Kara Swisher · 1:02:32
Have. So there's that. I think she has some credibility with Democrats from what I can glean.
Scott Galloway · 1:02:38
She's now the head of the she's now the head of the big tech pack, and she will orchestrate the largest bailout for tech since COVID.
Kara Swisher · 1:02:44
Possibly. Or else figure out how to capitalize this stuff. Right? How to get the money for it. Which is a bailout
Scott Galloway · 1:02:49
if it comes from the government.
Kara Swisher · 1:02:50
Yeah. So she... The the other thing I think she has to avoid being is Sheryl Sandberg too. Right? Like, seen as that way. And so I don't think she
Scott Galloway · 1:02:59
will, though. Unless she's gonna unless she's gonna, like, claim... You know? Well, let me just be honest. Unless she's gonna pretend to promote gender equality while depressing teens all over the world.
Kara Swisher · 1:03:09
She will not. She's actually... Interestingly, she's very close to Nikki Haley. She's definitely a Republican. A very interesting background, but I agree with you. It's all about the data centers. You're one hot... Good for you, Scott, not knowing everything. You're absolutely go. Financing and
Scott Galloway · 1:03:25
Give me the money to start a paper.
Kara Swisher · 1:03:26
And, actually, honestly
Scott Galloway · 1:03:28
I love Aspen.
Kara Swisher · 1:03:29
As much as I hate to comment Mark Zuckerberg is a very sharp choice.
Speaker · 1:03:33
He's a very
Scott Galloway · 1:03:33
the better business minds of the last century.
Kara Swisher · 1:03:35
Yeah. I gotta say, he's made the right choice. He's he's made a lot of bad choices. This one's a good one for him. And it's too easy to say it's just a suck up to Trump. It's not. It's absolutely not. It's a suck up to everybody. Alright. Scott, one more quick break. We'll be back for predictions.
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— Predictions segment begins —
Kara Swisher · 1:05:11
Okay, Scott. Let's hear up prediction. The only thing I wanna say is I thought that x AI is disabled, the ability for Grock to create sexualized images of real people, including children following a wide backlash. It's pretty easy to generate those deep things, by the way. But I'm not... I I think I got it right that he was gonna give up even though he was pretending he wasn't, on this stuff. I think he's gonna continue to double down. That's my prediction. Because, like, I don't know what else to say. This guy is a really heinous character, and he thinks... Equating free speech with sexualization of children is really where we are right now with him. And and that Apple... I don't think Apple and Google will do anything about it, which they should have at the... Before this. But he's backed off, so there you have it. Maybe they did behind the scenes. I don't know. Go ahead.
Scott Galloway · 1:06:01
Yeah. So we've been talking about Warner Brothers discovery. It's about to go into boring mode where they just try and get the CFIUS and antitrust and all the lawsuits and reviews, you know, for the next eighteen or twenty four months. The next thing that's gonna preoccupy us is there's gonna be most likely an activist because it's so bad, but Disney's gonna be put in play. The leadership transition here is uncertain. He says... Iger says he plans to retire, but succession issues have traditionally invited shareholder activism. And a moment of a leadership change is an opportunity for an activist to kinda pop up and play CEO.
Kara Swisher · 1:06:39
Have you been called Scott Galloway?
Scott Galloway · 1:06:40
There you go. Yeah. God. I literally the world's worst athlete in the history of UCLA, and I imagine I'm, like, the world's worst activist. They'll get pressure from activist investor, whether it's whether it's Nelson. You know, they're saying, basically, it's at its
Kara Swisher · 1:06:59
It's flat.
Scott Galloway · 1:07:00
In a market that's tripled or quadrupled, it's flat over the last ten years. And you look at this IP in these parks. It says there's very few companies that have more assets than Disney right now.
Kara Swisher · 1:07:11
Nobody has it. Warner. Warner would be the second, but Disney's top. You're right.
Scott Galloway · 1:07:16
There's just something about... I mean, look at Disney. These parks, these cruises are singular, and Netflix can't spin up a Disney park in two, three decades. It would take fifty years. Obviously, the IP here, Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, theme parks, ESPN.
Kara Swisher · 1:07:34
Flat then? Why is it flat then?
