Scott Galloway · 8:05
Of our capital markets, companies have a very difficult time not thinking short term. But the reason we give $0.23 on the dollar to our government is we pay them to think long term. And the ultimate reason that people buy Fords or have bought Fords was not because they were better cars, but because it reflected a belief in the middle class. The reason why people buy Nikes is it's about elite excellence can bring you to the highest echelons of performance and recognition. And the reason why we have inflows of capital, the reason why our publicly traded stocks traded at 19 times PE, not like 11 or 12 in other markets, is because we have rule of law and some sense of moral leadership here. And when we engage or traffic in bone sauce, we are long term trading off our brand and the margin power that comes from our brand. So this is not only the wrong thing to do, it's economically a stupid thing to do.
Kara Swisher · 9:00
I would agree. But, you know, one of the things that's interesting is the Saudis also have a lot of money in the stock market. So they own 5% of Tesla. Now look. Elon Musk can't stop them from doing that. Although he was talking to the Saudis, as you know, when he did the funding secured. That's exactly who... The PIF, who he was talking about. And so that... That's interesting. It's like... But, like, Apple can't help it. I think I think the Saudis own 30% of Snapchat at this point. There's there's an enormous stake that they have. PIFF does. It's a it's a large amount of of a lot of these tech companies, and that's what they've been buying into. Now those you can't prevent. It's an open market situation. But you certainly can, even if these are your investors, say something. And most of these companies have said nothing, really. You know? The the most... The strongest was Dara Khosrowshahi, but he has to because he has so much of their money. And and I think Sam Altman, who is investor at Y Combinator, did say he... He's not going to the Davos in the desert event, whatever it's called. I forget. The PIF thing. And a lot of people have pulled out. I think the only people... Steve Mnuchin's still going. He's... I think he's going. Right? It's him and
Scott Galloway · 10:04
Shocker.
Kara Swisher · 10:05
Right. Exactly. I know. I think that's all who's going. And, like... But but I know all the tech people are definitely not going now, and they can't show up there. But there's there's gotta be another step. They've gotta start saying something like, they have to make some declaration even if they're not gonna give the money back, but they haven't. And this is the whole trend is they they now have to make declarations on everything. Like, everybody has... Like, on everything that happens now, companies are on the hook for saying something. In this case, it's such a such a bright line between what they have to say and how much money they're taking from them. It's unavoidable. So I'm gonna keep going.
Scott Galloway · 10:37
But it's an opportunity. You know, it's an opportunity for it. It's an opportunity for SoftBank. If you... I think the ultimate... One of the ultimate brand moves of the past year was actually at the World Cup with the Japanese soccer team, a national team, after a crushing defeat at the hounds of Mhmm. Belgium and Romelu Lukaku, one of the most underrated strikers in the world, but that's another story. You know what
Kara Swisher · 10:58
they did? Cleaned up their
Scott Galloway · 11:00
dressing room, and they stuck behind and helped us... The fans and the workers clean up the stadium, and then they wrote a thank you note. And I think this Yeah. We we have unfortunately an an ability or we we can't not stereotype organizations by their national identity.
Kara Swisher · 11:17
Right.
Scott Galloway · 11:17
And I think SoftBank has the opportunity here to say, you know, the way we roll in Japan is that we're just a little bit more dignified, we're a little bit more polite, we're a little bit more honorable, and to not accept that money and take their fund down
Kara Swisher · 11:30
from 200,000,000,000 has dollars not said anything. Masa san has done opportunity.
Scott Galloway · 11:34
I think he's listening.
Kara Swisher · 11:35
Alright. Masa san, I think he'll say nothing. We'll see about that. Anyway, by the way, I have a Ford Fiesta, Scott. So I'm
Scott Galloway · 11:43
I just can't even imagine that. It's a lawnmower with doors. We gotta get you out of
Kara Swisher · 11:46
that thing for safety reasons. I have a turbo stick shift, so let's just start again. Turbo? It's a sports car.
Scott Galloway · 11:51
Stick shift?
Kara Swisher · 11:52
That's right. It's very fast. You'll see. You'll drive it when you're here with me. We'll go around. It'll be great. We'll do... We'll do pivot from my
Scott Galloway · 11:57
sticking out of each window. That would look ridiculous.
