Black made billions with junk bonds, complex financial engineering, buying bankrupt companies and turning them around- he was aggressive, ruthless and very good at what he did.He was Michael Milken’s right hand man. After Milken went to jail, Black built Apollo - an asset manager overseeing $850 billion. He bought the painting The Scream for $120 million. And now he’s forced to explain why he paid Jeffrey Epstein $158 million —after Epstein had served jail time.It’s a cracking episode—enjoy.
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31:11
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31:11
Tulip Mania- The World’s First Financial Bubble?
I love business stories from any time- as long as it’s full of drama, success or failure, interesting characters, I don’t care if it a year old or 1000 years old, and the Tulip Bubble from the 1700’s has drama in spades- I’ve always wanted to dig into it because tulipmania is remembered as the first market bubble. I mean picture the scene, january of 1637, in taverns across Holland, fortunes were made and lost on flowers that bloomed for just one week a year. Men traded houses, farms, for a single bulb. The story has been told for centuries as the world’s first great financial bubble—the madness of crowds overtaken by financial speculation. It’s a tale of greed, folly, and overnight collapse.But there’s a twist in this tale and who doesn’t love a good old twist?It’s a cracking story—enjoy.
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30:13
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30:13
Adnan Khashoggi and the Business of Corruption
Khashoggi has been on my radar since I was a teenager-because he was always in the photos at the best parties- this 5 foot 4, bald Saudi businessman surrounded by the rich, the famous and of course beautiful women. Back then he was described as being one the richest men in the world — he was certainly the biggest spender. He threw the biggest parties, owned 3 jets and built the world’s most expensive yacht.But behind the glamour was something darker. He brokered billion-dollar arms deals, sent escorts to charm world leaders, and helped dictators stash their stolen fortunes and as a result, he got caught up in some of the biggest scandals of the 80’s.Khashoggi was a networker, a fixer, a man who lived on the thin line between business and crime. Presidents, kings, and CEOs all needed him, and that was his ultimate protection. It’s a fascinating story- enjoy
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34:13
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34:13
Dietrich Mateschitz: The Yeti Behind Red Bull
I wanted to cover this story because I’m a huge Formula 1 fan—and if you follow F1, you can’t ignore Red Bull. And I knew the bones of the story, about how Mateschitz took a weird Thai tonic for truck drivers and turned it into a multi billion dollar global empire.But he did more than just launch a product- he created a whole new category—and then to promote it, he didn’t just attach red bull to extreme sports- Red Bull became a part of extreme sports to such an extent that they created their own extreme sports.And the most extraordinary thing about it all, and I’m saying this as someone who drinks Red Bull, is that the product itself doesn’t really taste nice- how did he do it?It’s a cracking episode—enjoy.
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35:17
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35:17
Harley Davidson: The Rise and Fall of a great American brand
it's the story of how two childhood friends bolted a motor to a bicycle — and more or less ignited a cultural revolution because over the next century, Harley-Davidson became a symbol of rebellion, of freedom and of AmericaBut behind the myth, the company has had a turbulent time. There were strikes, near-bankruptcy, Japanese rivals, political trade wars, and even Warren Buffett riding to the rescue.Today, Harley is still the most famous name in motorcycles... and yet it’s in dire straits, it’s big bike sales have been dwindling and it’s move to modernise has been disastrous- it just sold 33 of it’s electric bikes in the last quarterSo what happened?This is the story of Harley Davidson. And it’s a cracking episode — enjoy.
A great business story thoroughly researched and brought to life by Caemin. New episode released every Wednesday .
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