YouSaid · the spoken record

Josh Harris

lines on the record
29
first
2024-10-31
most recent
2024-10-31
sittings or episodes
1
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podcast

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  1. “No proclamations. All I can tell is that I am going to put my all into making this an elite team and we're going to create a lot of shots at winning a Super Bowl and we're going to do our best.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “And I look at every decision I've made when I decided to leave Blackstone to go to Apollo. That was a risk, right? And I felt that I weighed it like an investment. I treated my choices as an investment. I think who you marry is a critical decision. So, I mean, obviously, that's maybe the most important decision of your life. So these big decisions, you know, really take a step back however you do it, write down the pluses and the minuses. Think about it as risk return and investment and make wise choices.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “Yeah, I think that it's about excellence and so being whatever you do, A, you have to enjoy it. And I think it's about being all in. I think it's go big or go home. It's like an all-in mentality where, you know, like I said, you're only on Earth for a little bit. So throw it on. I tell my kids that unfortunately ages 16 to 30, right? Those are your fun at, you know, I look back on those, and even though I mean obviously, I'm very blessed and I'm very grateful for my life, the maximum fun you have is in those years. Those are really fun times.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “This is an incredible thing. So you sit, it's lined up by Sal has thousands of 15, 20,000 employees. We had companies that had 67. I think we used to say we had 280,000 employees across our portfolio. And then we had millions of beneficiaries. And so you're touching on a lot of lives as an investor, as an entrepreneur building these firms. But on the other hand, no one cares about the price of polypropylene. No one cares, and everyone cares about the starting lineup of the Washington commanders or the Sixers and like you can't now people come up to me all the time and it's not about alternatives, right? It's about sports. And so the impact on the public at large in terms of the psyche and the feeling in the city is so different.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “I would say that they're big in both places. But in terms of, look, I think sports is more public, right? The public gets to know the people bigger. I think private equity is more under wraps, if you will.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “I used to feel a great sense of pride when I would exit an investment. I mean, I would sit there and I would think about it and I would think about what had happened and lives that have been changed. And I would have a glow, right? But the euphoria of a big win, just the absolute high emotional state you get into, the immediacy of that is amazing.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “To experience sports, so whether it's my personal foundation, where we back, a lot of programs, police athletic league, after school All-Stars, America scores, but the high schools no longer can afford sports programs. And so allowing kids to play sports and experience that in the discipline and the camaraderie that comes with that, that's a big part of what we do.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “So, I have a foundation. Obviously, what I'm interested in is people paid it forward for me. My thing is three things. One is intergenerational wealth transfer. So going into communities in need and then not just giving money away, but teaching, you know, getting people jobs, getting people educated, helping them get their own jobs and create enough money where they can then create a path for their own kids, for their own family. They can have pride in their own environment. We back a company called Mosaic and Philly. It's a black-owned, black-led development firm. They build in tough areas. They build affordable housing and supermarket. They put a supermarket into a food desert. They're also building here in the DC area. And then it's about the power of sports. So obviously sports changed my life. Wrestling changed my life. And I want everyone's kids to have the same opportunity my kids do to place.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “Grew up going football games, and that is currently owned by the federal government or is controlled by the federal government. So we got to get that back to DC. And then DC can decide what it wants to do. But that right now is what we're working on.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “Yeah, so we're committed to doing that. I mean, obviously, you just put 80 million in the old stadium because it really needed some work and it needs more work. And we're fixing things as fast as we can. But at the end of the day, a modern stadium and where the premium is situated and how the Wi-Fi is set up and where the field is relative to the seats and a lot of different things, you can only go so far with an older stadium. So we'd like to build a new stadium. Obviously you need support of whatever jurisdiction you build it in. The first part of that is a community dialogue and we're having those dialogues in DC. We're having those dialogues in Maryland and where we play. And so we're focused on building a new stadium. We're in the first part of those dialogues and we've got to get the communities and the politicians rallied behind us. And in the case of DC, right, the most likely thing is RFK, obviously where we all...”