The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Jimmy Pattison: Building a $16B Empire Without Connections, Capital, or Credentials [Outliers]


Listen Later

Jimmy Pattison still runs his $16 billion empire personally at 96 years old.

He’s built The Pattison Group over the last 63 years without outside capital or a college degree. He owns 100% of car dealerships, grocery stores, billboards, radio stations and even Ripley’s Believe It or Not—with a philosophy of: "No partners, no shareholders, no relatives." 

This episode reveals the principles behind one of North America’s great private empires

------

Get a summary of the 11 key lessons you can learn from Jimmy here: https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-jimmy-pattison/

------

Approximate timestamps: 


(01:10) Jimmy Pattison’s Billion-Dollar Playbook
(03:24) The Debt That Built Character
(05:41) Part 1: Foundations - The Boy Who Sold Seeds Door-To-Door
(06:52) When Victory Becomes a Liability
(08:46) The University of Used Cars
(10:02) The Art of the Close
(13:30) When Business Becomes Theater
(15:22) The Price of Independence
(16:36) The Pattern
(17:44) Part 2: Starting to Build - Back to Zero
(18:09) The Price of Independence
(20:08) Bleeding Money
(21:11) The Secret Weapon
(22:11) The Main Street Disaster
(23:09) Dead Air to Hot Air
(24:33) The Ghost Station
(25:40) The Conglomerate Dream
(27:03) The Target
(28:24) Cold Calling Wall Street
(29:35) The Silent Hunt
(30:49) The Takeover
(31:36) Part 3: Neonex International
(32:09) The Magic Money Machine
(34:17) The Toast Order
(35:06) The Forbidden Target
(36:15) The Christmas Surprise
(37:27) The Bluff
(38:07) The Unraveling
(39:07) The Education
(40:27) Part 4: The Jim Pattison Group of Companies
(40:49) The Corporate Confession

(42:08) The New Operating System
(44:01) The Dinner That Changed Everything
(46:23) The Great Escape
(47:31) The Boy and the Bicycle
(49:07) The Quality Revolution
(51:14) Part 5: The Empire Builder - Still at the Wheel
(51:47) The New Playbook
(54:17) The Grocery Gambit
(55:13) The Media Monopoly
(55:52) The Numbers Game
(57:20) The Ultimate Lesson
(59:15) Reflections and Lessons

------

Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcript and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

------

Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

------

Follow Shane Parrish

X ⁠@ShaneAParrish⁠

Insta ⁠@farnamstreet⁠

------

This episode is for informational purposes only and is based on Jimmy: An Autobiography by Jim Pattison and Paul Grescoe. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Knowledge Project with Shane ParrishBy Shane Parrish

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

2,519 ratings


More shows like The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

View all
a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

a16z Podcast

1,060 Listeners

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

523 Listeners

Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Acquired

4,228 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

1,941 Listeners

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

2,287 Listeners

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry by Ted Seides – Allocator and Asset Management Expert

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

793 Listeners

Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

Masters of Scale

3,992 Listeners

Naval by Naval

Naval

2,136 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,635 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

9,252 Listeners

The Memo by Howard Marks by Oaktree Capital Management

The Memo by Howard Marks

400 Listeners

Business Breakdowns by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Business Breakdowns

346 Listeners

The Morgan Housel Podcast by Morgan Housel

The Morgan Housel Podcast

988 Listeners

Joys of Compounding by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

Joys of Compounding

93 Listeners

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

470 Listeners