#818: John Arnold with Dr. Peter Attia — The Greatest Energy Trader of All Time on Lessons Learned, Walking Away from Wall Street, and Reinventing Philanthropy

In this special episode, my friend—and fan-favorite
guest—Dr. Peter Attia takes the mic as guest
host. Peter sits down with legendary trader John
Arnold, widely considered the greatest energy trader of
all time. Today, through his foundation Arnold
Ventures, John applies the same rigorous thinking to
some of America’s toughest social challenges—criminal justice
reform, healthcare policy, and K–12 education, to name just a
few. This interview originally aired on Peter’s excellent podcast
The Drive. You can check it out at
PeterAttiaMD.com, or subscribe to The Drive wherever you get your
podcasts.


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Timestamps:


[00:00:00] Start.


[00:05:37] Peter Attia's intro: who is John Arnold?


[00:08:38] John's background, upbringing, and early
entrepreneurial tendencies.


[00:21:16] John's time and rise at Enron.


[00:33:40] Characteristics that made John an exceptional natural
gas trader and how they translate to his philanthropic work.


[00:41:10] The collapse of Enron.


[00:46:46] The success of John's hedge fund, and his early
interest in philanthropy.


[01:02:03] The infamous 2006 trade that brought down Amaranth
Advisors.


[01:08:28] John's analytical prowess and emphasis on
fundamentals.


[01:15:13] The decision to become a full-time philanthropist and
the founding of Arnold Ventures.


[01:25:03] Education — John's quest to fundamentally change K-12
education.


[01:30:36] Strategic philanthropy — preventing problems by
attacking root causes and creating structural change.


[01:37:50] The criminal justice system — structural changes
needed to address mass incarceration, policing practices, and
recidivism.


[01:55:07] Re-imagining prisons to reduce recidivism.


[02:02:27] US health care policy — John's focus on drug prices,
and the severe consequences of not making system changes.


[02:20:00] Climate change — the bipartisan role of John's
foundation.


[02:23:52] Advice for young adults interested in philanthropy.


[02:30:52] Parting thoughts.


*


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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren
Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter
Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah
Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.


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