Scott Galloway

Set a 'done' number, then spend or give away everything above it

Galloway's wealth rule: pick a target net worth, check it once a year with your financial advisor, and treat anything above that line as money to either spend or give away. It removes the trap of an ever-rising number.

“Whenever I meet with my financial advisors and I do this once a year, they tell me this is your net worth. And if it's above that number, which it has been the last 12 years, 'cause it's been an amazing economy, I do one of two things with the incremental number above that, I either spend it. I love to spend money. I'm great at it. I am so good at spending money. I spend money like a '50s gangster just diagnosed with ass cancer. I am living large and I love it. Or two, and then anything above that I give away.”

Steal thisPick a net-worth number, review it yearly, and commit to spending or giving away every dollar that lands above it.

Spend on experiences, not things — drive a Hyundai, take your husband to Africa

Galloway cites research that people overestimate the happiness they'll get from things and underestimate the happiness from experiences. His prescription for spending: skip the fancy car, travel with your kids and partner instead.

“There's a ton of research on this. People overestimate the amount of happiness they'll get from things, and they underestimate the amount of happiness they'll get from experiences. In sum, drive a Hyundai and take your husband to Africa.”

Steal thisRedirect status-purchase money into trips and experiences with the people you love.

Buffett Indicator at 210% vs Buffett's preferred 90%

Galloway cites the Buffett Index (total stock market valuation relative to GDP) at 210%, more than double Warren Buffett's comfort level of roughly 90%, as evidence US stocks are at historic highs.

“The Buffett Index, stock market valuation versus GDP, he likes it at about 90%. It's at 210%.”

Buffett Indicator at 210% vs Buffett's preferred 90%

Galloway cites the Buffett Index (total stock market valuation relative to GDP) at 210%, more than double Warren Buffett's comfort level of roughly 90%, as evidence US stocks are at historic highs.

“The Buffett Index, stock market valuation versus GDP, he likes it at about 90%. It's at 210%.”

Galloway: GLP-1s are more transformative than AI

Galloway argues GLP-1 drugs are the most transformative technology of the last 20-30 years, bigger than AI and 'the biggest thing since GPS.' He proposes the government buy a billion doses, distribute them free to rural households, and cut healthcare costs from $13,000 to $6,500 per person.

“I would put out the mother of all RFPs to Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and say, I need a billion doses of GLP-1s. And then I would distribute it for free to every rural household in America. And I would take healthcare costs from $13,000 to $6,500. And boom, we have a deficit solved. GLP-1 is the most transformative technology of the last 20 or 30 years. It's the biggest thing since GPS is the way I see it.”

The average 70-year-old is 72% wealthier; the 25-year-old 42% poorer

Galloway argues 50 years of fiscal policy transferred wealth from young to old: the average 70-year-old is 72% wealthier than 40 years ago while the average 25-year-old is 42% less wealthy — which he ties to young people not having kids and souring on America.

“the average 70-year-old is 72% wealthier than they were 40 years ago. And the average 25-year-old is 42% less wealthy. And what do you know? Young people aren't having kids and are fed up with America. We are constantly overinvesting in seniors.”

Third places are the business opportunity in the male loneliness epidemic

Galloway says the answer to the young-male loneliness epidemic is 'third places' to physically gather people: more bars, sports leagues, Topgolf, Puttshack, Wave Garden. He'd also bet on developers as anti-NIMBY subsidies arrive. The dark counter-bet: the biggest profits go to companies exploiting young men's worst instincts (gambling, gaming, Meta).

“the first thing that comes to mind is third places. I think you're going to see— you're already seeing a massive uptick. And unfortunately, it manifests itself because there's a monopoly, Ticketmaster, in ticket prices to go see Taylor Swift or, you know, whoever it is. But I think third places— I think we need more bars. I think we need more sports leagues. I think we need you know, Puttshack, Wave Garden, Topgolf.”

