Billionaire Growth Strategies
Nothing maximizes growth rate like jumping aboard a megatrend early on.
Here are some predictions on possible and emerging megatrends.
Frontier Capitalism’s Latest Frontier
Speaking of frontier capitalism, or “extreme capitalism” if you prefer, I recently discovered that one of the most isolated and interesting places on earth is now booming, economically-speaking. I am referring to of all places, Mongolia.
If you are a history buff like myself you no doubt have a fascination with Genghis Khan and the Mongol Hordes who swept across Asia and Europe roughly 800 years ago. If there’s a documentary on Mongolia and its people, you can bet your money I have seen it. The Mongols were perhaps history’s most intimidating warriors. Try to imagine a Mongol horde of 300,000 horsemen thundering across the Russian steppes towards your city.
Frontier capitalism: Economics in transition from state ownership and control of resources to a private ownership system in which the price system is used for resource allocation.
While you have no doubt heard of extreme sports by now, my hunch is that many of you have never heard of “frontier capitalism,” which is the “extreme” version of capitalism.” Personally, I don’t think the frontier capitalism label actually goes far enough in capturing the essence of this high stakes game played in some of the most dangerous regions around the globe. Therefore, I prefer “extreme capitalism.”
To get a better handle on what it is it helps to understand what happened in Russia right after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. In a nutshell, the economy collapsed to Third World levels. Average life expectancies for Russians plummeted by 15 to 20 years. People were literally starving and dying in the streets because the old command economy was no longer there to feed them and nothing else had filled the void. As a result it wasn’t too long before the old Communist Party started telling Russians, “See, we told you capitalism and free markets wouldn’t work. Now you need to re-elect and put us back into power.” During the 1990s Boris Yeltsin was the president of the newly formed Russian Federation. While he was committed to reforms that would bring about a western-style economy, he also had to deal with the catastrophic consequences of the overnight transition.
Be sure to read part 1 first!
Adventures of a Hustler: Aristotle Onassis Part 2
To be successful, keep looking tanned, live in an elegant building (even if you’re in the cellar), be seen in smart restaurants (even if you nurse one drink) and if you borrow, borrow big. – Aristotle Onassis
Understanding the Shipping Industry
The story of Onassis’ empire becomes that much more interesting, and dare I say “exciting,” if you understand its basic structure and dynamics. So lets take a look at the industry back then. To start with, there were typically two types of ships that you could own: liners and tramps. Liners carried passengers and general cargo on fixed routes and schedules. If you had a Liverpool to New York ticket you had to be there to board on time or you would miss it and have to wait for the next sailing. The Titanic is perhaps the most famous example of a liner. For this reason liners can be thought of as the “buses” of the sea.
How Aristotle Onassis Grew His Empire
There’s no such thing as too far. You understand? You push everything as far as you can. You push and you push and you push until it starts pushing back. And then you push some goddamn more. – Al Pacino
One of the most interesting tycoons you can read about is the Gatsby-like Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis (1900- 1975). He was one of the most high profile people on the planet back in the 1960s and ‘70s. You could say that he was the Mick Jagger of the business world back then. The media covered not only his business life but his personal one as well, particularly his romantic affairs with famous actresses, models, opera divas, and a presidential widow.
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