← Money And Wealth With John Hope Bryant
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This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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What a matchup we got, y'. All. This is that classic HBCU vibe.
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Non stop action.
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The band is rockin and the crowd lit. Chance, echo drum beat everybody showing that school pride. A game like this, yeah, it calls.
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For an ice cold Coca Cola.
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Ah, Crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there.
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Yeah, that taste always hits the right note. Just like the band at halftime.
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And just like that, we're back at it.
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Passionate fans, school colors everywhere and an.
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A
Ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo. No matter the sport, no matter the yard.
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Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going. This weekend one of the homies mentioned.
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A
He closed on a new crib.
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B
While everyone's asking about a housewarming, you're asking the real questions. Like who is his State Farm agent? See, homeownership is one thing, but the right coverage is the real game changer. It's how you protect your legacy. A State Farm agent can help you with finding the right coverage for your new place and even help you file a claim over the phone, in person, online or on the app. They're ready to help you and they don't drop the ball. You know what I mean?
- [01:22]
A
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Running a business is hard enough. Don't make it harder with a dozen apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. That's software overload. Odoo is the all in one platform that replaces them all. CRM, accounting, inventory, E Commerce, hr. Fully integrated, easy to use and built to grow with your business. Thousands have already made the switch. Why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's odoo.com, hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday. Because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited.
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B
To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price.
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A
So that means a half day.
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B
Yeah.
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Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch up front payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow hacker, 35 gigabytes of networks, busy, taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com.
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And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating it's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu. Is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@libertymutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry Unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
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B
Welcome to Money and Wealth with Joe, John Hope Bryant, a production of the Black Effect podcast network and iHeartRadio.
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Hey, hey. This is John Hope Bryant and this is Money and Wealth podcast series on iHeartRadio and Black Effect Network. I want to thank everybody, first of all, for making this season.
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A top season for the podcast. We are top 40, top 50 on the outside on entrepreneurship for Apple, top 150 for business. This is our time and our message is time for everybody to come up from nothing. And it's appropriate because my new book is going to be Capitalism for all in 2026. So watch out for that. And really, the guest today is not only emblematic of what I mean when I talk about up for Nothing, which was my second to last book, or talk about financial literacy for all as a foundational civil rights issue, my last book or Capitalism for All Inclusive economics and Future Proofing America, my future book. I could have written these books about him. Just a really.
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Decent, honest, brilliant leader who happens to have figured out money and finance and wealth creation, who happens to be black.
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I'm talking about none other than Neyland Youngblood. Now, that may not be a household name to you. That's just fine for him. I might add. He's happy to flow under the radar.
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Useful to him for most of his life, probably because somebody would have tried to stop him.
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We're going to unpack during this podcast hour, private equity. We're going to spend several podcast episodes unpacking different types of private equity. We've got some real stars coming up and some real surprises coming up that I think will please you as we begin to really unpack this area that's been hidden from most of people who want to strive. But to talk to a man who created his own company.
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Who founded Faro's capital in the 1990s, really in the backdrop of a guy who getting a lot of attention back then, which was Reginald Lewis. And Reginald Lewis, who was really the Martin Luther King of Wall street in many ways in the 80s, created a billion dollar acquisition backed by this, really another guy who also supported Neil and Youngbird Youngblood, which is a friend of ours, Michael Milken, but because of the prominence of a guy named Reginald Lewis, you might have missed the story of Neal in Youngblood again, which is fine with him. But I'm going to tell you a story because this inspiration should be to you. Let me start with the end in mind. By the way, he manages over a billion dollars in assets. I don't mean Mexican pesos. I'm not talking about Russian rubles.
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I'm talking about a billion dollars of U.S. currency assets in the biggest economy in the world. He founded this in the late 1990s, has grown it into a prominent private equity firm with a substantial footprint.
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He has invested, as best I can tell, in 58 portfolio companies. He has over a billion dollars in assets, probably more than that. He don't want you in his business.
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He specializes in middle market healthcare companies, focusing on growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations of companies that aim to lower costs, improve outcomes and expand access to care, often in underserved areas. You know, he's my guy talking about good capitalism beyond the raw numbers. Firo's has institutional reach and legitimacy with Youngblood personally serving on boards of major public and private companies over the years, from hospitality to pharmaceutical and holding appointments under multiple US Presidents from both parties at state and federal institutions. I thought I was the only person who served both parties, but again, I'm not surprised that Nealon pioneered that before I did. This is not some small boutique outfit. He is firel under Neyland's leadership is a mature institutional scale private equity firm with broad influence capital and a track record of building and scaling companies, especially in health care. Now, personal note.
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I met him through my wife. We were at a Milken conference. I didn't know who he was. All I saw was this cool dressed dude walking around smooth as butter. And he was spending too much time with my wife. He was talking to her about whatever she was talking about. I don't know who this dude is, but he was too smooth for me. And my wife says to me later, oh, Neal. And he, we were at an event and there was no seat and he could put gave his seat to me. I said, I'm sort of tired of this kneeling Youngblood dude. Let me go talk to him. And on a serious note, I couldn't have been, I couldn't have wanted anybody to be to have my wife in their care better than Neal and Youngblood. He was just being gracious and kind and respectful as he was raised that way. And he operates from Texas, by the way, so he has that southern charm. And so on a serious note, he really is just good people. My wife Shaitra reads Spirits very well. And really just came back effusing about this guy non stop. Ada. I wonder whether she. He was saying, paying her a PR retainer or something. She was just going on and on about Neil. And so I knew I had to meet him. And of course, when I met him, it did nothing but confirm that he was all that she made him out to be. Let me add a personal note here. In addition to the award he recently got at the Milken conference commending him, Neyland is a bad brother because hopefully we cover this. He sued some folks in. In Texas, I think it was. And again, hopefully he talks about this. This is. This is a gangster lawsuit. This was the wall. Even the Wall Street Journal said he dropped the mic and it's tied to his legacy and tied to his family and land they own. Tied to some oil well. This guy should be a movie, a documentary. Ladies and gentlemen, Neal and Youngblood.
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Well, thank you, John, for that very gracious introduction and certainly your better half, your lovely wife. I really appreciate the fact that, you know, she was able to facilitate our introduction. And again, it speaks to you and your character, having someone is extraordinary like that as a partner in your life. And so my compliments to you and what you've done in terms of building the firm that you've built, the legacy you've built in terms of your not for profit work and the leadership you've shown not just at Milken, but, you know, across multiple vehicles. And.
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That characterization of you as one of our premier leaders is well deserved. So thank you, sir. I'm honored to be here.
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B
Honored to have you ne. And it's.
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A
It.
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B
This, this should be obvious, but we got to start doing this more. Two straight black men need to more often say, I love you, brother. I'm proud.
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A
Love you. Proud of you.
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B
I got to say that more and more often to each other and. And spend times commending and highlighting each other and holding each other up. You also are a doctor, as I understand. Is Dr. Neal in Youngblood, right?
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A
Yes.
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B
What a story. My God. Let's back us up. Tell us how this all happened, man.
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A
Yeah, well, you know, well, first off, just to give you some. Some context, I. I've been very blessed to have, as you know, wonderful parents. Both my parents finished high school at 15, college at 19. Both went to graduate school. My grandfather, both my grandfathers finished college in the 1920s. My grandfather finished medical school in 1930.
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B
Wow.
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A
He went to medical school because his uncle, his father's brother, was an MD this was in Texas.
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B
Wow.
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In Texas, What I like to say is I have no excuse. I have no excuse. And. And so look, even though.
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You know, my parents were quite educated, you know, I have four brothers, two sisters, we weren't particularly well off because there was a lot of mouths to feed. And my father, to his credit. And I was able to see, not only through his words, but more importantly, through his example, both my parents, their work ethic, and their focus on education. So my father was an optometrist. He worked kind of nine to five, but he waited tables from six to ten, six days a week.