Steal thisBuild or invest in 'third places' — bars, sports leagues, experiential venues — that get lonely young men together in person.

Returns are inversely correlated to how sexy the industry sounds

Galloway's investing philosophy: the more exciting and attractive an industry sounds, the worse your returns; the more boring it sounds (e.g., a SaaS platform for healthcare maintenance scheduling), the better. Consume the sexy stuff, invest in the boring stuff.

“The more boring and less sexy an investment is, that's where you invest. The other shit you consume, but you don't invest in it. Well, your, your, your return on your invested capital is inversely correlated to how sexy and cool an industry sounds.”

Steal thisInvest where it sounds boring; only consume what sounds cool.

L2: scraping 1,200 data points per brand, sold for 8x revenue

Galloway describes his company L2 as digital benchmarking: using software and scraping tools to aggregate 1,200 data points on a brand, compare them to peers, and sell it as a recurring-revenue subscription. The boring-sounding business ultimately sold for 8x revenue.

“It was digital benchmarking where we used software and scraping tools to aggregate 1,200 data points on a brand, and then we'd compare them to their peers.”

Follow-up questions are the ultimate aphrodisiac

Galloway's dating advice: stop performing a 'representative' version of yourself and instead take genuine interest in the other person. The most underrated romantic move for young men is asking follow-up questions and actually noticing someone.

“I think the ultimate weapon, the ultimate aphrodisiac for young men to give to women is this strange thing called follow-up questions. For me, it was always controlled boasting. And to actually just take an interest in someone's life and notice them, I found was really powerful later in my life.”

Steal thisDrop the boasting; ask follow-up questions and genuinely notice the person across from you.

Galloway's superpower isn't talent — it's attracting and retaining great people

People assume Galloway makes his content solo in his kitchen, but Prop G Media has 28 people. He says storytelling is his core competence, but his actual superpower is recruiting and keeping outstanding people who leverage his time and talent — that's the gap between a practice and a real enterprise.

“I have 28 people at Prop G Media. Yeah, I have some talent. But the key between a practice and an enterprise that creates real money is to find outstanding people and get, and get them to leverage your time and your talent.”

Don't ask people if they need help — just help them

Galloway's rule on supporting people in crisis: never ask if someone needs help, because no one wants to admit weakness to someone on top. Just send the money or act. When a famous friend got arrested, he simply said 'send me your bank details.'

“Don't ask people if they need help. Help them. Don't ask. No one wants to say, yeah, I need help. You're more powerful than me and I fucked up and you're on top. I need your help. Don't ask people if they need help. Help them.”

Steal thisWhen someone's in trouble, skip the offer — just send the money or do the thing.

Have / want / should: eliminate the 'should' bucket

Hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein told Galloway that once you reach economic security, life splits into three buckets: things you have to do, things you want to do, and things you should do. The real payoff of money is the power to delete the 'should' bucket entirely.

“when you get to economic security, there's 3 buckets in your life. There's things you have to do. You said, Scott, if my biggest investor's in town, I have to have dinner with him. There, there's things you wanna do. I wanna go on college tour with my, my oldest. I wanna do that. And then there's things you should do. The real power of economic security is like eliminate the should bucket. There's things you wanna do, there's things you have to do. Get rid of the should.”

Steal thisSort every obligation into have-to / want-to / should-do, then ruthlessly cut the should-do list.

The 25x burn rule for economic security

Galloway's simple formula for 'economic security': take your annual burn (what you need to be happy), multiply by 25, and assume a 4% post-tax return. Once you hold 25x your burn, you can start saying no to obligations.

“Take your, take your burn, take what you think you need every year to be happy. For some people that's $60,000 a year. My dad with Social Security needed like another $10,000 or $20,000 a year to live the way he wanted to live. Some people need a million bucks a year and then times it by 25. Assume a post-tax return of 4%. And once you have 25 times the burn you think you'll need, you can start eliminating the should bucket.”

Steal thisMultiply your annual burn by 25 at a 4% post-tax return; that's your number for economic security.

