Great Business Stories Archiv
82 Episoden
31 Minuten
There are so many great characters in this story — I dig into the founder, David Cook, a guy who sold the business for $12 million but could have made $300 million if he'd stayed on for just a few more years. And then Wayne Huizenga, the guy who turbo-charged the business, after building his first fortune in the rough and tumble of the waste management business in the 70s and 80s. There's the now legendary meeting where Blockbuster's executives had the chance to buy a fledgling company called Netflix for $50 million but more or less laughed the Netflix founders out of the room. And then, as I've come to expect, Carl Icahn makes an appearance and bullies his way into the business, but makes a complete mess of it. It's a cracking story — enjoy.
31 Minuten
This is a guy whose father fled Lebanon with almost nothing and today is worth $120 billion. I examine how he built his fortune buying up distressed businesses during Mexico's economic collapse of the 1980s, and how a controversial privatisation deal for the national phone company turned him into the richest man in the world. I also look at the huge criticism he's faced for monopolistic practices that cost ordinary Mexicans billions and also held back the development of an entire country, and how he's used that fortune combined with this intrinsic and intangible gift for numbers to make savvy investments in everything from Apple to the New York Times. It's a cracking story — enjoy.
32 Minuten
This is a guy who grew up in a village in rural China with no running water and today is now worth $110 billion. I examine his relationship with Sam Bankman Fried- and his subsequent involvement in the multi billion dollar collapse of Bankman Fried’s company FTX. I also look at how he tried to keep Binance away from any type of regulation, and this ultimately led him to serve time in jail but then very controversially get a presidential pardon. It's a cracking story — enjoy.
33 Minuten
Initially I had intended to do just 1 episode on Hyundai, focusing mainly on the car business and it’s current leadership, but the story of Ju-yung is just too remarkable to be consigned to a footnote- this is a guy who, from nothing, built a conglomerate that at it’s peak in the 90s was one of the biggest companies in the world, with revenues of $90 billion, 200,000 employees, operating in everything from semi conductors, to cars, to ship building, to construction, to retail outlets- you name it, they did it and Ju-yung built it all through wars and military rulers, it’s a cracking story, enjoy.
31 Minuten
Now, I’m not into fashion and I really didn’t know anything about Klein before I did my research for this episode and I found him to be such a fascinating character-how he, together with Ralph Lauren and Ann Klein, no relation, dragged American fashion out of the shadow of Paris and made it stand on its own two feet.
How he didn’t do it on his own- Calvin Klein the business was always 2 people- Klein and Barry Schwartz, how Klein pioneered designer jeans, how he built his company while partying in Studio 54 and burning the candle at both ends, and how the business was just days from bankruptcy before David Geffen came to the rescue. Also, his marketing genius, he was behind some of the most controversial and influential ads of the 1980’s and 90’s. He makes for a cracking story, enjoy.
How he didn’t do it on his own- Calvin Klein the business was always 2 people- Klein and Barry Schwartz, how Klein pioneered designer jeans, how he built his company while partying in Studio 54 and burning the candle at both ends, and how the business was just days from bankruptcy before David Geffen came to the rescue. Also, his marketing genius, he was behind some of the most controversial and influential ads of the 1980’s and 90’s. He makes for a cracking story, enjoy.
31 Minuten
Sacks is a very interesting and powerful figure. He started his tech career with PayPal, and it was Sacks, together with other PayPal founders, who organised the coup that got Elon Musk fired as PayPal's CEO. He went on to start up Geni.com and Yammer, selling Yammer for $1.2 billion dollars. He then set up a venture firm and has risen to prominence through the All In podcast, and then in 2024 was made President Trump's AI and Crypto Tsar. It is he who is advising Trump on the type and the amount of regulation required for AI — an extremely powerful and important position. So who is Sacks, how did he get to where he is? This is a cracking episode — enjoy.
32 Minuten
This is a story that I’ve wanted to get to the bottom of for years- for those of you who aren’t aware of who Calvi is- he was known as God’s Banker- the guy who managed the vatican;s money back in the 70’s and early 80’s and who was found hanged under Blackfriars bridge in 1982, and here's an excerpt from the BBC on Calvi:
"Calvi was at the centre of an incredibly complex web of international fraud and intrigue. It involved the Italian banking world, the underworld, the Mafia, Freemasonry and, most startling of all, the Vatican. The banker's death would trigger a wide-ranging political and financial scandal in Italy. It would involve the disappearance of millions of dollars, and leave behind an enduring mystery.”
So as you can imagine- this is a story that has so many different strands- you could do probably a dozen different stories from all of the characters and plot lines-but Calvi’s story shines a light on how corrupt Italy was- this is a cracking story- enjoy
"Calvi was at the centre of an incredibly complex web of international fraud and intrigue. It involved the Italian banking world, the underworld, the Mafia, Freemasonry and, most startling of all, the Vatican. The banker's death would trigger a wide-ranging political and financial scandal in Italy. It would involve the disappearance of millions of dollars, and leave behind an enduring mystery.”