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B
Wow.
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A
And. And because he had to provide for, you know, these seven kids. And one of the things he taught me early on, and my siblings as well, is never let money get in the way of your success. He said. He said, look, you. Just because I was worried about college and how they going to pay for it. He said, look, you just take care of your business. We will figure out how to pay for it. You do what you have to do, and I promise you, we'll be there for you. So. And that ethos really has stuck with me in that, you know, do your best, do your job, and then we'll figure the rest of it out. So. So anyway, I. You know, coming from Galena Park, Texas, I had had wonderful experiences. 14, I got to skip part of a year of school working Texas legislature. So that exposed me to politics. Sixteen, never been out of Texas, was an extinct suit to Greece. So I go to Greece. My friends are anarchist, communist, left, right, hate the United States. I was like, I thought everybody loved America. And they said, no. Apparently, the CIA had overthrown the government of Greece, put in a military dictatorship. So all my friends were hating on America, but all trying to get a green card to get to America because of opportunity.
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B
Whoa.
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A
And I was like, what's up with that? And it was like, it's a land of opportunity, man. We want to be there. And that insight was so fundamental to me because for most black folks in America, if you're coming over on a boat from Vietnam, potato famine in Ireland.
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You get to the US Things are challenging and tough, but they have a frame of reference. But blacks in America don't have a frame of reference because of slavery. And so this was my moment of clarity at the same Pulp Fiction to say, america's a land of opportunity. I need to take full advantage of it. So came back, finished high school, went to Princeton. You know, all I knew was doctor, lawyer, teacher, preacher. I didn't know anything about business. I didn't know anything about finance. And while I wasn't going to teach and preach medicine, law, the only two things I thought of. And I spent the first two weeks just interviewing upperclassmen. What courses would you take? What wouldn't you take? What mistakes did you make? How did you get through this? Because I was worried. I knew I could not fail. I could not. It was too much on the line, too many people sacrificing for me back home. I had to be successful. So I took those two weeks and kind of distilled it down. Most people screw up their first two weeks. Most people, you know, between girls and drinking and drugs and whatever, you know, you know, I was like, I was locked down for the first two years. And again I took the pre med courses, took the pre law courses. And my junior year, which was my reward, having worked so hard, my, my first two years I spent overseas in Europe, semester in Sweden, University of Stockholm, semester in the uk at a small college in Oxford, England, looking at the British and Swedish healthcare systems and then traveling over western and Europe and Eastern Europe trying to decide, am I going to medical school? Am I going to law school? Medical school. Law school. And basically I flipped a coin and said, okay, medical school. So I came back to Princeton my senior year, got involved in politics, the anti apartheid movement going on. We did 65 days of protest on the campus and then actually took over the administration building in a sit in.
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At Princeton and Nassau hall and post that, you know, arrest and what have you. Graduated and came to medical school. And I came home to University of Texas, the University of Texas UT Southwestern. And I loved it. I thought, wow, you know, I would be a heart surgeon. And I called one of the Princeton alums And I said, Dr. Urschel, Dr. Hal Urschel, who was heart surgeon in Dallas. And I said, they want to be a heart surgeon like you. And he said, and I said, can I come by and see you? He said, yes, you can come by and see me, but you have to go see my former roommate first. That's odd. I said, well, where's he at? He said, he's down in Houston. I'll make arrangements, go down and see him first. So I drove down to Houston to see his former roommate. And he was black heart surgeon.
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B
Okay.
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A
And he was the most extraordinary man I'd ever met. His name was Dr. John C. Norman. He had come from. He was born and raised in Charleston.
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West Virginia. He gone to Howard at 15, transferred to Harvard, finished summa cum laude, turned down the Rhodes Scholarship, went to Harvard Medical school in the 1950s.
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They wouldn't let him train at the Brigham that Columbia Fellowship in the uk, Came back on the faculty at Harvard and then was recruited down to Texas to be the first director of research at the Texas Heart Institute, which is doing more heart surgery than any place in the world.
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B
Wow.
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A
And, you know, it was founded by a guy named Denton Cooley, who was very famous, but infamous by. Because he had literally stolen the artificial heart of Michael DeBakey, stole it in the night and implanted in a patient. So he needed this brother to give him academic credibility. Really, he needed this brother to give him academic credibility. I met Dr. John C. Norman and said, I can't do heart surgery because this brother's done everything there is to do.
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B
Quite literally.
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A
Yeah, he had done it all. I was just. He. He never moved to Boston. He never moved from Boston. He commuted to Boston, lived in the hospital with a Great Dane, and, you know, his wife and daughter were still in Boston. And I just said, I want to be as good at something as this guy is.
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And it was just, he was an extraordinary man who became a wonderful friend and someone who I dearly loved. And I just said, look again, I want to be as good at something as he is at this. And so I knew Hartford wasn't it, so I came back, I wrote a proposal, got funding, and I actually went to the Middle East. I was in Egypt.
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B
Really?
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A
Yeah, I was in Israel and Jordan, but primarily Egypt. Had an apartment on the Nile Pyramids in the background. And I was going to do research, but really I was going to find myself. I was going to find out who I was and what I was about, because I had this vision of where I was going and recognize I had to pivot. And so, like I said, I would go out to the Sahara Desert, we look at these pyramids, and I would just meditate on hours on end and reflect and essentially say, look, when I'm dying and taking my last breath, what is it I want to define me? Who is it I want to be? Maybe I can reverse engineer to get to that point in the decisions I make moving forward. And so I came back. I had been exposed to different types of medicine, and I decided the emergency room was something that I really enjoyed. It was fun, it was immediate gratification. It was crisis intervention. But it also, from a lifestyle standpoint, you didn't work more than 15 days out of the month, not more than three days in a row. And so be time to explore some other things. And so I ended up training in surgery in New York. Did my residency, emergency medicine. In your town? In Atlanta.
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B
Atlanta.
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A
And Grady Hospital. The Grady. And.
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B
And I'm a hospital here.
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A
Yes. And then came back to Dallas and practiced for 12 years, emergency medicine.
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B
Whoa, wait a minute. So before you ever built what you have now, you had a whole other career as a researcher, a doctor, emergency surgeon. My God. So when we're not looking at balance sheets, I can have you do some surgery on me.
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A
It's been a while since, but. But yeah, no, emergency medicine was, was, was. I was what I. I did before. And I. I keep one thing as a memento. Before I left, there was a police officer who. A motorcycle police officer who was hit by a truck. And so he came in the ER and, you know, he was not intubated. He didn't have a tube, he couldn't breathe. And whatever it is, I was able to intubate him, resuscitate him.
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B
What does intubate mean for the audience?
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A
Intubate means I would. I was able to put a tube into his mouth, down his. So that he could breathe because he wasn't able to breathe on his own, which then, you know, it also given him intravenous fluid so he could, you know, be rehydrated, etc, but he had lots of different.
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Injuries and so was able to successfully get him off to the operating room where folks could take care of him. I then left the hospital and I got a note back, you know, a week or so later, and from his. His wife, basically saying, Dr. Youngblood, when I got to the emergency department.
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You had already gone.
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And I understand you're the reason my husband is alive today. So I want to thank you. He is, you know, the father of our three kids, deacon in our church.
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You know, thank you for what you've done for my husband, for our family. God bless you. So that's the one thing I keep from practicing medicine. And it also grounds me in a way because as you're doing business and deals and all of these things, you know, it's important to understand.
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Perspective on things. And having practiced medicine for 12 years, it's given me, I think.
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A very good perspective on the things that are important in life.