Galloway cut his burn 50% by fleeing Manhattan for Florida in 2010

After his speech-delayed son was rejected from all 7 NYC preschools, Galloway left Manhattan in 2010, cutting his burn ~50%: $5,000/month rent on the Intracoastal vs $14,000, and $14,000 school vs $58,000. He invested the savings (plus a 13% top-line tax saving) into the market — and 'the rest is history.'

“I moved to Florida back when it was inexpensive in 2010. And I'm not exaggerating. I said, I cut my burn by probably 50%. I rented a place on the Intracoastal for $5,000 a month instead of paying $14,000. The school was $14,000 instead of $58,000. And we were very disciplined. We took all of our savings, including the 13% of top line in tax savings, and we invested in the market. And kind of the rest is history.”

Resist and Unsubscribe: cancel big-tech subscriptions to move the markets

Galloway's activist thesis is that the Trump administration only reverses course when markets move, and the fastest lever is consumer spending — 70% of GDP. Because tech firms trade at huge revenue multiples, canceling one ChatGPT sub (40x revenue at $240) erases ~$10,000 of market cap, where matching that on Kroger would take 5 families quitting groceries for a year.

“if you unsubscribe from ChatGPT, they're trading at 40 times revenues, $240. That's $10,000 in market cap you take away from OpenAI. If you tried to do that with Kroger's, you would need 5 families to stop buying all groceries for a year. So go after the soft tissue, and that is tech companies subscription.”

Galloway spends $35,000 a year on Uber

After canceling his Uber account, Galloway saw he'd taken 3,747 Uber rides in 10 years (~350/year) on Uber Luxe, whose price rose 7-10% a year, and realized he spends $35,000 annually — enough to lease a G-Wagon with insurance and parking instead.

“I'm spending $35,000 a year on Uber. So I've started taking the tube here in London. I've started taking the subway in New York, which is awesome. And I've started taking UberX and I figured with the money I'm saving, I could lease an i7, a Range Rover, or a G-Wagon, including insurance and parking.”

Bought $10M of FTX claims for $2.2M at 22 cents on the dollar

Galloway purchased $10 million face value of FTX bankruptcy claims for $2.2 million when claims traded at 22 cents on the dollar, expecting roughly 50 cents on the dollar just from the Anthropic stake.

“At the time I started, at that time you could buy claims against a bankrupt FTX for $0.22. So I bought $10 million worth of claims for $2.2 million.”

Bought $10M of FTX claims for $2.2M at 22 cents on the dollar

Galloway purchased $10 million face value of FTX bankruptcy claims for $2.2 million when claims traded at 22 cents on the dollar, expecting roughly 50 cents on the dollar just from the Anthropic stake.

“At the time I started, at that time you could buy claims against a bankrupt FTX for $0.22. So I bought $10 million worth of claims for $2.2 million.”

How to actually buy bankruptcy claims: find the market-maker, pay him 10% of upside

Galloway found broker Thomas Brazell by Googling 'FTX bankruptcy claims', offered him 10% of the upside to source and legally transfer claims, and approved baskets as they came in. The broker handled diligence, ownership verification, and the legal transfer of each claim.

“I typed in FTX bankruptcy claims and I found this guy named Thomas Brazell who's living in Italy and he was making a market in them. And Thomas had assembled a team that went, because when you buy a claim, you've gotta make sure that the person who claims they own the claim actually owns it. Then you've gotta do some diligence, then you've gotta actually legally transfer the claim. You're sending money to a third party. I mean, there is risk here. So I contacted this guy who was doing, making a market in it, and I said, I have some capital I want to put to work here. I'll give you 10% of the upside if you go buy these claims.”

Steal thisTo access an exotic asset class, find the person making a market in it and pay them a cut of the upside to source and clear deals for you.

