Ep 109: Anson Frericks on the Rise & Fall of Budweiser; Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab; and How to Save Corporate America

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Feb 21, 2025

Anson Frericks, former president of Anheuser-Busch and author of "Last Call for Bud Light," dives into the downfall of Budweiser due to a controversial ad campaign and the influence of ESG and DEI frameworks on corporate America. He discusses the stark shift in corporate culture away from traditional values and the political misuse of pension funds. Frericks emphasizes the need for corporations to recommit to their core missions, arguing for a shift back to meritocracy and business accountability in the face of rising social pressures.

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ANECDOTE

Frericks' Departure

Anson Frericks left Anheuser-Busch after foreseeing the company's downfall.
He witnessed the company embrace ESG and DEI agendas, rejecting partnerships with companies like Black Rifle Coffee Company.

INSIGHT

3G Capital's Shift

3G Capital, known for meritocracy, excelled at talent acquisition and building the world's largest beer company.
Their success waned when they shifted focus from acquisitions to brand building, a skill they hadn't developed.

ANECDOTE

Headquarters Relocation

Anheuser-Busch moved its headquarters from St. Louis to New York City, claiming difficulty attracting talent.
This move alienated the company from its Midwestern customer base and its values, ultimately contributing to its decline.

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Budweiser was the undisputed king of American beers, until one controversial ad campaign erased $40 billion in market cap and thousands of jobs. How did this happen? Where did top-down frameworks like ESG and DEI originate? And how can we get corporate America back on mission?

This week we're joined by Anson Frericks, a former president at Anheuser-Busch and author of the new book: “Last Call for Bud Light: The Fall and Future of America’s Favorite Beer." He recently founded Athletic Capital and co-founded Strive Asset Management with Vivek Ramaswamy.

After graduating from Yale and Harvard Business School, Anson quickly ascended the ranks at AB InBev, which acquired Anheuser-Busch in 2008. But he began to notice the beer brand straying from its all-American roots. The culture shifted dramatically after InBev moved sales and marketing from St. Louis to New York City, and Budweiser became emblematic of a decades-long battle over the purpose of a corporation dating back to Milton Friedman's shareholder primacy theory versus the World Economic Forum's embrace of stakeholder theory. Anson explains how the latter captured boardrooms across Europe, spread to America, and led to the proliferation of ESG and DEI within our largest financial institutions.

He details how BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard wield their outsized influence to force stakeholder theory on corporate America, and explains why, shortly before Bud Light's historic collapse, he left to launch Strive Asset Management as an alternative asset manager focused solely on maximizing returns for shareholders. Anson provides an important case study in what went wrong on Wall Street and in boardrooms across the country, and more importantly, how we can get back on track.

00:00 Episode Intro

1:57 The rise & fall of Bud Light

08:50 What is the purpose of a corporation?

10:48 Milton Friedman vs Klaus Schwab

13:50 How BlackRock manipulates investors & companies

16:15 What went wrong at Bud Light

19:00 Costco doubling down on DEI

23:35 How to fight back

28:10 Why Anson left to start Strive

35:38 How to save corporate America

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