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B
Well, and one thing I've gotten from the backstory is something that translates perfectly into wealth creation is discipline. You're very disciplined. Problems have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You weren't emotional about decision making. You weren't judgmental. You're able to separate a fact from fiction or useful facts. And for instance, when you're in Greece and people were hating on America and calling all the America these bad names and phrases and words, some of which are true, they. But then they couldn't wait to get a passport to America because it was a land of opportunity. And you were able to separate the emotions of that from the opportunity of that. And you're like, well, shoot, let me go back to where everybody's trying to get to. In spite of its history of slavery and Jim Crow and all these other things, it is the biggest economy in the world. Your. Your ability to laser focus and cut through the mess is my guess been one of your advantages to ignore the noise, as I would like to say. Is that right?
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A
That that's actually quite accurate. And. And it's allowed me to make decisions, very difficult decisions sometimes at the time.
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You know, when I ended up quitting practicing medicine, quite frankly, and what led up to my practicing medicine and opportunities that presented itself. You know, I want to say one of the challenges for most people, for many people, is the inertia of their success. That is very easy to keep doing what you're doing because you maybe have a good income, maybe, you know, you have credibility and prestige and try things that. Or quite comfortable. And so for me, medicine was that. But at the end of the day, I had gotten exposure to experiences which I'm happy to discuss that led me to say there's a whole nother world out here, and I need to challenge myself to look into these things.
- [25:28]
B
When the holidays start to feel a bit repetitive, reach for a Sprite Winter Spice cranberry and put your twist on tradition. A bold cranberry and winter spice flavors. Fusion Sprite Winter Spice Crack Cranberry is.
- [25:43]
A
A refreshing way to shake things up.
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B
This sip in season, and only for a limited time. Sprite, obey your thirst.
- [25:56]
This past weekend, like every other Sunday, you were on the court with the guys, playing ball. Just a pickup game, living out your hoop dreams. No triple doubles, but a mean set of threes in between buckets. One of the homies mentions he closed on a new crib. This is big. And while everyone's asking about the housewarming and making plans to celebrate, you're asking the real questions. Like, has he spoke to his State Farm agent yet about coverage? See, home ownership is one thing, but the right coverage is the real game changer. Even more than your last hot streak.
- [26:32]
A
Is how you protect your legacy.
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B
Dropping buckets and bars on the court. A State Farm agent can more than assist you with finding the right coverage for your new place.
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A
If you have a claim, your local.
- [26:44]
B
Agent can help you file it. Yep, that's right.
- [26:47]
A
Over the phone, in person, online or on the app, they're ready to help.
- [26:52]
B
You and they don't drop the ball, if you know what I mean. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
- [26:59]
A
Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other. One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you are drowning in software Instead of growing your business. This is where Odoo comes in. Odoo is the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that handles everything. CRM, accounting, inventory, E commerce, HR and more. No more app overload, no more juggling logins. Just one seamless system that makes work easier. And the best part? Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business whether you are just starting out or already scaling up. Plus it's easy to use, customizable and designed to streamline every process so you can focus on what really matters running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o d o o.com hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the parties and the end of year celebrations. But don't forget to take care of yourself by stocking up on your favorite nutritional products. Now through December 30, shop in store and online and save on items like Cliff Snack Bars, Luna Bars, Boost Nutritional Energy Drinks, Premier Protein Shakes, Z Bar Variety Packs Open Nature Powder and Body Fortress Protein powder offers end December 30th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [28:34]
Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu. Is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com.
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Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates excludes Massachusetts.
- [29:06]
B
I have a couple questions for you that are very specific it already. I already know that we could turn this into part one and part two just by listening to you. There's a lot that you have to teach an audience that wants to learn. Let me get the most important things out for those who have limited time and unlimited dreams. You built a billion dollar private equity firm from scratch. I'm going to say that again slowly. You built a billion dollar plus private equity firm from scratch without inherited capital, without a Wall street pedigree, no disrespect intended.
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What was the first door you had to break down?
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What were some of the gatekeepers that you experienced, the early barriers.
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A
The first.
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B
LP check, limited partnership check to invest in your dream? How did you navigate exclusion?
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What can young investors learn from how you earned?
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A
What I would say is, first off, I, interestingly enough, I started getting involved in politics, medicine. That was the genesis. I gathered my friends together and said, look, we're all doing well, but let's kind of give back in a different way. And my observations as a 14 year old having worked in the Texas legislature, was that while women and people of color had been involved in politics, they had been involved in grassroots politics, primarily, not the money side of politics.
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B
What do you mean by that? Explain that, please.
- [30:53]
A
As a 14 year old, I saw the guys who were, and it was primarily guys who had written big checks, who had access to the governor, who had access to legislators in ways to get things done, that while again, women and people of color were doing wonderful grassroots efforts and trying to lobby for this and that and the other. But I didn't see that as effective as what I saw. The people who had the capital.
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B
Yes.
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A
So I, you know, had met Bill Bradley, who was, you know, former Princeton alum, who had been a Rhodes scholar and played the New York Knicks, won the world championship and he was running for the governor and he's running for senate in New Jersey. And I met him to an alumni organization. I said, come down to Texas, my friends and I would love to raise some money for you. And you tell a politician you want to raise money for him.
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I thought I was doing him a favor and he was, I thought he was doing me a favor, when in fact I was doing him a favor.
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B
Right.
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A
He came down, we raised some money for him and it was enormously successful. And he became godfather one of my kids. And then guess what? Ann Richards called me, said, look, I'm run for governor of Texas. Will you, will you help me? I said, you know how to raise money. And so put the band back together, raised money for Ann, she became governor. Then another friend of mine, John Rogers, oh yes, Ariel Capital, let's call me, who had helped me with Bill Bradley, who'd helped me with Ann Richards, said, look, we've got Carol Mosley Braun in Illinois. She's got a shot. Would you help her? Brought her down to Texas. We raised money for her. I did it with Barbara Jordan, in fact, who I worked with when I was a 14 year old. And then I get a call from Ron Brown.
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B
Oh, my God, the Ron Brown?
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A
Yeah. Will you help this gentleman, Bill Clinton?
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B
So, Commerce Secretary Ron Brown, first black Commerce Secretary in the history of the US I believe. First black man to be chairman of the dnc, I believe absolutely.
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A
And one of. And one of the most successful, if not the most successful Commerce Secretaries. Yeah.
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B
And a mentor of mine, by the way. Money back then. God bless his soul.
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A
Yep. And so raise money for. For Ron. And again, I look up Bill Clinton's president. You know, Bill Bradley, Senator. I know Ann Richards. She's got, you know, Carol Mosey Braun is, you know. And Bill Bradley says something very simple but very profound to me. He says, if the President, United States walks in the room, what's your ask? I was like, what are you talking. I was confused. I said. He said, again, if the President, United States walks in the room, what's your ask? I was like, I don't understand. He said, don't just be happy to be in the room.
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B
Come on, now.
- [33:41]
A
Don't just be happy to be in the room. Don't get distracted with the lights, cameras, all the rest. Noise, noise. If you're in a room with the President, you're there for a reason. They know what they want out of you. You should know what you want out of them.
- [33:54]
B
Yeah.
- [33:55]
A
I was like, oh, wow. Okay. So Ann Richards calls me. She says, I'm governor. I want to put you on the Board of Medical Examiners. You'll be chairman. And. And I said, no, I want to be on the Tax Policy Committee.
- [34:12]
She said, wait, time out. You know, we don't understand. You're a doctor. I'm making you chairman. You'll be in charge. All the doctors in the state. This is a big deal. And I said, no, I want to be on the Tax Policy Committee. She says, why on earth would you want to be on the Tax Policy Committee? I said, because the Tax Policy Committee is composed of CEOs from that round from the state of Texas. If it's important enough for them, if it's important enough for me, and there's no one like me in that room, I want to be in that room.
- [34:37]
B
Wow.