The sexier the asset class, the lower the returns

Galloway's rule from investing across the entire capital structure: glamorous asset classes like venture attract too much capital and yield less, while ugly ones like distressed credit (which 'smells like piss') are where the real returns hide. Distressed is his best-performing asset class.

“Hands down, the best asset class is distressed. And it goes to a very simple notion investing, the sexier an investment, the lower the returns. Venture's sexy. Everyone wants to hang out with Tom Brady and Gisele. No one wants to hang out with old people. And distress investing, it smells like piss. It smells like urine. You're, it's just like no one wants to hang out with bankrupt companies. It's ugly, it's complicated. It reeks of death everywhere.”

Steal thisHunt for returns in the unsexy, ugly asset classes everyone avoids; the glamour ones are crowded and underpay.

Galloway lost ~$2M selling covered calls before Oddity's earnings pop

Bored and trying to generate income, Galloway sold covered calls on his Oddity (AI beauty company) stake at $50 while it traded around $40. The next day Oddity announced earnings and jumped to $61, costing him roughly $2M because he hadn't checked the earnings calendar.

“I'm in Oddity, which is this amazing AI beauty company. I own, I don't know, a decent amount of shares. And I thought I need to generate some income here. I was bored, so I sold covered calls way out of the money, right? To try and collect rent. So stock's trading at, Stock's trading at, I don't know, $40. I sell calls at $50 to generate some income, meaning that as long as it doesn't go above $50 in the next month, I'm fine. I hadn't sold covered calls in a long time. The next day it announced earnings and the stock went to $61.”

NJOY: a 30x distressed bet on an FDA regulatory moat, sold to Altria for $2.2B

Galloway and distressed investor Jason Mudrick bought vape maker NJOY out of bankruptcy at a ~$60M valuation as a pure regulatory play, betting it would be among the few companies to win FDA smoking-cessation approval. After years near zero and ~$100M spent on approval, they sold to Altria for ~$2.2B.

“And Jason and the CEO, Ryan, were real visionaries and said, this is all about an FDA play. We're the best actor in the space. We're selling to people who want to quit smoking. There's almost no youth complaints of underage people buying in third-party retailers. And they spent about $100 or $120 million, I think, maybe a little less than that, trying to get FDA approval. And they thought, if we get, if we become one of the 3 or 4 companies that has FDA approval around smoking cessation, this is a regulatory play. Anyways, 5, 7 years later, $80 or $100 million, we get the regulatory approval and we sell the company for, I think, $2.2 billion to Altria. So that was a 30x on my investment.”

Steal thisBet on the 'least bad actor' in a regulated, hated industry; an FDA-style approval becomes a moat that the bad actors can never cross.

$2.5M into NJOY became ~$75M

Galloway turned a $2.5 million investment in NJOY into roughly $75 million when the company sold to Altria, a 30x return, though he gave $25M away as a 'guilt tax.'

“$2.5 into $75. That's fucking insane. I gave $25 away though, 'cause of my guilt tax.”

Invest your human capital in unsexy industries, not romantic ones

Galloway argues the same rule that governs asset classes governs careers: pick a less romantic field and you earn far more for the same level of talent. The top 10% of actors make $40-50K, but the top 10% of tax lawyers 'fly private' — choose the boring industry unless you need the psychic return.

“If you have financial capital, invest in the unsexy shit. And also, more importantly, your human capital. If you wanna be an athlete, a rockstar, a musician, an artist, a model, going to restaurants, nightclubs, just be clear, you're gonna make a lot less money than someone at that same level of talent in a less romantic industry. If you're just in the top 90% of tax lawyers, right? You're not in the bottom 10, just in the top 90, you can make a good living in tax law. If you're in the top 10% of actors, You make $40,000 or $50,000 a year.”

Steal thisPick a boring, less glamorous field for your career; the same talent earns dramatically more there than in a romantic industry.

If you're in SPY and think you're diversified, you're not

Galloway warns that owning SPY or the NASDAQ is not real diversification, because he believes US multiples will contract over the next decade. He's shifting holdings into Asian and European markets and into companies with at least 50% of revenue abroad.