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “It's a lot funner when you win, believe me. I mean, you go on Instagram, you watch the commander's locker room, they have some of it when we win. I mean, it's insane how excited everyone is. And when they lose, you know, people aren't very happy. So I think that, but you just have to be there as part of that fabric. And by the way, everyone does it differently. That's why I do it.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “I don't think you can leave Burley unless you really. I think you have to stay there. And look, I think win or lose, you're part of the fabric of the team, right? And you're there with the players. And, I mean, listen, if you really have to leave early, but I'm saying as a rule, you're there, right? You're there, winner losers. You're not going to win every game. And so, like, if you leave, right, then what's the message in that, right? So I think you're there till the end, and you're there after the game with them. And then you leave once, win or lose.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “I'm pretty good right now. I'm focused on winning in Washington and winning in Philly and basketball, winning in Washington football, and then letting my partners in London and in Newark, David Blitzer and Stephen Parrish. Win in New Jersey and London. I go to two or three, I do go to a few football matches as European football matches. I love it, but mostly watching on TV and then go to as many hockey games as I can. But right now I got my focus on these two teams and my business and my family.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Yeah, so there are 82 basketball games. I never made it. Certainly when you own, first of all, I've never missed a football game since I've owned the team. Keep going. Homer away. There's less of those. But no, look, I think if you are the managing partner of a team, and really for me, it's these two teams because I have partners that handle the other teams and I'm more of an investor. I'd say that you have to be present. You have to be, you're accountable to the city. People want to see you there. The players notice. If you're there, and people want to make sure that you're aware, you're present, you're watching, they don't want you to be overly involved. Or at least I don't think you should be. And so you got to be at a lot of games. And for me, some people play golf. I work and I go to sports and I hang out with my family.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “My partner's at Apollo were sort of like just don't let this interfere with your day job. They were very supportive of it at that time. You know, our investors, I think initially they scratched their head, but what happened was they realized that it wasn't interfering with my day job, how focused I was. Powell continued to flourish. And they realized that there's a synergy. Like you learn a lot about life and sports. You learn a lot about being a steward. and culture and people. And so over time, as I went on this journey, everyone was supportive.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “You try to avoid, I've heard every speech. But look, I think for me personally, the elation that you feel, I mean, obviously, I've been very blessed to be involved with a lot of successes in the business world. But the elation you feel being part of a crowd when the team wins, being amongst the fans, that's really something special. And it's a shared experience. It's a community. And it's amazing being Bobbel. I'd say of all the things, look, obviously owning a team in your hometown is incredible.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “And so at the time, I would have preferred to pay less. We had, and so I joked that my credentials as a value investor were shattered. We paid the highest price in the history of the world for a sports team, but that was quickly a surpass. But I had a long run vision that the NFL was the dominant sport in the world, that it would, you know, the media rights would continue to appreciate as global audiences flooded in. that there would be upward pressure on values. Also, was aware that the NFL was considering letting in private equity alternative forms of capital. And so for all those reasons, I felt that people would look back on it and say it was a good deal. And it's proven as such. I mean, obviously, you mentioned that the current values, a couple rumors out there that numbers starting with 8 billion.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “Yeah, $70 to $80 billion, depending on the day. So I'm very proud of it. I mean, I'm still a very large shelter. It was a great thing to have created. And now to be able to have a second act, which is 26 North, but also with sports with the commanders. And I sort of think what I do here in Washington is a very big deal, even though Apollo has been a very big deal. So this is really important.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “And so I was leaning for private equity, and then I was running the firm. So the firm went public. What happens in the investing business is you get kicked upstairs. And so ultimately, it became the three of us formed an executive committee, and we were running the firm, and I was running the firm day to day.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “So then it's interesting, I felt that private equity was, I wanted to be involved with companies versus just being at a bank. And private equity seemed like the way to get the most responsibility and was where all the smartest people were going. And I joined this five-year-old young firm called Blackstone. I went there and three months into it. Draxel went out of business and I got a call from Mark Rowan, who had been the star associate at Draxol, who I had worked with, and he said, look, we're starting up this firm. And initially, I was like, I'm good. You guys just went out of business. But I decided to follow him and Leon Black, and I joined Paolo, which had 12 people at that point.