Ever wondered what Richard Branson’s business life is like. Check out this behind the scenes look below.
Sean Parker Bio (Napster/Facebook)
November 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Sean Parker (better known as the guy Justin Timberlake played in film The Social Network!) was profiled on the cover of Forbes recently. Despite looking like a jacka$$ in the film, the real Parker is a serial entrepreneur with immense accomplishments. Really interesting article, and the guy is only 31 years old. Article located HERE.
Interesting Interview on Parker below, where he describes his rise:
Entry Level Billionaires: Lucas, Bloomberg, Oprah…
March 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Wanted to share this very interesting article from MSN MONEY. It highlights the entry level positions that some of the wealthiest and most influential people had at the beginning of their careers.
Interesting to notice that Buffett took a tax deduction during his teens on his bicycle for running his newspaper delivery business.
Also, Bloomberg was a parking lot attendant!
Article located HERE.
Don’t Mess with The DeJoria: Homeless Man to Branding Billionaire
December 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Whenever I’m getting a haircut I always notice all those Paul Mitchell bottles shelved up high, or in the hands of some hair stylists aggressively selling it to me. There must be a good story behind this brand which is constantly in ones face.
Due to the packaging, most people know the name Paul Mitchell, but the name John Paul DeJoria is lesser known.
However John Paul DeJoria’s rise to wealth is most spectacular, simply because he used to be homeless, and grew up nearby in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Some details about DeJoria’s life:
-DeJoria and his brother were moved into a foster home after his parents divorced
-DeJoria was part of a street gang in East Los Angeles (he got out and joined the Navy)
-Had many odd jobs, working as a janitor and life insurance salesman
As a natural salesman, DeJoria earned a marketing position at Time Magazine, leading to subsequent promotions, and then worked for Redken Laboratories (hair care brand now owned by L’Oreal).
Later, In 1980 DeJoria met Paul Mitchell and together they formed John Paul Mitchell Systems with a loan for $700 (see this link for starting up a company with low capital).
DeJoria’s proven resilience, despite the hardship in his life, carried over in his business.
A great quote from DeJoria is such ” I have said many times [Read more...]
The Vuitton Visionary
December 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Have you ever wondered who profited from those extremely popular Louis Vuitton bags every celebrity seems to have? His name is Bernard Arnault. The below link has a great article from the Wall Street Journal which profiles Arnault, describing his lifestyle and how he managed to keep a striving business (in a somewhat fickle industry) during the recession. Like other successful businessmen Arnault knew how to dismantle and restructure companies, doing this first with his father’s real estate business, and later with his own company LVMH. He also knew how to create and establish luxury brands.
His company LVMH (LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) owns Moet & Chandon champagne, Tag Heuer watches, Belvedere Vodka, Krug, Veuve Clicquot, Zenith and apparel brands Fendi, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Donna Karan (he basically has a diversified mixed bag of assets like fellow French entrepreneur Francois Pinault.
What is most interesting about Arnault’s rise to wealth is that he actually entered the high end luxury goods business after buying a bankrupt diaper and textile company named Boussac, which owned the House of Dior among other assets.
Arnault quickly remodeled his newly acquired company, making it less diaper and more dapper. After selling off most of Boussac’s other assets, besides Dior, Arnault began acquiring luxury brands and hiring top designer talent such as Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs. His products are now on the arms or in the hands of most celebrities.
If you can’t afford a $500 handbag, maybe consider investing in the company which is public (ticker symbol LVMUY.PK and as of this writing is $31 a share), so you can make money next time you witness a celebrity wearing Dior, a Tag Heuer watch, and drinking Krug and Belvedere in the VIP section. Read the WSJ article HERE.
World’s Wealthiest Man Carlos Slim interview: No Scarcity for Slim
November 22, 2010 By 2 Comments
Everyone has heard of Zuckerberg and Gates, but not as much is known about the wealthiest man in the world, Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim. In the links below I have included an excellent Wall Street Journal profile, and another link which has an extensive interview on Slim.
In the interview, Carlos explains his business model, reasons for success, and how to deal with mistakes that are outside one’s control.
Slim is primarily the Mexican telecommunications king, but also owns many various other businesses from hotels [Read more...]
Ready for a Fight: Carl Icahn!
November 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Shortly after losing a bid for MGM, Carl Icahn is back at it again. In the MGM deal he was battling against Spyglass chiefs Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum. This time he goes up against heavyweights The Blackstone Group for Dynegy. Carl is always ready for a good hostile takeover, and his story is an interesting one. Before he started his firm Icahn & Co in 1968, supposedly he originally wanted to be an opera singer, and also attended 3 years of medical school (so don’t feel bad if you’re feeling off path). He also got a degree in Philosophy from Princeton (so Economics is not the end all be all for Wall St.).
Above is an excellent in depth biography video from 60 minutes which [Read more...]
John Arnold: From the ashes of Enron to becoming the Energy King
October 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
John Arnold was raised in Dallas, earned a degree from Vanderbilt University in 3 years, and eventually became a trader at Enron in 1995. This alone was impressive, as getting a job at Enron in 1995 was no simple task. Back then the firm only recruited about four economics majors from Vanderbilt each year.
Arnold then rose the ranks of Enron quickly, moving from Crude Oil to Natural Gas, and later became the head of natural gas derivatives trading. At the age of 26, he eventually [Read more...]
