The World According to Boyar

Wall Street Journal journalist Justin Baer on Fidelity’s private empire, the Johnson family, Jerry Tsai, and the company that helped reshape American investing. Episode Overview   Fidelity is one of the most important financial companies in America — and also one of the least understood. Millions of Americans know it through their 401(k), brokerage account, or mutual funds, but few know the story...

CNBC’s Senior Markets Commentator—and the show’s first-ever repeat guest—on short selling, AI spending, market concentration, and why the bar is high for what’s been working to keep working. Episode Overview In this episode of The World According to Boyar , Jonathan Boyar welcomes back CNBC Senior Markets Commentator Michael Santoli—the first repeat guest in the show’s history, following his Decem...

Episode Overview: In this episode of The World According to Boyar, Jonathan Boyar speaks with Lina Tetelbaum, a corporate partner at Wachtell Lipton, one of the world’s most influential corporate law firms, where she heads the firm’s shareholder engagement and activism defense practice. Lina takes us inside the world of shareholder activism — how activists choose targets, the small universe of ide...

Josh Brown and Michael Batnick on Ritholtz, Authenticity, and Why Risk Finds a Way What began as a funny observation from Boyar Value Group founder Mark Boyar — that Josh Brown and Michael Batnick are “the Howard Stern of financial podcasting” — turned out to be a pretty good way into the real story. Josh and Michael built an audience by being candid, irreverent, and willing to say things much of...

Episode Overview In this wide-ranging conversation, MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle offers a candid look at how one of the world’s leading entertainment and hospitality companies is positioning itself for the future. We discuss MGM’s digital evolution, its expanding global footprint, and how leadership evaluates ambitious and complicated long-term opportunities such as the company’s $12 billion pr...

Episode Overview In this wide-ranging conversation, legendary investor Bill Nygren discusses how value investing has evolved since the 1980s—and why the traditional valuation metrics many investors still rely on no longer adequately measure a company’s true worth. Nygren explains how intangibles like brand and customer acquisition costs have transformed the investing landscape, why accounting cons...

Episode Summary: In this episode, Jonathan Boyar welcomes Chris Halpin, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer of IAC—a holding company known for its savvy capital allocation and track record of building internet leaders like Expedia, Match Group, and Ticketmaster.  Chris brings a unique perspective shaped by senior roles at the NFL and Providence Equity bef...

Episode Summary: In this episode of The World According to Boyar , Jonathan Boyar sits down with Bill Ackman, the legendary hedge fund manager and founder of Pershing Square, to discuss his latest big move involving Howard Hughes, his unfiltered views on politics, and his growing role as an activist investor. Ackman shares his thoughts on the Trump administration, deregulation, and why he believes...

Join host Jonathan Boyar as he sits down with Kunal Kapoor, the dynamic CEO of Morningstar, in this episode of The World According to Boyar . Dive into the story behind one of the most influential firms in the financial services industry and discover how Kunal’s leadership has propelled Morningstar to new heights. Kunal discusses Morningstar's mission to empower investor success through indep...

This week, I had the honor of interviewing Thomas Peterffy, the founder of Interactive Brokers, on The World According to Boyar podcast. Thomas’s life exemplifies the American Dream: When he came to the United States from Communist Hungary in 1965, virtually penniless and with no knowledge of English, he immediately began teaching himself computer programming while saving up for a seat on the Amer...

The Interview Discusses: Bill Wilson’s rise from a data-driven marketer at Arista Records to helming a digital-first local media empire. The extraordinary experience of working with Clive Davis.  How he utilized traditional radio as a “trojan horse” to build a digital media company. The competitive advantage of  operating in smaller markets. Why a local content strategy is so differentiated in tod...

The Interview Discusses:  Anthony’s amazing life story growing up from humble beginnings to becoming a major success on Wall Street. His theory on resiliency and how he was able to recover after being fired from both Goldman Sachs and the White House. Why he is investing in cryptocurrencies. How Bill Miller influenced his investment decision making How Warren Buffett cost him a lot of money His su...