Scott Galloway · 1:07:36
Because they haven't been able to grow earnings. They just... And let's... And there's just... You can't get around it. It... You'd have to argue it's been poorly managed. You know? It's like, how on earth is Intel worth less than it was twenty five years ago when it was the leader in microchips? I mean... And, also, the thing... The the biggest reason why Disney will be put into play, it comes from that movie, what was it called, Wall Street, where Charlie Sheen is saying, why did you have to go after this company? Why do you wanna break this? And he finally loses his shit, he goes, because it's breakable. And Disney is breakable in the sense that unlike most media companies, it has very modest anti takeover or poison pill provisions. It it has an annually elected board. It doesn't have a starry board. Once you get on a board and you decide, you know, we're smarter than everybody else, including our shareholders, we'll start... I was on the board of Gateway Computer, and we finally found a fucking bidder to buy that Joey Bag of Donuts company. And all the board members sat around and said, including the guy who went on to be the governor of Michigan, they tried to put in a poison pill, and they're like, we just want you to come in through the front door. And I'm like, all the, like, yahoo, you know, farm speak just means you think you're smarter than shareholders. You now think you own this company as opposed to shareholders. Disney has not done that. That that means a bidder only needs to persuade the majority of shareholders to replace directors, which can make hostile approaches
Kara Swisher · 1:09:02
through this. He has been through a few hostiles, as you know, with Ike Perlmutter and a whole bunch of people.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:07
And, also, the other thing that I think is lined up here is I think people look at Disney and go, yeah. Fucking a. Disney, someone should go in there and acquire 2% and be an activist, that's probably what happens here. But what Warner Brothers has probably shown the market that, oh, if you find the right right billionaire and the right the right pockets of money in The Gulf and the right bankers really hungry for fees, you can assemble this type of money. And there's so much money on the sidelines.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:38
Yeah. I don't think they'll let the Saudis into this one. It's gonna be an apple. It's gonna be someone who doesn't need the Saudi help.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:46
I'm just trying to think.
Kara Swisher · 1:09:47
Disney is an American brand. Such... I mean, Warner is too, but Disney. There... There's no way
Scott Galloway · 1:09:53
Aren't they opening a they're opening a Disney in The Gulf. Right?
Kara Swisher · 1:09:55
They are, but it's... They're not gonna let the Saudis own Disney.
Scott Galloway · 1:09:58
Well, I don't know. I think all you need to do is make... Is give Mickey Mouse a beard and a moral... And a morality police.
Kara Swisher · 1:10:06
Okay. Who who who... I think it's Apple. It's gotta be Apple if they were... If they had hit set. By the way, can I make another prediction besides these?
Scott Galloway · 1:10:16
Age of change something the name of the ride from it's a small world to something like it's a small world and more restricted that we live in.
Kara Swisher · 1:10:24
I I think Oh gosh. I was at this dinner, and a a pharma guy was there. And as I was sitting here, I thought, because they're doing... Pharma and tech are doing all these deals together, whether it's OpenAI or... All of them are doing deals, these health deals. I think big tech is gonna go after pharma next and own
Scott Galloway · 1:10:42
Oh, that's super interesting.
Kara Swisher · 1:10:44
I was like, oh, I I looked at him, and he's going on and on about Trump or something. I said, you know what? You're gonna get owned by tech in the... That... You're the next frontier. They're doing the media stuff, but it's not peanuts compared to you. And, actually, in terms of doing great things, AI combined with pharma is an amazing, huge opportunity.
Scott Galloway · 1:11:04
I I see. I think, actually, the gulf owning Disney is a bigger fit than you think, especially with... Hold on. Especially with the Star Wars franchise, desert planets, dynasties, family drama, done. Fits perfectly.
Kara Swisher · 1:11:15
Okay. Yeah. They can have the golf. They're not getting Disney. So they can have golf and tennis or whatever the hell, but not Disney. It's gonna be hard. That... That'll be made... There'll be a lot of pushback on that.
Scott Galloway · 1:11:29
Well, have
Kara Swisher · 1:11:29
to like that. I like that.
Scott Galloway · 1:11:31
They'd have to ban gay days. They'd rebrand them as imagination maintenance closures.
Kara Swisher · 1:11:35
Also, it's h... No. It's... That's on Warner. Right? He's a rival who's on Warner. Anyway... On HBO.