“My big theme over the last 6 months, and I've been saying this over and over, is that if you're just in SPY or in the NASDAQ and you think you're diversified because you're in an index fund, you're not. Because I believe the US is gonna go flat for the next decade. And if you look at the PE of 26 versus Germany at 22, Japan at 18, China at 14, and you look at the head up your ass, sclerotic, reckless, ridiculously fucking stupid decisions of this administration, and how it's undermining our brand of rule of law and consistency, that is going to result in massive multiple contraction.”

Steal thisDiversify your index exposure geographically, not just across US stocks; own markets and companies with real revenue abroad.

The person with good health has thousands of problems; the person with bad health has one

Quoting Buddhist reading after losing several healthy friends in his 50s, Galloway reframes health as the foundation of everything: don't postpone life waiting for washboard abs, the perfect spouse, or more money.

“I've been reading some Buddhism recently and I love this one thing I read really struck me. And that is the person with good health has thousands of problems. The person with bad health has one problem.”

Nothing's ever as good or as bad as it seems

Galloway's single piece of advice for young people: much of your success and failure isn't your fault, and on your deathbed you'll regret how upset you were, not what happened. After a big win you're most prone to a stupid mistake because you start believing your own press.

“The one piece of advice, if I could only give one piece of advice to young people, it's that nothing's ever as good or as bad as it seems. And that is a lot of your success and a lot of your failure isn't your fault. And at the end of your life, and there's research here, when you're on your deathbed and that's it, you're not gonna take a walk on the beach, you're never gonna be with your wife again, you're never gonna get to laugh with your kids again.”

Steal thisAfter a big win, force yourself to be humble and grateful; you're never more prone to a dumb mistake than when you believe your own press.

Galloway: capital will flow out of US markets, Europe will outperform

Galloway's big 2025 theme is a reversal of 15 years of capital inflows into the US, with massive multiple contraction (PE from 26 to high teens or lower) and money reallocating to non-US markets, especially cheap, left-for-dead Europe. He plans to be almost entirely out of US public stocks within 3-4 months.

“And in '25, my quote unquote big trend or big stock pick is really boring. And that is I think the rivers are about to reverse in terms of capital flows and the unprecedented capital flows into the US over the last 15 years. I think those rivers are about to reverse and we're gonna see a massive outflow of capital. And it's already happened. I started selling down my US stocks in Q4 of last year. It's been my big theme for '25.”

Dalio's 12 uncorrelated income streams

Galloway cites Ray Dalio's idea that finding roughly 12 positive income streams that aren't correlated with each other delivers strong risk-adjusted returns. He notes the catch: widespread institutional diversification has made truly uncorrelated assets nearly impossible to find.

“Ray Dalio said something that was really powerful that And the key is to try and find 12 positive income streams that are not correlated, that if you can do that, you're going to do really well. That on a risk-adjusted basis, if you can find 12 different stocks, companies, cash flows that are somewhat uncorrelated, that's the goal. And then you get kind of above-market risk-adjusted return.”

Steal thisBuild toward ~12 income streams that don't move together to maximize risk-adjusted return.

US billionaires went from 500 to 2,500 in a decade

Galloway cites that the number of US millionaires has doubled since 2020 and the number of billionaires grew from 500 to 2,500 over ten years, underpinning his thesis on accelerating income inequality.

“the number of millionaires in the United States has doubled since 2020. The number of billionaires has gone from 500 to 2,500 in 10 years.”

Buy real estate where future billionaires want to live

Galloway's biggest personal investment thesis: as income inequality worsens, the ultra-wealthy concentrate in five constrained super cities (Dubai, London, Palm Beach, Aspen, New York), so he owns high-end homes in four of them as a long-term store of value and rents them out.

