Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share E65: Bill Gates’s Persona, Against Copying Berkshire Hathaway, and Making the Economy More Like Chipotle
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
E65: Bill Gates’s Persona, Against Copying Berkshire Hathaway, and Making the Economy More Like Chipotle
This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg examine why Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway can't be successfully replicated today, analyze Bill Gates's public versus private persona, and consider how economic growth manifests as "premium mediocre" options like Chipotle.
---
🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.
---
Highlights from the Episode:
Berkshire Hathaway's Unrepeatable Success: Buffett's empire evolved through historical accidents and unique market conditions that no longer exist—trying to copy it today misses what made it special.
The Real Berkshire Advantage: While most focus on Buffett's acquisition strategy, Berkshire's true uniqueness is its fee structure—Buffett aligned his incentives by getting rich alongside shareholders, not from carried interest.
Gates's Dual Persona: Bill Gates cultivated a humble public image despite being famously combative at Microsoft, demonstrating how business leaders craft public personas that may differ from their actual management styles.
The Problem with Reverse-Engineering: Attempting to copy successful models often fails because you're copying what worked in past conditions rather than the underlying strategic thinking.
Premium Mediocre Future: If AI drives 10% GDP growth, we might just get more "Chipotle-fication"—consistently good but not exceptional products available to everyone, rather than technological utopia.
--
SPONSORS:
NetSuite
More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102
---
LINKS:
Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co
---
X / TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)
https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)
View all episodes
By Byrne Hobart
4.8
2020 ratings
This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg examine why Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway can't be successfully replicated today, analyze Bill Gates's public versus private persona, and consider how economic growth manifests as "premium mediocre" options like Chipotle.
---
🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse.
---
Highlights from the Episode:
Berkshire Hathaway's Unrepeatable Success: Buffett's empire evolved through historical accidents and unique market conditions that no longer exist—trying to copy it today misses what made it special.
The Real Berkshire Advantage: While most focus on Buffett's acquisition strategy, Berkshire's true uniqueness is its fee structure—Buffett aligned his incentives by getting rich alongside shareholders, not from carried interest.
Gates's Dual Persona: Bill Gates cultivated a humble public image despite being famously combative at Microsoft, demonstrating how business leaders craft public personas that may differ from their actual management styles.
The Problem with Reverse-Engineering: Attempting to copy successful models often fails because you're copying what worked in past conditions rather than the underlying strategic thinking.
Premium Mediocre Future: If AI drives 10% GDP growth, we might just get more "Chipotle-fication"—consistently good but not exceptional products available to everyone, rather than technological utopia.
--
SPONSORS:
NetSuite
More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102
---
LINKS:
Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co
---
X / TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)
https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)
More shows like "The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg
View all
Real Time with Bill Maher
16,408 Listeners
Odd Lots
1,867 Listeners
Making Sense with Sam Harris
26,392 Listeners
EconTalk
4,266 Listeners
Conversations with Tyler
2,420 Listeners
a16z Podcast
1,087 Listeners
Founders
2,106 Listeners
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks Friedberg
9,844 Listeners
Dwarkesh Podcast
501 Listeners
The Rest Is History
14,464 Listeners
What's Your Problem?
265 Listeners
"Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg
153 Listeners
Money Stuff: The Podcast
383 Listeners
Training Data
40 Listeners
Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)
133 Listeners