So as you can imagine- this is a story that has so many different strands- you could do probably a dozen different stories from all of the characters and plot lines-but Calvi’s story shines a light on how corrupt Italy was- this is a cracking story- enjoy
34 Minuten
I’ll open up with an excerpt from a fantastic New Yorker article on Altman:
"Altman has a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart- and according to an OpenAI board member: “He’s unconstrained by truth. He has two traits that are almost never seen in the same person. The first is a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction. The second is almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.”
So in this episode I look at Altman’s progression from app developer to a massively successful investor- eventually accumulating a $3.5 billion fortune from his investments, to taking over and growing Y Combinator, the most influential incubator and to then battling Elon Musk to eventually take charge of Open AI and by the time we get to the end, at the age of just 38 he’s become one of the most influential and powerful people in business and technology. It’s a cracking story- enjoy.
"Altman has a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart- and according to an OpenAI board member: “He’s unconstrained by truth. He has two traits that are almost never seen in the same person. The first is a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction. The second is almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.”
So in this episode I look at Altman’s progression from app developer to a massively successful investor- eventually accumulating a $3.5 billion fortune from his investments, to taking over and growing Y Combinator, the most influential incubator and to then battling Elon Musk to eventually take charge of Open AI and by the time we get to the end, at the age of just 38 he’s become one of the most influential and powerful people in business and technology. It’s a cracking story- enjoy.
30 Minuten
I’m going to kick it off with this excerpt from Oliver Shah’s excellent book on Green called Damaged Goods:
“Mr Toad-like in appearance, with a bulging belly and a mischievous grin, Green turned into a business celebrity, often spotted on the front row of fashion shows between Kate Moss and Anna Wintour. Nut-brown from the Riviera sun, his silver hair slicked back into a rat’s tail, he relished the role he had carved out for himself as the retail industry’s roguish uncle.
Bankers from Goldman Sachs and HSBC fell over themselves to offer him money and advice. Simon Cowell and Ronnie Wood attended his parties. He paid his wife almost £2bn of offshore dividends from his high-street empire and made two headline-grabbing hostile takeover attempts for Marks & Spencer. He was knighted by Tony Blair. It all came crashing down in 2016.”
And that is the story I’m going to tell today—Philip Green, the one-time king of the high street. The opulent lifestyle, the aggression, the bullying, the greed—it’s a cracking story. Enjoy.
“Mr Toad-like in appearance, with a bulging belly and a mischievous grin, Green turned into a business celebrity, often spotted on the front row of fashion shows between Kate Moss and Anna Wintour. Nut-brown from the Riviera sun, his silver hair slicked back into a rat’s tail, he relished the role he had carved out for himself as the retail industry’s roguish uncle.
Bankers from Goldman Sachs and HSBC fell over themselves to offer him money and advice. Simon Cowell and Ronnie Wood attended his parties. He paid his wife almost £2bn of offshore dividends from his high-street empire and made two headline-grabbing hostile takeover attempts for Marks & Spencer. He was knighted by Tony Blair. It all came crashing down in 2016.”
And that is the story I’m going to tell today—Philip Green, the one-time king of the high street. The opulent lifestyle, the aggression, the bullying, the greed—it’s a cracking story. Enjoy.
33 Minuten
I’m breaking up Ackman’s story into three, maybe even four parts because, like him or loathe him, Ackman is a very interesting character. I’ll kick it off with a quote from Carl Icahn, the legendary Wall Street investor who has tussled with Ackman on more than one occasion, and this kind of encapsulates the core of Ackman’s character:
“I would be a very happy man in life if I could be as certain of just one thing as he is certain about everything.”
And really, that’s Ackman in a nutshell—supremely, annoyingly confident, to the point of arrogance. Yet it is this confidence, combined with intelligence and persistence, that has resulted in the Ackman we know today—sticking his nose into everything from college admissions, to DEI, to Israel and Ukraine, while also building up a fortune estimated to be $9.6 billion at the time of recording.
So in this episode, I dig into how he started off. It’s a fascinating story. Enjoy.
“I would be a very happy man in life if I could be as certain of just one thing as he is certain about everything.”
And really, that’s Ackman in a nutshell—supremely, annoyingly confident, to the point of arrogance. Yet it is this confidence, combined with intelligence and persistence, that has resulted in the Ackman we know today—sticking his nose into everything from college admissions, to DEI, to Israel and Ukraine, while also building up a fortune estimated to be $9.6 billion at the time of recording.
So in this episode, I dig into how he started off. It’s a fascinating story. Enjoy.