- [34:37]
A
So she was like, okay, whatever. I, you know, I mean, years later, she said, okay, it was. It was brilliant. But, you know, so I'm in The hospital one day. Nurse hands me the phone. Dr. Young. But this guy wants to talk to something about taxes or whatever it is. You know, I'm, I'm a little arrogant. I'm saving lives there in the er. Oh, look, I'm busy, man, you know, and look, you don't know me. My name is Don Williams. I'm CEO of this company called Trauma Crow, which is in the real estate business.
- [35:01]
B
Oh, my God. Trauma Pro.
- [35:03]
A
Yeah, I'd never heard Trauma Crow. And I live in Dallas. You live in Dallas. These meetings are in Austin. Why don't we go together? And I was like, sure, you want just drive down Southwest Airlines?
- [35:12]
B
No, he's got his jet.
- [35:13]
A
He's like, I got my own jet. So just, just meet me at Signature Aviation. We'll be okay. So I get on the private jet and I'm like, forgive me, damn, I'm in the wrong business.
- [35:26]
I had no idea that world existed. Again, I'm a doctor. I'm making more money than ever thought I'd make in my life. I'm a pillar of the community. I'm, you know, I'm raising money for politicians. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm thinking I'm at the peak and then there's a whole nother world that opens up for me. And so that caused me to really, in that 45 minute flight, I quit medicine in that, really, that 45 minutes. Because all I thought about was my time in Egypt. And, you know, it's easy when you aren't confronted with, oh, yeah, if I have this decision, I'll do this, I'll do, You know, I was going back to Egypt, you know, when, when I die, you know, I want to do the, you know, and then I'll reverse engineer to get to it. But then here was that fork in the road. So what are you prepared to do? And so in that 45 minute flight, I said, okay, I'm done here, I'm done. But how did you get there? And you know, again, you know, I'm married, I got six kids, I've got lots going. I have a lot of private school tuitions, I have a high burn rate. In other words, I have, you know, I'm spending more than I earn. And, and I say to myself, okay, I can't afford to go back, get an mba, work on Wall Street. I've got to understand money.
- [36:46]
B
However, by the way, audience, I want you to rewind what he said for a moment. I want to interrupt him, but he said even though he was this prominent doctor, surgeon, you know, doing extraordinarily well, raising money for politicians, living a great life, home, all this stuff, he was still had an incredibly high burn rate, which meant that he was making. And he said, I'm making more. I'm, I'm spending more than I earn. If your outflow exceeds your inflow, your overhead will be your downfall. If you make a dollar, spend a dollar fifty, the more money made, the broker you get doesn't matter whether you're $30,000 postal worker or $300,000 as a doctor, or $3 million as an NFL pro, you can still out kick your coverage. So please make sure you're listening to everything he's saying. You make money during the day, you build wealth in your sleep. This is a fundamental premise of financial literacy.
- [37:39]
A
Amen. Amen. And again, because as a doctor, you get a mindset, well, I just make more money. It's that, you know, I'll do, working the shift, I'll do that, you know, because they're always people in the er, you always, you know, and, and to your point, look, you can. And again, I got all these private schools, I got all that, you know, got house, you know. So I said, look, I can't afford to go back and get an mba. I need to figure this out. I then asked the governor, Ann Richards, to appoint me to the Board of Texas Teachers, which is the pension fund, the largest pool of money in the state. I figured, let me get next to money and I can figure it out from there. Yes, Ann Richards appoints me, CDAN promptly loses the election, George W. Bush wins. But George W. Bush is a good friend. And he's like, of course I want you to serve. Good man, by the way, and a very good man. And so I'm on the board of Texas Teachers for six years. I look at public equities, fixed income, real estate, which I chair, and then alternative investments, private equity. And I said, okay, that's what I want to do. And why do I want to do that? Because that's where wealth is created.
- [38:44]
B
So what he's saying to the audience is because it's going really quickly, this is so rich. This is actually one of the best podcasts I've done because he's giving you so much really relevant information. He's saying that when he served on this committee at Texas Teachers, he went right to the, the portfolios or areas where he thought there was much as much relevance and resonance for both he folks he cared about and things he cared for and something he might be interested in in the future. So he was basically getting an education.
- [39:19]
From his assignment as he was doing this job. Back to you.
- [39:23]
A
Absolutely. So I said, private equity is what I want to do. How do I get there? How do I get there? I said I needed great mentors, people who could advise me. I needed credibility outside of medicine because I didn't want people to just think of me as a doctor and put me in that box.
- [39:39]
B
Yes.
- [39:40]
A
And I needed a great team. And so on the mentorship side, as I read about finance, you know, I started reading about finance, Wall Street Journal, et cetera. There was a name in Texas, a guy by the name of Richard Rainwater who kept coming up. This guy Richard Rainwater came out of the Bass family. Who is he? You know, and as I read more and more about him, you know, Bass.
- [40:00]
B
Family is a big investment family in Texas, by the way, without a doubt in Fort Worth.
- [40:04]
A
And so I just. I live in Dallas. I happen to be at a big event in. In Dallas at the Anatol Hotel. And, oh, yes, I've stayed there. And I saw Richard Rainwater at this thousand person event. And so I just ran up to him and said, Mr. Rainwater, I want to be like you and I grow up. And he said, come by and see me. But just, just come by and see me. I said, okay. And, you know, it took a little while. And the point about that is, look, if your mentors can be anyone who. It doesn't, you know, you're a grown man. When you said, I'm a practicing medicine. I got six kids, you know, so you're a surgeon.
- [40:43]
B
You're highly successful. You didn't let your ego get in the way. Oh, I'm too old to have a mentor. Crazy. That's ridiculous. I still. I have a mentor, right? I have mentors right now. Absolutely. You can always learn.
- [40:53]
A
Yes. So I made my way to Fort Worth. I met Richard Rainwater, and he really kind of opened the world up to me. He introduced me to people. He had a gentleman by the name of Ken Hirsch, who is a billionaire in his own right at the time, showed me my first business plan. This is this. This is that John Goff, who was his accountant. John is now a billionaire as well. He owns Crescent Real estate equities. But Richard just made me believe this is something I could do. He gave me confidence because I felt like if this man is spending the time with me, he saw something in me that maybe I didn't even see in myself.
- [41:31]
B
Wow.
- [41:32]
A
And so next was a guy named David Bonderman who founded a firm called tpg. And David, again, I met through a mutual friend, because I told this friend, again, I'm on the board of Texas Teachers. So I met a fellow trustee, and these guys in private equity, they raised money from pension funds. He said, well, look, you should talk to this guy, David Bonderman. He has a firm called tpg, and he might be a good person to talk to. So I went to Aspen, California, to meet David Bonderman, and this guy, you know, again, became a great friend, great mentor.
- [42:08]
B
But, oh, you got on the plane with no promises.
- [42:11]
A
No promises.
- [42:12]
B
You got a plane with no nothing but your dreams. And you made an investment in yourself to invest your money on plane ticket, hotel, whatever, rental car, and time to go pick somebody's brain, not their pocket.
- [42:26]
A
Absolutely correct. Absolutely. And it forever transformed my life, became one of my, if not my best friends.
- [42:37]
B
Yeah.
- [42:38]
A
And.
- [42:40]
So David, again, for those of you don't know, David Bonderman.
- [42:45]
Was from California, went to University of Washington.
- [42:50]
Went to Harvard Law School, was an Islamic scholar. Was an Islamic scholar, traveled all over Africa in the 1960s, Biafran War, hitchhiking all over Africa and said, one day, if I make it, I want to come back here and really invest. And so we. David came back, was a. Was at Tulane Law School. He did not get tenure, then ended up at the Justice Department, and then after that, Arnold and Porter, but subsequently worked on a transaction in Fort Worth that was very successful, and as a lawyer, actually in a nonprofit capacity. And the Bass family hired him to run their family office. And he said, the office we'll get.
- [43:39]
B
Into in a later day. But essentially a family office is what the mega, mega rich use to. To curate and coordinate their assets within their family structure. We'll get into family offices with. In another interview, but go ahead.