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Scott Galloway · 12:01
for a ride in my truck.
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Kara Swisher · 12:05
And they get in, and they drive, and they go, oh, this is a great car.
Scott Galloway · 12:08
Kissing your ass, Cara. They they don't care.
Kara Swisher · 12:10
They don't do nothing. It's a great... You're gonna see... You're gonna see... It's gonna be great. We're gonna we're gonna do pivot from the Ford Fiesta, and then we're gonna get Ford to be our sponsor. You see? This is how this works. Anyway, let's talk about something positive, a win of the week, because it's been a crappy week. It's a shitty week. So we must... We must... We've lost all over the place in in in the Saudi situation. But what is your big... No. What is your
Scott Galloway · 12:30
big winner?
Kara Swisher · 12:30
What is your win?
Scott Galloway · 12:31
I have two.
Kara Swisher · 12:31
Yeah.
Scott Galloway · 12:32
I have two. Okay. There was a wonderful article in the New York Times about a gentleman who was the the Japanese... Head of the Japanese consulate in Lithuania during World War two, and it ends up that him defying his government and refusing to stop signing and writing visas literally until he could no longer write. And then when he was extracted from Lithuania writing these visas for Jews who were trying to get to Japan and then to somewhere else, he, on his train ride out, was literally throwing visas out the window. And they've done some research and it ends up that this gentleman Chun Sugihara likely saved 6,000 Jews, possibly 40,000 who are alive today.
Kara Swisher · 13:11
That's a great story. It's a
Scott Galloway · 13:12
wonderful story of moral leadership in the face of adversity, moral heroism Moral. A lot... It's interesting. Moral. There's been some interesting research here. The moral heroism stems from some of the same attributes, a rebelliousness that creates great entrepreneurs, and it's just a lesson for all of us that it's pretty obvious what the right thing to do is. Sometimes it's really, really hard. And this guy Yeah. Saved 40,000 people alive today because of this guy. Just an inspiring story. And my second is Nike who made
Kara Swisher · 13:44
You love that Nike.
Scott Galloway · 13:45
I'm so into Nike right now. Go ahead. Justin Gallegos.
Kara Swisher · 13:48
Didn't much like their sexual harassment stuff there, Scott. But go ahead. Go move on.
Scott Galloway · 13:51
Rain on my parade. Seriously.
Kara Swisher · 13:53
You've just shamed. Go ahead. Go ahead. Ahead. Go Nike. What did Nike
Scott Galloway · 13:55
do? So
Kara Swisher · 13:57
Alright. Go ahead.
Scott Galloway · 13:57
Go Go ahead. Go Nike showed up Nike showed up and made him their first or endorse them, made him an official Nike athlete and there's this fantastic two minute film on it and granted it's commercial and it's sappy and soft lighting and soft music, but my feeling is the basis and the wonderful thing about capitalism is that as we pursue economic interest for us and our families, really wonderful things can happen, and I think this was a wonderful thing.
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Kara Swisher · 14:27
you put the Afghan around you and have marshmallows and cocoa? This is lovely. This is a beautiful Kara? Kara, hold right
Scott Galloway · 14:32
in here. Hold me.
Kara Swisher · 14:34
Let me just... No. I will not. Thank you.
Scott Galloway · 14:36
In the
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Scott Galloway · 14:37
In the fiesta.
Kara Swisher · 14:38
Crossing that line never never changes. And then listen. I had a win for the week. We were liking that Facebook had a tougher ban on false information posts. But, of course, what happened on Recode this week is they introduced the portal, which we talked about last
Scott Galloway · 14:51
week. This.
Kara Swisher · 14:51
And when... Yes. When they said they introduced it, no. No. No.
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Kara Swisher · 14:57
and then they called us back. And what But
Scott Galloway · 14:59
you know?
Kara Swisher · 14:59
Did they do?
Scott Galloway · 15:00
Yeah. Apps.
Kara Swisher · 15:01
They were using they're calling. Right? We're using... Yes. Yes. We are using the data for our ad targeting, which was like... Just like for one brief second, we were like, okay. Okay. We don't love their surveillance device, but at least they're not using it for ads. And then they were. That was just awful, I have to tell you.
