My guest this week is Marc Lasry. Marc is a pioneer of distressed debt investing and the CEO of Avenue Capital Group, which he co-founded with his sister in 1995. Avenue manages $13 billion today. More recently, Marc and Avenue have become active investors in sport. He owned the Milwaukee Bucks when they won the NBA championship in 2021, and has since made investments in sports as diverse as sailing and bull-riding. In our discussion, we talk about his journey building a big investing firm, the evolution of distressed investing, and the opportunities in sport today. Marc shares some great stories throughout about travelling with President Clinton, winning the NBA championship, and raising his first fund. Please enjoy this great conversation with Marc Lasry.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
Show Notes:
(00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best
(00:03:40) Marc Lasry's Early Confidence and Competence
(00:06:03) Distressed Credit Evolution and the Allure of Sports Investing
(00:08:15) The Milwaukee Bucks: A Championship and Investment Success Story
(00:14:54) Exploring New Frontiers: Bull Riding and Women's NCA
(00:18:33) Venturing into Sailing with Larry Ellison's League
(00:22:27) The Economics of Sports Team Ownership
(00:25:19) The Vast Universe of Sports-Related Investment Opportunities
(00:29:36) The Evolution of Distressed Investing
(00:34:05 The Common Thread Through Marc’s Business Endeavors
(00:40:24) Marc’s Most Memorable Investment (Not Including The Bucks)
(00:43:40) The Dynamics of Working with Family in Business
(00:45:32) Finding Happiness and Perspective Amid Financial Success
(00:51:03) Diving into the World of NBA Owners
(00:55:19) Exploring New Ventures: Sports, Real Estate, and Beyond
(00:59:03) The Art of Deal-Making and Navigating Risks
(01:06:10) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done for Marc
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