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “I went to Drexel, which was a storied investment bank. Where I could get the best experience with the smartest people. So that was their 1986 to 1988. It was killing it. And then I had one business school, Harvard, and I said, look, if I am blessed to get into Harvard, you know, I read the book. Don't learn in Harvard Physics School. And I was like, if I can get into this place, I'll go. And I went.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “Yeah, so I got better as I went along. So my dad had gone to Penn. And also I was a wrestler and they had a wrestling team. And so I started talking to the coach. And so I kind of got into Penn, even though I probably was an aspirational candidate for Penn. That was my highest shot.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “You get involved with politics. In many cases, I have fans that are on both sides of the aisle, right? So it becomes controversial and sports are supposed to bring people together. And so I keep my opinions to myself, really, I stay out of politics. And I don't get involved, even though, I mean, obviously I care. I care about the world. But my ability to create impact is through these platforms. And so that sort of keeps me out of politics.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “The way we look at it is, first of all, it's like a 50 50 election. I mean, you can go Look at some banning sites, and it's a real toss up, so it's really hard to predict. I think we have to be ready for every environment. Certainly there are different strengths and weaknesses. If you have a candidate that is more regulatory oriented that might affect certain industries like energy or healthcare differently, the antitrust policy could be different that could affect acquisition. So you have to think about all that and just be prepared for it. I think that if there's no outcome, clear outcome, could create some volatility. That may be a buying opportunity. So I think we think about all of it. We plan for all of it, but then we get ready to pivot one way or another. And we make sure the stuff we're doing now is very robust, that it maybe has less leverage, that it's more sustainable under any scenario that could come out.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  25. “Look, you have to pay attention then. I mean, obviously, right now we have a market at all-time highs, and we have an economy that is cranking, inflation, the Federal Reserve has done a good job of finding that they call it Goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold. Inflation's coming down, but unemployment's low. And so things are pretty good. And pricing is aggressive for the most part. The markets are at all-time peak P multiples are very close. So you got to be cognizant that a geopolitical event can knock everything on its side. And so you have to just be careful, right? And you have to plan, okay, what happens if oil prices spike, right? That could be an outcome, for example. What happens if Israel were to attack Iran?”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  26. “Private equity is going through a bit of a transition where values have peaked and they're on their way down. And so some of the returns haven't been as good. And so we're benefiting from that. And so to a certain extent, we're buying really good businesses at much better pricing than others have in the past. So we're able to buy really good businesses, one in the fitness area and one creates electrical systems for data centers and stadiums. And we're buying them at seven times. So unlike the 60 times cash flow, we're paying seven times cash flow. And that might compare to the industry that's paying 10 or 11 times cash. So our strategy is to buy good businesses and kind of find those opportunities that are misvalued for some reason or another.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  27. “Gone really well. We're at 23 billion after 24 months, which is beyond my wildest expectation. We have 125 people. And it's an amazing culture, amazing people. People have really jumped on the bandwagon. And now I'm hard at work trying to create alpha. So in sports, you have to create memories and win for the city. in alternatives investing. As you know, it's about returns. It's about alpha for retirees and pensioners. So that's what we're doing.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  28. “That had all the trappings of a big firm. In our case, it's an integrated platform with debt and insurance, and it's an alpha creation team led by someone who left McKinsey. Incredible talent and apply it against the middle market and the upper middle market and deal with a lot more alignment where I'm the largest investor and everyone who's joining is not necessarily getting paid as much cash. But they're really going to benefit if the investors benefit.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  29. “So it's a funny story. I hired a branding agency and spent a lot of money, and then they came up with five horrible names, and I threw all those in the trash and named it myself. So when I left Apollo, I wasn't necessarily going to start another alternatives firm, but I realized that the big firms have built Carlisle amongst them, Apollo, Blackstone, KKR, TPG, have built these incredible investing ecosystems. But many of them have gotten so big and become public companies and they were sort of the beta of all. They're so big that they need to get into very big areas, pools of capital. And what had been left a little bit behind was alpha, you know, really being the alpha of alts. And so we decided that we could bring, I decided that I could create a firm that had big firm capabilities.”

    2024-10-31 · The David Rubenstein Show · Josh Harris · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source