Scott Galloway · 15:18
Just awful. You know these guys. I don't. What happened? Was it some
Kara Swisher · 15:22
don't know why they just didn't throw it in the trash. I don't know why they... They waited six months to to put out the portal, and then they just did it right in the middle of a, like, a a hurricane hurricane privacy and just... I don't know. Have you heard anything about initial sales I don't know what's
Scott Galloway · 15:35
going in the marketplace? Have you heard anything?
Kara Swisher · 15:37
I I I... All I know is literally I had a table full of Internet people that said, I... There's no way I'd put a Facebook... A dancing Facebook surveillance device in my home. So just like... I don't know. And that's was... This was the... These these people would buy it, but nobody at this dinner party was buying it. So
Scott Galloway · 15:53
You know these guys. I don't. What what do you think happened? Did they knew they were targeting, and then they they lied to you and said, okay. Now what do we do? We've lied. Do we let the lie hold, or do I don't even
Kara Swisher · 16:03
know if it was
Scott Galloway · 16:03
a lie. Deception? What was it?
Kara Swisher · 16:05
I don't know if it was a lie. I just... I... They said one thing, and I don't know. I couldn't tell you. I don't think they were lying. I don't know. I don't know. I I don't have any information for you on this. It's just... It was just like, what? Like
Scott Galloway · 16:18
Strange.
Kara Swisher · 16:18
I'm telling you, Scott. Strange. They cannot... They literally... They just have got to get it together over the... Down there. Don't you think?
Scott Galloway · 16:25
So outraged. I'm gonna go go express my outrage on Instagram. That's it.
Kara Swisher · 16:30
I don't use it. I I do not use Instagram. Anyway, we're gonna go to predictions now. When we get back, we'll take a quick break. When we get back, we're gonna make some predictions. So stay with me and Scott.
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Kara Swisher · 17:28
Okay. We're back with Scott Gallery.
— Predictions segment begins —
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Scott Galloway · 17:34
The individual throwing out the first pitch of the opening Yeah. Game for the Washington Nationals 2019 season is Jeffrey Bezos as
Kara Swisher · 17:44
imminently Why is that? Explain.
Scott Galloway · 17:46
Imminently, they're gonna announce that DC, the DC Metro Area, is the location of their HQ2, reflecting that this entire shit show circus HQ2 is nothing but a ruse. That a man worth a $145,000,000,000 at the age of 54 gets to live where he wants and where the Bezos wanna live is busy. Coming house. They're coming to you.
Kara Swisher · 18:05
Do you know my ex wife's house is, like, seven doors down from him? It's really interesting. Really? Because he'll be a neighbor.
Scott Galloway · 18:11
Are they are they close, or do they know each other?
Kara Swisher · 18:13
Yeah. We all know each other. We knew him when he was a little guy. Yeah. Sure. I don't think we'll be going over for... I mean, I'm married anymore, but we're friends, and we're... I don't think we'll be going over for tea. I don't see that happening. But, know you
Scott Galloway · 18:23
And how big are our houses? I heard their houses bigger than the Museum of National History. It's just enormous.
Kara Swisher · 18:28
My ex worked for Google. She's got a big house. So does he. It's all big. They're all big. They're all these big, like... They look like embassy... Like the Bulgarian embassy. That's what
Scott Galloway · 18:35
it looks like. Really?
Kara Swisher · 18:35
They all do. Every one of them. Yeah. They're big. They're just big Washington houses kinda thing. Then they look like embassies, every one of them in that neighborhood. It's called Kalorama. Obama lives there. Ivanka lives there. Rex Tillerson lived there. I think Mnuchin's somewhere around wandering around.
Scott Galloway · 18:50
I like to party with Tillerson. Yep. Would you? Me, and Zach Braff would just slay it in Adams Morgan. A few
Kara Swisher · 18:57
beers. What?
Scott Galloway · 18:58
Me and Rex in Chile.
Kara Swisher · 18:59
Zach's... Where did Zach Braff
Scott Galloway · 19:01
come in? He's Like, oh my goodness. Always a good third partner when you're rolling. He's always a good third partner.
Kara Swisher · 19:05
Think he's gonna pick Merrill, and he's gonna pick Maryland for... Or Maryland, Virginia.
