shares in Chesapeake Energy, and to Steve in Florida who gets tips on hydrocarbons. Each caller greets Cramer with his catchphrase – ‘boo-yah!’

“It is brash, tacky, greedy and flashy. Yet after the cameras shut down, Cramer is unapologetic. ‘I call myself the most sincerely insincere man in North America,’ he says. ‘But I’ve been given a great thing which is an hour of national TV that I can use to affect people and make them interested in the market. I’m a kind of a televangelist for money.’

“A Harvard law school graduate who made a fortune as a trader, Cramer is more than just a clown. He co-founded the news website TheStreet.com, where he is paid a salary of $1.3m (£650,000), and he is arguably America’s best known financial commentator.”

Read more here.