- [43:55]
A
Yeah. But anyway, David became very successful. He then from there bought Continental Airlines out of bankruptcy, did 10 times his money on Condol Airlines, J. Crew, Airbnb, Uber.
- [44:07]
B
This is in his. This is. My guess is this is in his 40s or 50s.
- [44:09]
A
Right, right, right, right. He didn't start until his 50s. In his 50s, by the way.
- [44:13]
B
Audience, you. Most millionaires don't get there to their late mid to late 50s. So don't feel you're. You're 25 and you.
- [44:21]
A
You.
- [44:21]
B
You somehow you failed, or you're 35 and you're stumbling.
- [44:24]
A
You.
- [44:24]
B
You. You stay at it and stay disciplined. You. You don't. Won't get there until you. Real money. I mean, like not this funny money. Real wealth.
- [44:31]
A
Real.
- [44:31]
B
That sticks in your mid to late 50s.
- [44:34]
A
Exactly. So David became a great friend, great mentor. And David said, look, I'll invest with you. I will write you a check. I will invest with you. And then Mike Milken became also a friend, mentor, investor, as you know, John, on the board of the Milken Institute, on the board of his foundation, on the board of the center for Advanced American Dream. And again, the. Those are great mentors. And then I said, john, look, I want credibility outside of medicine. And I said, credibility outside of medicine. I said, serving on corporate boards would give me credibility. I said, you know, my business card has never said doctor. I said, serving on corporate boards.
- [45:16]
B
I'll slow that down. Your business cards have never said doctor. Why?
- [45:23]
A
Because.
- [45:24]
Doctor, I didn't want to rely on that crutch that becomes a crutch to get me in rooms or to. It becomes a crutch to not do the work. In other words, I've already. I'm a doctor. No, I need to understand finance. I need to understand the work that I'm doing now, which is separate and independent from what I've done before. So start at the beginning, start at the bottom, and gain credibility, you know, independent of being an md.
- [45:56]
B
I'm going to tell the audience something. Just pause just one second. And I've never said to anybody, well, I've never said publicly is what he just said is so incredibly important. And I've got a bunch of titles that folks have given me, royalty and this and that and the other thing. I don't use any of them. My name is John o'. Brien.
- [46:15]
But the reason this is so important is if I meet somebody and if their business card says Dr. Blank, Blank, Blank, comma, MBA comma, blah, blah, comma, or just name comma, and five titles, I'll meet with them. I'll be gracious. I won't ask him a thing. I won't try to teach him a thing. Because the impression is that they really believe that they know it all already. And God gave you. I asked Quincy Jones, how'd you get so smart? He said, I'm just nosy as hell. I want to know everything about everything. God gives you two ears and one mouth. Listen twice as much as you talk. I love credentials. I love people having credentials, but you don't have to wear them all on your sleeve. They don't have to be. You don't have to hit people over the head with them. You want to be an open door, not a closed book. And if you do have these credentials, by the way, you're listening to this, be proud of them. List them.
- [47:12]
A
Sure.
- [47:12]
B
On your resume. But then start with the question when you go into a room, because people are not going to assume that you are still curious. So you, so now you're, you're, you know, you've been, you've, this guy's written your check. You're in the, you're in the, you're in the game, right?
- [47:30]
A
So I say, you know, credit, you know, credibility. I say corporate boards. I see if I could be on one board, the best board, be an airline, because they let you fly for free. I mean, I, I, I, you know, it just, it's just completely practical. But again, getting back to what Bill Bradley said, if the President United States walks in the room, what's your ask if the CEO of American Airlines walked in the room? I didn't have an answer. I literally constructed an argument about why I should be on the board of American Airlines.
- [47:57]
B
Okay.
- [47:57]
A
And happened to be at a football game one day sitting next to an older gentleman. And we get to talking and, and he's like, look, I'd love to get you involved in this. Not for profit or that. Not for profit. And I, you know, I love not for profits. But I say, look, tell me who you are first. And he says, look, I'm a former CEO of the Resolution Trust Company. I'm former, oh my God mirror, former CEO of American Airlines. And I say, if you think I'm so good, you should put me on the board of American Airlines. And I committed this thing to memory.
- [48:26]
B
Boom.
- [48:27]
A
And he's like, whoa, okay, well, actually I'm not CEO now, but I'll be out tomorrow out there. Be out there tomorrow. I'll look into it. And so he came back and said, american Airlines has three boards. They have the airline, Everybody knows that. They have Sabre, which is an information technology company, but they also have an asset management company called American Beacon. And I think, wow, you would be perfect on that board. And I said, what's the compensation? He said, free first class travel anywhere in the world. American flies for you and your wife.
- [48:56]
B
Sign me up.
- [48:57]
A
Sign me up. So I, interesting enough, became, you know, I served on the board, became chairman of the board, and ended up buying it from American Airlines.
- [49:07]
B
What?
- [49:08]
A
Yes, with David Bonderman. So we grew it to about, oh.
- [49:11]
B
My God, I love that story.
- [49:12]
A
Grew to about 65 billion in assets and sold it. But then I also went on the board of Starwood Hotels because I needed a place to stay. And you know, St. Regis, Weston Wood, you know, luxury collection, all of those things. And then I was aboard a Gap. I had the six kids, was food and so. And then I started the firm with a gentleman who's younger than I would finish number one in his class, summa cum laude at Princeton. Actually Native American who had worked at Goldman Sachs, worked at Goldman. And then we really built the firm. And you know, the focus is on making people healthier, lowering costs, creating greater access for patients, which is.
- [49:55]
Fundamental to addressing the needs primarily of underserved communities, whether it's in rural communities, urban communities, people who have the greatest disparities in health care. That's what we try to address with very good risk adjusted returns. So it's generating great returns but also impacting communities that need it the most.
- [50:15]
B
Returns means profit for the. In layman's terms. So returns on investment. So you said something, you said a lot of things that are powerful, but you said something and you walk right past it. We have a nice laugh about it. But a lot of people watching social media think there's some honor and throwing away money. Oh, I'm gonna rent a, I'm gonna rent a jet, a private jet. I'm gonna, I'm gonna charter a private jet, I'm gonna buy, I'm a celebrity, I'm a hip hop star, I'm a basketball, football star, whatever. I am going, I am so important, I'm gonna go buy me a private jet. And I think that that's just silly. And now I told people, most folks you see run around in private jet, they're not paying for it.
- [51:04]
A
Correct.
- [51:05]
B
They're corporations paying for it. And a limited liability corporation, a cash flow that they've tied to some deal they've done is paying for it. It's a tax write off. There's something going on. They're not taking money from, they're not taking cash from income and turning around and writing a check for outflow. That is one trip is thirty thousand, fifty thousand, a hundred thousand dollars, one trip.
- [51:33]
And they're not doing that ten times, fifty times a year, twenty times a year, coming out of their cash flow. And what you heard Nealon say was I need to get around the country, around the world. I don't want to pay for this stuff. How can I? There's two ways to make money. Make more or spend less. If you ever see me on a jet, a private jet, no, I'm not paying for it.
- [51:56]
A
Right.
- [51:56]
B
You see me on, I mean, anyway, go give me preaching. But anyway, Neil do you agree with that or do you disagree with that?
- [52:01]
A
100. 100. And that was really fundamental to my thesis about, look, I knew launching a business, I needed to be able to cut my expenses. And so travel is a big expense, you know, hotels, big expense. I was able to do those things for free. And that so I could, at a moment's notice, get on a plane, go somewhere and not have to worry about the cost or for that matter, stay in a hotel. So again, it was all about, you know, how do I. Because I knew as an entrepreneur, you know, there was going to be some challenging time, lean times ahead. You know, the beauty of medicine, it's pretty consistent. You can, you can, you know, you know about how much you're going to make. The bad news about being an entrepreneur is you don't know. And so I needed to lower my. My risk, you know, in terms of outflow. And so that's. That's exactly what I. I did.