“Billionaires want to live in one of 5 places: Dubai, London, Palm Beach, Aspen, or New York. That's pretty much it. A few of them in LA, a few of them in Hong Kong. But my investment strategy is I own, I own really nice homes in 4 of those 5 areas. And my view is in 30 or 50 years, those homes could be worth a lot of money. And they're a great store of value.”

Steal thisBuy supply-constrained real estate in the handful of cities the ultra-wealthy concentrate in; bet on the demand, not the rent.

51% of men 18-24 have never asked a woman out in person

Galloway cites that in America, 51% of men aged 18 to 24 have never asked a woman out in person — and that if a man hasn't cohabitated or married by 30, there's a 1-in-3 chance he'll develop a substance abuse problem.

“And the scariest stat I've seen is that in America, 51% of men 18 to 24 have never asked a woman out in person. So if you're a dude listening to this podcast and you think, I want to level up in terms of my success romantically, if you have ever asked a woman out I'm not saying you have to be successful. She might have said no, and that's fine. But if you have ever asked a woman out in person, you're already in the top half of young men in terms of risk aggressiveness”

Galloway's one skill: the ability to mourn rejection and move on

Scott Galloway attributes his success to enduring rejection from markets, investors, and people without losing his enthusiasm. He argues that many successful people get stuck after one failure because they can't process it and lose their mojo.

“And I would say the key to my success is, is rejection. And that is I've had a lot of the marketplace, businesses, capital providers, women have provided a great deal of rejection for me. And my skill is my ability to endure that and move on and not lose my sense of enthusiasm. I, you know, the ability to mourn and move on is key.”

Galloway's one skill: the ability to mourn rejection and move on

Scott Galloway attributes his success to enduring rejection from markets, investors, and people without losing his enthusiasm. He argues that many successful people get stuck after one failure because they can't process it and lose their mojo.

“And I would say the key to my success is, is rejection. And that is I've had a lot of the marketplace, businesses, capital providers, women have provided a great deal of rejection for me. And my skill is my ability to endure that and move on and not lose my sense of enthusiasm. I, you know, the ability to mourn and move on is key.”

Why talking about money openly fights the wealthy's playbook

Galloway argues that the taboo against discussing money is decorum promoted by the wealthy to keep the poor and middle class in the dark about how much the rich actually have, and about tax-rate disparities. He deliberately discloses his gains, losses, and tax rates.

“I like to be very open about money 'cause I think that not talking about money is basically a decorum that is promoted by the incumbents and the wealthy such that you don't understand how much money wealthy people have to keep poor and middle-class people under the illusion that, oh, you, you should be paying 45% taxes while I'm paying 17.”

Build an army of capital: $50/month, diversified, let time compound

Galloway's wealth came more from investing than from his businesses. His rule: deploy even $50-$100 a month into a tax-efficient vehicle, diversify it, and let time take over.

“the ability to create an army of capital, even if it's only $50 a month or $100 a month, put it in a tax-deferred or tax-efficient vehicle, diversify it, and then let time take over. Again, see above, you don't know how fast time is gonna go. That's where I've built real wealth.”

Steal thisAutomate $50-$100/month into a diversified tax-efficient account and let compounding do the work over decades.

Build an army of capital: $50/month, diversified, let time compound

Galloway's wealth came more from investing than from his businesses. His rule: deploy even $50-$100 a month into a tax-efficient vehicle, diversify it, and let time take over.

“the ability to create an army of capital, even if it's only $50 a month or $100 a month, put it in a tax-deferred or tax-efficient vehicle, diversify it, and then let time take over. Again, see above, you don't know how fast time is gonna go. That's where I've built real wealth.”

Steal thisAutomate $50-$100/month into a diversified tax-efficient account and let compounding do the work over decades.

Buy the haystack, not the needle, once you have enough capital

Galloway advises Sam to sell down concentrated single-stock positions (HubSpot, Airbnb) because with enough capital the goal shifts from getting richer to not getting poor. Owning the whole index beats hunting for the needle.