Scott Galloway · 1:11:42
Yeah. Anyway, anyways, my prediction is Disney is about to be the object of our obsession when it's most likely gonna be an activist because it still is a very big pill to swallow. But they have... Good for them, and I I hate I hate poison pill provisions and anything that shifts shifts accountability and authority from shareholders to a bunch of people who think they're smarter than everyone else on a board because they show up for a Cobb salad and get paid $300,000 a year called boards of directors. You would not believe how arrogant we become when we go on boards. I
Kara Swisher · 1:12:12
really don't I'm gonna go on a board this year. That's my my little balls. Alright. Board people, I'm interested. Anyway, that's a great prediction, but I... And you you will and may steal my idea of tech buying big pharma.
Scott Galloway · 1:12:24
Okay? But I just... To come to your... I thought of you, and you'll like this because it makes you look good, but you got a ton of shit on one of the social platforms. No. Someone insulted me about my take on masculinity, and then someone weighed in and said, yeah. And we should have known this. He partners with Kara Swisher, who's been a total total corporate shill for big tech. Oh. And I thought immediately Yeah. I've been on I've been on the nominating committee. When you go on a board and they don't like you, I. E. Scott Galloway, they put you on the stupidest stupidest committee. Committee. They They put put you you on the nominating and governance committee. And the one thing the nominating and guy... And I always end up on a compensation committee because it's the worst fucking committee, or the absolute worst is the audit committee because you have to do real work. But, anyways, nominating governance committee, the thing you do is find new directors when directors roll off. And good good boards roll... You know, kick... Politely have a conversation with his golf buddy who's been there twenty four years. Maybe it's time for you to move on, or we talk to their nurse. But, anyways, the... I'm not exaggerating. I know exactly what they're looking for in directors. You check every fucking box literally and figuratively except I'm a pain in ass. And you're a pain in the ass.
Kara Swisher · 1:13:38
Pain in the
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Scott Galloway · 1:13:38
If you were not speaking truth to power and totally unafraid... I'm not exaggerating. I think you'd be the chairman of fucking OpenAI or Tesla right now. So the notion... I think your
Kara Swisher · 1:13:49
Oh, it's such a
Scott Galloway · 1:13:49
notion. Your abrasive truth... Kind of tell truth to power has cost you, Kara, hundreds of millions of dollars. So for anyone on any social media platform, they can say they don't like you. They can say you're arrogant. There's some truth. Whatever. Fine. But to say that you are a corporate shill
Kara Swisher · 1:14:08
I know. They do that.
Scott Galloway · 1:14:09
What is don't know what the opposite of that is.
Kara Swisher · 1:14:11
Close to Elon and wasn't, and they just can't... These are these sort of censorious
Scott Galloway · 1:14:15
And if you'd and if you'd stayed close to him and kiss his ass, you'd the on the board of Tesla and
Kara Swisher · 1:14:19
worth $200,000,000. That's what
Scott Galloway · 1:14:21
we're stand at your place in Soho.
Kara Swisher · 1:14:23
Yeah. Exactly. I know. I'm aware. I'm aware. But most of the criticism I get is from being with you.
Scott Galloway · 1:14:28
Oh, that's good to know.
— Predictions segment ends —
Kara Swisher · 1:14:29
More people, come find me. Yeah. Okay. Anyway, we we don't care that we're shrill or dislikable or anything else. We don't care. We wanna hear from you. Send us your questions about business tech or whatever's on your mind. Go to nymag.com/pivot to submit a question for the show or call 85551 Yes. We do not care because we like ourselves, and we like each other. That's the way it's gonna go. You're not gonna split us up. We are gonna do that ourselves. Okay. That's the show. Thanks for listening to pivot, and be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We'll be back next week. Scott, read us out.
Scott Galloway · 1:15:03
Today's show is produced by Lara Nayman, Zoe Marcus, and Taylor Griffin. Ernie or Todd entered into this episode. Manolo Moreno edited the video. Thanks also to Dubrowes, Miss Severo, and Dan Shalon. Nishat Kuros, Vox Media's executive producer of podcasts. Make sure to follow Pivot on your favorite podcast platform. Thank you for listening to Pivot from New York Magazine and Vox Media. You can subscribe to the magazine at nymag.com/pod. We'll be back next week for another breakdown of all things tech and business.
Speaker · 1:15:35
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