- [53:03]
B
So I have come to the conclusion. I had a whole list of questions for you. I've gotten through two. I've come to the conclusion I can't do this interview justice without part two. Will you come back?
- [53:15]
A
Absolutely, bro.
- [53:22]
B
When the holidays start to feel a bit repetitive, reach for a Sprite Winter Spice Cranberry and put your twist on tradition. It's a refreshing way to shake things up this sipping season, and only for a limited time. Sprite. Obey your thirst. You've been working in the garage with your dad every week, Monday to Sunday.
- [53:41]
A
Trying to get the old school up and running.
- [53:44]
B
Today, after all the hard work, y' all finally finished it. So you have that feeling of accomplishment. You did it.
- [53:52]
A
Then your dad throws you the keys.
- [53:54]
B
He says those three magic words. All yours, son.
- [53:58]
A
Yup.
- [53:59]
B
Same car that belonged to your grandpa and that your dad helped him fix.
- [54:03]
A
It's yours. Three generations right there, keeping the tradition alive.
- [54:08]
B
But if you ask dad to really.
- [54:10]
A
Keep the tradition going, you need to get insured.
- [54:14]
B
And you already know you need to get State Farm.
- [54:17]
A
Because your agent, well, he gets tradition, too.
- [54:20]
B
His dad was an agent, his grandpa too.
- [54:23]
A
So he gets you. Generation to generation. Remember to choose the agents that your family counted on. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Running a business is hard enough, so why make it harder? With a dozen different apps that don't talk to each other, One for sales, another for inventory, a separate one for accounting. Before you know it, you are drowning in software instead of growing your business. This is where Odoo comes in. Odoo is the only business software you'll ever need. It's an all in one fully integrated platform that handles everything CRM, accounting, inventory, e commerce, HR and more. No more app overload, no more juggling logins, just one seamless system that makes work easier. And the best part, Odoo replaces multiple expensive platforms for a fraction of the cost. It's built to grow with your business whether you are just starting out or already scaling up. Plus, it's easy to use, customizable and designed to streamline every process so you can focus on what really matters running your business. Thousands of businesses have made the switch, so why not you try Odoo for free@odoo.com that's o-o o.com hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway. The holiday season can be exhausting with all the parties and the end of year celebrations. But don't forget to take care of your yourself by stocking up on your favorite nutritional products. Now through December 30th. Shop in store and online and save on items like Cliff Snack Bars, Luna Bars, Boost Nutritional Energy Drinks, Premier Protein Shakes, Z Bar Variety Packs, Open Nature Powder and Body Fortress Protein powder offers end December 30th. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.
- [56:06]
And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu. Is that guy with the binoculars watching us? Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you need@liberty mutual.com Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Fairy underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates, excludes Massachusetts.
- [56:39]
B
So with that in mind, I don't even ask my audience. I know they're going to love you. Let's I want to go to I want to go in two directions very quickly with the time that we have left. And I definitely want to cover this lawsuit thing and why and what and I just thought that was so gangster when I read about it in the Wall Street Journal. It wasn't in the Houston Chronicle. It wasn't in the, you know, Gazette. It was in the Wall Street Journal. Here's this black man and they were talking about him in admirable terms. They were not talking about him. Like a lot of times folks get talked down to they were talking up to his any respect. Here's some easy questions though, and you could decide which one of these you want to answer because you can't answer all of Them.
- [57:24]
What's the number one mistake people make in trying to get wealthy, which is different from making money? What do you know at 68 that you wish you knew at 28?
- [57:37]
What's your personal definition of wealth versus being rich?
- [57:43]
Is there a truth about generational wealth that you want to share?
- [57:48]
Why ownership is a great equalizer. You can pick any one of these you like, and the last one is.
- [57:55]
Why is the most important asset in your life? I'm asking this, but I know the answer. Your relationship capital, capital. So. And I always say, rich is a contract. Wealth is what you do in your sleep. Actually, my friend Tony Wrestler, billionaire Tony Wrestler, is the one who originally taught me that. Business partner friend of mine and a mentor. Take any one of those you like. I've made a statement about relationship capital that I'd love for you to at least amplify on. I didn't even ask you that. I know it's true that your most important asset is your relationships. You can disagree with me if there's a 1% chance you disagree, but pick one of the other.
- [58:29]
A
Relationships are clearly the reason why I've been. I mean, it's fundamental to how I've been successful. It is me, too. The ability to be able to connect with people you know, in your true self. Meaning you know, you're being your authentic self.
- [58:47]
B
That's right.
- [58:48]
A
Because it's not always. It's not trying to please people necessarily, but it's. And especially people of wealth, because people are always sucking up to them. And if you can, you know, address them in a way where you agree with them and agree to disagree with them.
- [59:04]
B
Right.
- [59:04]
A
And. Or provide them a different perspective on a specific issue, they respect that much more.
- [59:11]
B
That's right.
- [59:11]
A
And I think that one. You do, as I do, we try to show up, we try to be there at the important things in the important ways. And you don't need to look. Time is our most precious asset.
- [59:25]
B
That's right.
- [59:26]
A
That's the one thing you can't get more of. You can get more money, you can get more friends you get, but you can't get more time. And so being able to curate your time in a way so that you are at the right places at the right time with the right people is exactly how you want to, you know, bring more efficiency and therefore effectiveness to your objectives. And so that's what I've tried to do. That's number one. And again, the credibility that says when Tony Ressler picks up the phone and calls someone on your behalf, they don't need anything else. They don't need to do a whole bunch of other background checks. We got to do that. And again, the same thing with myself. I've tried to and I developed relationships with people.
- [60:17]
That are credible, beyond credible in their own rights. And therefore through not only our relationship. And I mean that it's a two way relationship. John, what you've done with your relationships, as I've tried to do with mine, is not just take, but in fact give.
- [60:38]
B
That's right.
- [60:38]
A
In fact give. So the ability to introduce someone who hasn't met someone or who hasn't doesn't have a particular perspective in this community or that community. It's about being able to have that type of. Of give and take relationship, I think is what creates a bond.
- [61:00]
B
Yeah.
- [61:01]
A
And respect. And therefore you get included in deals and you get invited on boards and you get, you know, this, that or the other. And it may be with, you know, helping their kids or, or helping them personally or their wives or friends or whatever it is. That's a way. It's a give and take. And I would also say, quite frankly, which is a little bit different, it's important to have a carrot, but it's also, it's important to have a stick. It's also important to have a stick. And what I mean by that, what Texas teachers help me to understand is that is leverage and power, meaning serving on the board, being able to allocate resources or take resources.
- [61:43]
Creates a respect that people in power understand.
- [61:50]
And so they are.
- [61:55]
It puts you as a peer as opposed to always asking for things. Yeah. You know, the ability to give, but also to take.
- [62:06]
B
Yes.
- [62:07]
A
And you know, that is unfortunately, that's how mankind is. They. They.
- [62:13]
B
Incentives and penalties.
- [62:15]
A
Correct.
- [62:15]
B
People respond to incentives and penalties.
- [62:18]
A
Yes.
- [62:19]
B
So which one of these questions. I can repeat them. Do you want to. The sub questions you want to answer before we go to the. This gangster movie you made. Which is. Which it deals with, by the way. Extraction. It deals with taking something from someone that you rightly so, in my opinion, deserve. But it took courage to do what you did. You. Most people would have just stayed quiet because they didn't want to ruffle feathers. Because they. What's am I going to think about me? What if I lose the lawsuit? What. Who's gonna. Who am I gonna. What what, what? Who am I going to upset? Who am I going to offend? Oh, I think I'll just stay over here. Quiet. Do you know that Dr. King in the 60s, he only had at his height 20% of the black community support and 20% of the white community support and half of that was Jewish. Most people just thought he's a rebel rouser. He's, he's, you know, he's messing up the power structure. I'm, I like my salary, I like my life. I'm gonna sit on my hands over here and let him go do that. And it wasn't, they were against him. They just thought that's just messy. And they let him do the dirty work as my mentor. Bastard. Andrew Young new documentary is out about his life. The dirty work. You have no problem doing the dirty work. Anyways, that's gonna be my final question to you.
