Bill Ackman: 1966–2008

Roberto Calvi: Italy’s Corruption Laid Bare

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

Steven A. Cohen: The Master of Edge

The edge in the title refers to an advantage that Cohen had over the rest of the market-because he is considered without doubt one of the best intuitive traders ever- good enough that he took home $3.5 billion last year, rich enough to lose more than $1.5 billion in the whole Gamestop short squeeze and shrug it off but is his wealth and success all down to skill or does he cross the line, as prosecutors have tried to prove numerous times?  It’s a cracking story enjoy

Michael O Leary: The Jumped up Paddy Who Doesn’t Give a Shit

I chose this episode not only because it’s brilliant, but also because my youngest listener and favourite nephew has been bugging me to do the story of a leary for a long time now I’ll start with an excerpt from a profile the journalist Philip Watson did on O Leary: “Through a series of audacious business moves and a decidedly gunslinging approach to his opponents, Michael O Leary made Ryanair the most profitable low-cost carrier in Europe. As one business associate bluntly puts it: "When he goes into battle he boots the shit out of anyone or anything that gets in his way." And to give you an idea of O Leary view of business: “When you look at the number of stupid people who have succeeded in business, you clearly don’t have to be very bright. Business is all about getting your sales up and your costs down, the bit in the middle is profit.” O Leary took a tiny airline from almost bankruptcy into what is now the third most valuable airline in the world- he is without doubt one of the most unconventional, uncompromising and yet I think in a very round-about way, one of the most endearing and self-aware business people in the world and he makes for a cracking story- enjoy

Sam Altman: 1985-2023

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.

Philip Green:The Unacceptable Face of Capitalism

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.