The Interview Discusses: Growing up in Iran and how having a global upbringing has  impacted him as an investor. Why he is more comfortable investing in the United States. How his grandparents fleeing Nazi Germany has impacted his investment decision making. His experience as an investor during the financial crisis and how he invests during uncertain times. What about the current geopolitical land...

The Interview Discusses: His remarkable turnaround of Domino’s Pizza where he increased the share price by 23x. The opportunity he saw at Restaurant Brands that convinced him to invest $30 million personally in the company’s shares (and pledge to hold it for 5 years). The dynamics of working for a company controlled by private equity firm 3G. The importance of franchisee profitability for his turn...

The Interview Discusses:  The rise and fall of GE. What could have been done to save General Electric. Who is to blame for GE’s demise. His in-depth interviews with both Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt.  The fundamental error that Jack Welch made that tarnished his legacy. How GE capital almost filed for bankruptcy during the financial crisis. What Disney can learn from GE’s succession issues. The mist...

The Interview Discusses: How he turned around Callaway’s traditional business. How “off course” golf is now larger than “on course” golf. How Topgolf is increasing participation in traditional golf. The economics behind a Topgolf location and why scale matters. Why he does not believe a rising interest rate environment will impact the expansion of TopGolf. How he had the confidence to “bet the com...

The Interview Discusses:  The secret to success in the investment business. His investment thesis on both Home Depot & Diageo. Why investing through the covid crisis was harder than investing through the financial crisis.  How covid has impacted Markel’s insurance operations. His thoughts on Berkshire Hathaway investing in Markel. His observations of Warren Buffett as a fellow board member at...

The Interview Discusses:  Founding Ariel (which now manages more than $16 billion) at the age of 24. Surviving the stock market crash of 1987 and how he turned this setback into an opportunity to grow both his firm as well as his reputation. Why sitting on corporate boards such as McDonalds and Nike have made him a better investor. How his investment process has evolved overtime. How he constructs...

The Interview Discusses:  How Dotdash in a relatively short period of time became the largest publisher in the United States. IAC's recent acquisition of Meredith and why he believes they now have the scale to effectively compete against Facebook and Google Lessons learned from working with media mogul Barry Diller. The future of print magazines and why Dotdash is intentionally shrinking thei...

The Interview Discusses: His fascinating new book, The Revolution That Wasn’t: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors . Robinhood’s unique business model and whether Robinhood has “democratized” finance as it claims. How Robinhood came very close to the brink of insolvency. The role of “influencers” like Chamath Palihapitiya, Elon Musk, and David Portnoy in driving the speculative e...

The Interview Discusses:  How their cannabis division Hawthorne has grown over 100% over the past two years. Why he decided to enter the cannabis business. His thoughts on the current regulatory environment for cannabis and what he believes needs to change. Where the biggest money will be made in a post cannabis "prohibition" world and where they are investing. The logic of potentially s...

The Interview Discusses:  The state of the NYC real estate market and why he believes it will quickly become a seller’s market. Areas outside of NYC where he is currently finding compelling long-term investment opportunities. His firm Serhant which he launched in the beginning of the pandemic. The process he takes when branding properties including Jolie located at 77 Greenwich Street. Potential t...

The Interview Discusses:    Lessons learned from working with media mogul Barry Diller.  Why they decided to take a 12% stake in casino giant MGM. Which businesses within the IAC portfolio he is most excited about. How he approaches capital allocation at IAC. Which stage he believes Angi is at in their fixed priced transformation. Why he believes Angi’ s “take rate” will increase with time. IAC’s...

The Interview Discusses:   How his investment strategy has evolved since retiring from managing money professionally. His thoughts on asset allocation.  Which areas of the stock market he is currently finding value in. How to invest in a potentially rising interest rate environment. His sell discipline when investing in equities.   Important Disclosures. The information herein is provided by Boyar...

The Interview Discusses:   How he helped launch CNBC,  What it was like working in the cable industry when it finally started to gain popularity,  David’s views on the current media landscape and where he believes there could be consolidation,  His thoughts on how content will be bundled in the future,  David’s thoughts on the current multiples for content companies and why Netflix and Disney have...