36 Minuten
I’m having a bit of a dig at Ross Perot’s height, but for a little guy, this guy had a lot of game—not just as a businessman. This guy could have been the US President.
Here is a quote from Time Magazine from 1992, when he threw his hat into the ring to become president: "It's hard to envision a seriously short guy who sounds like a chihuahua as a charismatic threat to democracy, but it is delicious to watch the thrills of horror running through the establishment at the mere thought."
Because as we’ll see in the story, Perot came this close to becoming the President of the United States in 1992. But this is a business story, so we will also, of course, be talking about his business achievements, which are just as big. He was IBM’s top salesman. He coined the term facilities management and created the first professional business model around it. Then he built and sold two multi-billion dollar companies.
And even more intriguingly, he hired a special ops commander who then trained some of his own employees, and then they flew into Tehran and helped break two of Perot’s employees out of a jail in Iran. I mean, this story has it all. It is brilliant. Enjoy.
Here is a quote from Time Magazine from 1992, when he threw his hat into the ring to become president: "It's hard to envision a seriously short guy who sounds like a chihuahua as a charismatic threat to democracy, but it is delicious to watch the thrills of horror running through the establishment at the mere thought."
Because as we’ll see in the story, Perot came this close to becoming the President of the United States in 1992. But this is a business story, so we will also, of course, be talking about his business achievements, which are just as big. He was IBM’s top salesman. He coined the term facilities management and created the first professional business model around it. Then he built and sold two multi-billion dollar companies.
And even more intriguingly, he hired a special ops commander who then trained some of his own employees, and then they flew into Tehran and helped break two of Perot’s employees out of a jail in Iran. I mean, this story has it all. It is brilliant. Enjoy.
32 Minuten
I’ll start with a quote from 2023 at a ceremony to announce and celebrate the retirement of the jumbo jet: ""“It is the most well thought out and safest aircraft ever built. Even when you understand the science behind flight, there’s nothing like seeing a 747 take flight to remind you that there’s also magic here.” So spoke John Travolta, the actor and plane nut — he’s a licensed 747 pilot and a huge fan of the plane. He actually has a house with a runway, and his planes, which include a 707, are parked outside. You really have to Google this — it's pretty amazing.
But what I find even more fascinating than a 747 in flight or Travolta's home is how the 747 came into being: the agreement to build it was sealed with just a handshake on John Wayne's yacht, how Boeing overcame huge obstacles to build the biggest plane in the world in just 3 years — and to do this they had to build the biggest factory in the world, and it remains the biggest factory in the world — its construction almost brought down Boeing and its main partner Pan Am, and as you’d expect there are big personalities — it’s a thrilling story — enjoy.
But what I find even more fascinating than a 747 in flight or Travolta's home is how the 747 came into being: the agreement to build it was sealed with just a handshake on John Wayne's yacht, how Boeing overcame huge obstacles to build the biggest plane in the world in just 3 years — and to do this they had to build the biggest factory in the world, and it remains the biggest factory in the world — its construction almost brought down Boeing and its main partner Pan Am, and as you’d expect there are big personalities — it’s a thrilling story — enjoy.
30 Minuten
I just love this story - it has everything - Jonathan Abrams, a young, smart coder from Canada, moved to California because he wanted to be at the very heart of the internet boom. And on nothing more than an intuition, a feeling of how things should be online, he comes up with the framework for a social media platform, the very same model that MySpace, Facebook and all the others then learnt from or copied. But Abrams and Friendster were first, and for a brief moment, they were the hottest property in Silicon Valley - Google tried to buy them. VCs were desperate to invest with them - and within just a few months, it all fell apart, leaving the door wide open for MySpace and then Facebook. It’s a fascinating story, enjoy
32 Minuten
I’ve wanted to dig into Packers life for a long time now, because one thing I’ve come to know from over 35 years of reading business stories is that when it comes to big characters with the most drama- the media tycoons always win hands down. And so it is with Packer we’re talking getting into an actual brawl with heavies hired by Rupert Murdoch, transforming televised sport, having his name dragged into rumours about drug trafficking and even murder, winning and losing tens of millions in casinos in London and Las Vegas. Packer was without doubt one of the larger than life figures ever in business and it’s a cracking story, enjoy.
30 Minuten
This is the remarkable story of how Agha Abedi built BCCI, a global bank founded in Pakistan that was revered by its ordinary customers and employees. Abedi was seen as more than just a banker- a visionary and philanthropist. But there was a second bank within the bank called the Dark Network, and this secret side of the bank provided special services for corrupt politicians, funded wars, washed Pablo Escobar’s drug money, facilitated the murky dealings of MI6, the CIA among others and then it all came crashing down from an undercover operation straight out of the movies . It’s a fascinating story- enjoy.