- [63:40]
A
What?
- [63:40]
B
Where? How unpack that for the audience. Do you want to answer one of these sub questions?
- [63:47]
A
Yes. So sorry, because I got distracted. Please repeat that. At least one or two of them.
- [63:53]
B
I'm gonna tell you a couple of what I think you'll like.
- [63:55]
A
Okay.
- [63:55]
B
What would you what your 68 year old self tell your 28 year old self?
- [63:59]
A
Okay.
- [64:00]
B
And what do you really define as wealth? And why is ownership the equalizer for underserved people?
- [64:05]
A
Yeah, so what I would say is, what would my 68 self say? To my 28 self?
- [64:11]
What I would say is.
- [64:16]
Continue to be true to yourself. Continue to update the beauty of me when I was 28 that time in Egypt, I was actually kind of fundamentally able to lay out what I wanted to be when I was 68. I mean it really. And I haven't necessarily veered from that North Star for me, you know, seeing myself, you know, at the end of my life.
- [64:43]
B
Yes.
- [64:44]
A
And so, you know, the decisions that I made, the relationships, whether it's personal, whether it's business, have been kind of fundamental to that. And so I've been pretty consistent with that set of criteria.
- [65:08]
Seize opportunity when it presents itself.
- [65:12]
Look, you know, listen more than you, you speak.
- [65:17]
You know, work hard.
- [65:19]
Check your ego, don't, don't, you know, don't get caught up in things, Put in the work.
- [65:29]
Listen, find great people, keep great people in your life, you know, you know, be about love, be about love, be about loving yourself first and foremost.
- [65:43]
B
Yes.
- [65:43]
A
You know, loving your family, loving your friends and.
- [65:48]
But again, you are tremendously influenced by the people you keep in your life. And so having extraordinary people who can challenge you as well as embrace you I think is enormously, have been enormously important to me.
- [66:05]
B
Why is wealth a great equalizer? And you touched. I'm going to end this where we started because you talked about Greece and you talked about how people were saying, america ain't nothing. They're still coming back to why is wealth the great equalizer?
- [66:17]
A
Yeah, wealth is an extraordinary equalizer. And, and let me say that there are different types of wealth. You know, you know, there's personal wealth with regard to, you know, your family and loved ones and things like that. And there's also.
- [66:36]
Wealth in the sense of multi generation, multi generational wealth that addresses extraordinary.
- [66:45]
Challenges. It can solve for lots of problems, but there are things that wealth cannot solve for. And it's understanding what money can do and what money can't do, I think, allows you to be able to embrace it in a way where you understand what true wealth is. So money can get you the best doctors, money can get you the best, you know, transportation, all kinds of. It can provide, you know, peace of mind in the sense of you don't have to worry about certain things, but there are some things it can't solve for. And again.
- [67:27]
And that's where sometimes people get confused. I know a lot of wealthy people with tremendous, tremendous resources but are unhappy. And look, I've been without money and I've been with money. With money is much better, much better. There's no question about that. Don't understand, but understand it can't solve all problems. And so being thoughtful, being, being.
- [67:54]
Respecting for what it can do and what it can't do, I think is enormously important and also recognizing that, look, we have an obligation, I think, without our community to create multi generational wealth. Because in order for us to advance beyond where we are, you have to have capital. You have to have capital, you have to provide scholarships, you have to have capital in order to be able to, to invest in communities, to build businesses, to really risk, to take risk. And so we need to be about generating that type of.
- [68:36]
Those types of resources so that we can take the risk necessary to advance our communities forward. And that just comes with money. It comes with money. So we need to be about doing.
- [68:46]
B
Just that in the final moments we have here. This has been absolutely extraordinary, Neyland. This far exceeded. I had no expectation. I just wanted to, I wanted to brag about you to the world and you have flipped the script and you turn this into a master class on life. I mean, this is fantastic. I'm so angry at you for being hiding from the world. I'm so angry at you. The world needs more of you, not less. You are extraordinary. Kudos to you. Tell us why you weren't scared to talk about.
- [69:18]
What your ancestors earned and created and someone took.
- [69:24]
A
I was not afraid because.
- [69:28]
B
And what is it, by the way?
- [69:29]
A
Yeah, yeah. So a little bit of background. You know, my great great grandparents were. Were slaves, you know, in, in Texas post the, the Civil War, before they were property. They ended up buying property. So it was a profound transformation to be, you know, of, you know, someone's property and then to own property. Yes, was a profound transformation that while I didn't know them, I knew that that had to have been seared with enormous sacrifice and, and what have you. So my parents, grandparents, great grandparents, they own 147.5 acres. They. My great, great grandfather was then unfortunately put in a mental institution because he must have been crazy if he bought this land. Somebody drove him crazy and so he ended up dying in that institution. As it happens. As it happens, though, by law, his half all went to his nine kids. His half of his estate went to his nine kids. The other half went to my great grandmother. And she.
- [70:52]
Having passed and we don't know all the details exactly because she had some financial resources, but.
- [71:00]
Her half ended up going to.
- [71:05]
Let'S say, a white family. Let's just leave it at that.
- [71:11]
And.
- [71:13]
You know, about approximately 15 years ago.
- [71:18]
We got a call from, you know, Landman, which are these guys who are looking to establish mineral rights and in oil leases, saying, hey, look, you all are the, you own half of 147.5 acres. And I won't go through all the iterations of, of the different family members, but you own 147.5 acres of this, which is undivided and split with this white family.
- [71:47]
B
Right.
- [71:50]
A
You know, we said, okay, wonderful.
- [71:56]
As it happens, the law firm, because I was not particularly engaged at that time, did not risk. The white family, ended up.
- [72:07]
Suing and said, no, that's not the case. We own all of this. The attorneys who we hired at the time did not respond to summary judgments, which is really, really important. I mean, essentially, they allowed the opposing side to basically win. When we, when we did some research, we found out again, these people were not representing us. Let's just say they weren't representing us.
- [72:36]
That they should have been representing us.
- [72:38]
B
Yeah. They might have intentionally not responded.
- [72:40]
A
Corrected. Correct.
- [72:41]
B
Might have been encouraged to not respond.
- [72:43]
A
Exactly.
- [72:44]
B
Some people can read between the lines here.
- [72:45]
A
Right? So then at that point, I got involved. My cousin Stella, who's an attorney, got involved. My brother David, who's an attorney, got involved. My sister, three, Susan, turn. He got involved. You know, and then we said, okay, let's let's kind of lead the charge here. So we took it to the appellate court. We then win one, a verdict on the appellate court, which then it was appealed by the other family to the Texas Supreme Court, which we then won at the Texas Supreme Court. It was then remanded back down to the district court where we had originally had this, this mishap. And we ended up winning a jury verdict.
- [73:23]
B
Wow.
- [73:24]
A
And the jury said we did in fact own 147.5 acres within this area of Texas. And it's called the Eagle Ford Shell area. And it's where a tremendous amount of oil, oil.
- [73:39]
Or being pumped. And again.
- [73:43]
There'S been appeal to that and what have you. And so we're still in the process of this court case. But let's just say the reason why I did it, and I'm not alone, I have a wonderful family team and others who are involved. But the reason was, look, the legacy of, of our forefathers, our four or great, great grandparents, the sacrifice that they made, the sacrifices that other families have made. And I had the financial ability to be able to, to fight this. And so it was, you know, that's one tool we had. We also had resources within the legal framework as well through relationships both in family and outside of the family. And so, you know, it was an opportunity to really not only pay tribute to the legacy of our forefathers.
