Charley Ellis on How America Actually Got Built (Investing in America Series) | #633
About this episode
Charles Ellis discusses American investments and historical initiatives that shaped the nation.
My guest today is Charles Ellis, founder of Greenwich Associates, longtime member of Yale’s investment committee, and author of more than 20 books, including the classic Winning the Loser’s Game. In today’s episode, Charley reflects on writing the first major book on share repurchases 50 years ago, when the idea was so foreign that Goldman mailed it to 1,000 corporations as a “legitimizer.” Charley also walks us through his new book, Great American Investments: A History of the Bold Initiatives that Shaped a Nation, covering 14 audacious public investments from the Louisiana Purchase to the Marshall Plan. He explains how each came down to one or two obsessed individuals, why Alaska turned out to be the bargain of the century, and how Frances Perkins muscled Social Security into law. As the episode winds down, he shares the lunch with Sandy Gottesman in the early 1970s that led him to buy Berkshire Hathaway at $700 a share — and hold it ever since. (0:00) Starts (1:54) Charley on stock buybacks (8:06) Current state of investing and behavioral economics (11:37) Advice for young investors and long-term strategies (16:41) Charley's new book: Great American Investments: A History of…
People in this episode
Host: Meb Faber
Guest: Charles Ellis
Topics covered
- investing
- American history
- stock buybacks
- social security
- entrepreneurship
- behavioral economics
Keywords
- investing in America
- share repurchases
- Louisiana Purchase
- Marshall Plan
- Berkshire Hathaway
- social security
- AI investments
Sponsors
Ivy Invest
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Greenwich Associates, Yale, Berkshire Hathaway
Books & works: Winning the Loser’s Game, Great American Investments: A History of the Bold Initiatives that Shaped a Nation
More episodes of The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing
- Jim Grant: AI Is “One of the Greatest Bubbles of All Time” (Investing in America Series) #634
- William Goetzmann: From Babylon to Bubbles — A 5,000-Year History of Finance (Investing in America Series) #632
- Meb Faber: Warren Buffett Didn't Follow His Own Advice | #631
- Tom Lee: The Market Can Climb Higher—But Expect Turbulence | #630
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Meb Faber Show - Better Investing podcast page.