Scott Galloway · 19:09
You know that? Who's your... Who is... Oh, by the way, have some insight from you. You get all the scoop. I was on the train back from DC, and I saw Yeah. Gosh, this really good guy, the dean of Cornell Business School and... Hustlebacher. Hustlebacher. He's on the board of Amazon, and I immediately thought, okay. That means that he was down there extracting a pound of flesh from Mark Warner or someone in Virginia. Anyways, that's my prediction. What's your prediction?
Kara Swisher · 19:32
Okay. I I think Maryland is probably a very good bet, and second backup is Pittsburgh.
Scott Galloway · 19:36
And do you think there's a backlash when everyone realizes they've been played?
Kara Swisher · 19:41
No. Everyone's like, oh, well, I didn't win on that lottery ticket. Let's try again next week. That's... You know what I mean? I just think the whole thing is to give the world's richest... One of the world's richest men a tax break is always an enjoyable thing to watch.
Scott Galloway · 19:53
Isn't it cute, though, how Indianapolis and Columbus actually think they have a chance? Isn't that just adorable that they think the wealthiest man in the world who doesn't need to spend 12 minutes, much less twelve weeks, a year in Indianapolis is gonna decide to put his HQ two there? I think it's just so
Kara Swisher · 20:07
One can dream. One can dream. Yeah. One has hopes and dreams and things like that. Yeah. I think he's probably gonna look at The only other option, if he picks, like, a Canadian city
Scott Galloway · 20:15
Probably, and that'll happen.
Kara Swisher · 20:16
That would be. That'll happen. Saying.
Scott Galloway · 20:18
Okay. Hold on.
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Kara Swisher · 20:19
so I look smart. My preferred
Scott Galloway · 20:21
wealthiest person in the world is Mackenzie Bezos. After spending ten months here in rainy Seattle, she's gonna think, I know we need to spend more time in Toronto. It's gonna happen, Kara.
Kara Swisher · 20:31
And they're not going south. You're right. Yeah. You're right. That's a fair point. That's a... Alright. Okay.
Scott Galloway · 20:35
Alright. We'll see.
Kara Swisher · 20:36
It's gonna be very soon.
Scott Galloway · 20:36
The dark horse is Miami because I
Kara Swisher · 20:38
That's spoke at a good city.
Scott Galloway · 20:40
I spoke at the same... I spoke after him at this JPMorgan Master of the Universe conference, and he was by the pool and I think he was really happy there. Because be clear...
Kara Swisher · 20:47
It's nice there.
Scott Galloway · 20:48
I've been on...
Kara Swisher · 20:48
Is it Miami Gray?
Scott Galloway · 20:49
I've been on the board of seven public companies and there's... I've gone through four headquarter relocation processes. You know what always comes down to in retrospect? What? You find out the CEO cloaked business reasons in the decision, and the decision all came down to one thing and one thing only, Kara. What? Where the CEO
Kara Swisher · 21:07
This is it?
Scott Galloway · 21:07
Where the CEO wanted to spend more time, where he was chairman of a golf club, or where his next wife was living.
Kara Swisher · 21:15
I'm gonna just leave it at that, except to say I love Miami. I always feel like doing something naughty when I'm there. Anyway And that's the absolute Amazon. Amazon. And next week,
— Predictions segment ends —
Scott Galloway · 21:23
gonna talk about Uber.
Kara Swisher · 21:24
Next week, we're talk about Uber's public offering, but not this week. Did we... I'm gonna leave it at at that at at that Scott, the second wife thing. And I have to get out of here. Did we miss anything? I think we're we're good. Right? We're good.
Scott Galloway · 21:35
Yeah. This feels this feels this feels right as brain. Lot of grounds. I would describe
Kara Swisher · 21:39
Saudis and Chescoes.
Scott Galloway · 21:41
You, the fiesta, in this show is a tall drink of lemonade with vodka.
Kara Swisher · 21:46
Okay. I don't even know what that means. Anyways, thanks, Scott. Looking forward to talking again next week. By the way, if you have any questions for us on this podcast, shoot us an email at pivot@Voxmedia.com.
Scott Galloway · 21:59
Our show is produced by Rebecca Sinanis. Thanks also to Eric Johnson. If you like what you heard, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening.
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