- [74:48]
But also to.
- [74:51]
Pay forward the dividends that quite frankly have been accumulating on this land to the 200 plus relatives that I have who deserve this. And again, having the financial wherewithal.
- [75:09]
Can make a tremendous difference in people's lives. The fact that they could maybe have, you know, a child or relative be able to get counseling or, you know, or in a clinic for substance abuse, or invest in a business or, you know.
- [75:27]
Provide better health care, all of those things are enormously important. And so I thought that this was an opportunity to step forward and do something not just for myself because it won't necessarily materially change my life, but certainly it could change the lives of many of my relatives.
- [75:47]
B
There's a couple of things as we wrap up that I love about what you said. And really we brought this back home. So I asked you why is wealth a great equalizer? You just answered it. You have to have the legal, the financial resources to fight a legal case. You also have to have the discipline to fight a legal case. It's not instantaneous. Went to this court, went to that court, went to that court, then went back to this court up to this court. He was trying to frustrate you. They're trying to get you off track. They're trying to distract you, they're trying to undermine you.
- [76:17]
And. But without those financial. I am involved in a legal situation myself right now. First time I've ever had. I treasure the fact that I've never had to sue anybody or been sued. But you know, I got involved in the situation and I wasn't going to let it go. And luckily I've got the financial resources say and I'm not going to let it go.
- [76:41]
And I don't worry about it either. As you said. And I love. This was just gangster. You said this is not going to change my station in life one iota one way or the other, but it will for others. And, and I can say the same thing. This won't change my station life one way or the other in my situation, but it affects others and it affects charities that want to help and so on and so forth. So I'm going to fight the fight because I can.
- [77:06]
And I commend you on that and admire you. I'm gonna do a whole series next year on failure, like falling forward, failing forward. That failure is not. Not about you. It's a, it's an experiment. It's an outcome to situation. It's how you grow. And some of the best lessons you have learned, I have heard have through. Have been through what somebody might determine as a failure or a misstep. And that's not the way you see it. I don't need to ask you that. It's just another form of education for you.
- [77:38]
A
Absolutely.
- [77:38]
B
Yeah. This has been brilliant, by the way. Do you. Is it okay to mention the number that it's tied to this lawsuit with the oil information?
- [77:47]
A
Yeah, sure. It's public information.
- [77:48]
B
What are we talking about?
- [77:49]
A
900 million.
- [77:53]
B
Okay. That was. Drop the mic. My. When you got the power, you don't need to use it. My man just said the only because I asked very casually, very informally without changing the octave of his. Of his voice. Yeah, it's public information. It's $900 million won't change the quality of his life one iota. This is what. This is who you need to be. Everybody. This is we. I'm tired of us just rocking the mic. I want to own it. Indeed.
- [78:26]
A
Amen.
- [78:27]
B
Youngblood owns his mic. Quite literally. We. You. You have to come back.
- [78:33]
A
Appreciate you, brother. Thank you, my man.
- [78:35]
B
Love and light. This is John o'. Brien. This is Neyland Youngblood. This is money and wealth I want your Internet search engine to go crazy and your AI to go crazy searching this man and his story and his firm and giving and putting him on your prayer list. Because we need for him to live a very long time so he can be a blessing to many, many, many more people. As you see, it's in his spirit. Ladies and gentlemen, let's go live our best life. John o', Brien, this is money and wealth and Neal and Youngblood and we'll Foreign.
- [79:26]
Wealth with John o' Brien is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from the Black Effect Podcast network, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Sam.
- [81:10]
Whoa, what a vibe we've got, y'. All.
- [81:12]
A
As always, it's classic HBCU energy. Non stop action. The band is rocking and the crowd lit.
- [81:20]
B
Chants echoing, drums beating, everybody showing that school pride.
- [81:23]
A
Moments like this, yeah, they call for an ice cold Coca Cola. Crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there.
- [81:30]
B
Mmm.
- [81:30]
A
Yeah, that taste always hit the right note. Just like the band at halftime. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere and an ice cold Coca Cola. That's a winning combo. No matter the place, no matter the moment. Everybody knows fan work is thirsty work. So grab a Coca Cola and keep that HBCU pride going. Amazon five Star Theater presents Real Customer Reviews Performed by Ed Helms. Tonight's review Tactical Jacket I was living a simple life. Didn't get out much. Then I bought this jacket and everything changed. Women came flocking to me from lands domestic and foreign. On the 245 day sailboat voyage home, I was attacked by a shark. I knew it was the jacket he was after giving up the jacket in exchange for my life. 5 stars Amazon Customer 69 Shop the perfect gift this holiday on Amazon. This podcast is brought to you by FedEx.
- [82:32]
B
The new power Move. Hey, you know those people in your.
- [82:36]
A
Office who are always pulling old school corporate power moves?
- [82:40]
B
Like the guy who weaponizes eye contact. He's confident, he's engaged, he's often creepy.
- [82:47]
A
It's an old school power move. But this alpha dog laser gaze won't.
- [82:51]
B
Keep your supply chain moving across borders. The real power move?
- [82:55]
A
Having a smart platform that keeps up with the changing trade landscape. That's why smart businesses partner with FedEx and use the power of digital intelligence.
- [83:05]
B
To navigate around supply chain issues before they happen.
- [83:09]
A
Set your sights on something that will.
- [83:11]
B
Actually improve your business.
- [83:13]
A
FedEx, the new power move. Streaming December 11th. It's the new limited series, Little Disasters, Happy Families. Perfect marriage.
- [83:22]
B
What happened?
- [83:24]
A
Social services have been called in.
- [83:26]
B
I've known you for 10 years. How could you make that call? These rich families. Concealing things seems to come naturally.
- [83:33]
A
Starring Diane Kruger. You can't take out children. And Joe Joyner.
- [83:38]
B
Parents can do some terrible things in moments of frustration.
- [83:42]
A
Little disasters. All episodes streaming December 11th on Paramount Plus. So usually on okay story time, our audience will send in their relationship problems. And the okay storytime squad gives some good advice. Goofily. But today we're not giving out our usual advice. Our producer Riley says we're giving something else. So what are we doing today, Riley? Today we're playing a little game. Oh, I love game Game. Says the man. I bought special gifts for you guys from ebay. Each one picked with one of you in mind. Yeah, Dakota, if you want to guess.
- [84:10]
B
All right.
- [84:11]
A
There is a gift at my feet. Open that. And now it is in my hands.
- [84:15]
B
Oh, I feel like it's got to.
- [84:17]
A
Be our resident gamer. Key. This is the rectangle of childhood.
- [84:21]
B
It's a portable game console. I used to have this as a kid. This game console I used to play all the time.
- [84:26]
A
And you know when your mom came into the room when you were a.
- [84:29]
B
Kid and like, you're pretending to see sleep. But Riley, what a thoughtful gift.
- [84:33]
A
Yeah, R. Thank you so much, Riley. You're crushing it.
- [84:35]
B
But we have one more gift. Let's open it. Boom.
- [84:40]
A
Oh, camera. An old timey camera. That's right. Classic.
- [84:44]
B
This is awesome.
- [84:45]
A
Because you know how I love to take pictures of my travels. Yeah, you're always somewhere, whether it's in Kyrgyzstan with some nomads or just New York, you know, with a nice little a piece of trash or a rat taking pictures with the birds.
- [84:59]
B
So, Riley, you got all of this from ebay?
- [85:01]
A
Dude, ebay. It was really fun finding it with you guys. I had very specific things for each one of you. It was all there.
- [85:08]
B
Thanks, Riley. And thank you, ebay.
- [85:10]
A
And guys shop ebay for millions of finds, each with a story. EBay. Things people love. This is an iheart podcast. Guaranteed human.