“you should be selling down down your Airbnb and your HubSpot stock and just letting— you don't need the needle in a haystack. You just need to buy the whole haystack because you've got enough capital.”

Steal thisOnce you have enough capital, sell down concentrated positions and just buy the whole index.

It's not what you make, it's the delta between income and spending

Galloway argues wealth comes from living below your means and creating a delta between income and spending, not from high earnings. Even extraordinarily talented people stay broke if they can't keep spending below income.

“It's not how much you make, it's how much, you know, you spend and your ability to create a delta. So you always save below, live below your means.”

Steal thisMaximize the gap between what you earn and what you spend; that delta, not your salary, builds wealth.

Big corporations are the greatest wealth-creating vehicle in history

Galloway argues entrepreneurship is over-romanticized; in an era with no real antitrust enforcement, the largest-cap companies massively outperform. If you're credentialed, joining a Google or McKinsey will make you rich slowly because they can abuse their monopoly position.

“we over-romanticize entrepreneurship. If you have the ability to get into the greatest wealth-creating vehicle in history, and that is the US corporation, do it, but they have security at the front saying, do you have a degree from an elite college? But if you do, absolutely go to work for a big multinational conglomerate.”

Big corporations are the greatest wealth-creating vehicle in history

Galloway argues entrepreneurship is over-romanticized; in an era with no real antitrust enforcement, the largest-cap companies massively outperform. If you're credentialed, joining a Google or McKinsey will make you rich slowly because they can abuse their monopoly position.

“we over-romanticize entrepreneurship. If you have the ability to get into the greatest wealth-creating vehicle in history, and that is the US corporation, do it, but they have security at the front saying, do you have a degree from an elite college? But if you do, absolutely go to work for a big multinational conglomerate.”

Galloway: GLP-1 will be bigger than GPT-4

Galloway declares GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy) the most underhyped emerging technology, predicting they will have a bigger impact than GPT-4.

“The other thing I'm really excited about, and I think it's the most underhyped, I just did a blog post on this. I think GLP-1 is bigger than GPT-4.”

Galloway: GLP-1 will be bigger than GPT-4

Galloway declares GLP-1 drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy) the most underhyped emerging technology, predicting they will have a bigger impact than GPT-4.

“The other thing I'm really excited about, and I think it's the most underhyped, I just did a blog post on this. I think GLP-1 is bigger than GPT-4.”

Start a hedge fund that shorts food stocks on the back of GLP-1

Galloway says if he were starting a hedge fund now, he'd run a fund that does nothing but short food stocks like McDonald's, because GLP-1 drugs moderate the cravings that drive overeating, drinking, and other addictions out of step with 300,000 years of instinct.

“I was starting a hedge fund right now. I would have a fund that did nothing but go short food stocks, McDonald's. Nobody walks into Arby's and looks around and thinks, this was a good decision. No one ever thinks that. And if all of a sudden I could get an injection or take a pill every week that helped me make better decisions.”

Steal thisBuild a thesis-driven short book against fast-food and processed-food stocks as GLP-1 adoption scales.

Start a hedge fund that shorts food stocks on the back of GLP-1

Galloway says if he were starting a hedge fund now, he'd run a fund that does nothing but short food stocks like McDonald's, because GLP-1 drugs moderate the cravings that drive overeating, drinking, and other addictions out of step with 300,000 years of instinct.

“I was starting a hedge fund right now. I would have a fund that did nothing but go short food stocks, McDonald's. Nobody walks into Arby's and looks around and thinks, this was a good decision. No one ever thinks that. And if all of a sudden I could get an injection or take a pill every week that helped me make better decisions.”

Steal thisBuild a thesis-driven short book against fast-food and processed-food stocks as GLP-1 adoption scales.

Obesity costs the US $1.7 trillion a year, 7% of the economy

Citing the Milken Institute, Galloway says obesity-related costs (knee replacements, cardiac, obesity-linked cancers) total $1.7 trillion a year, about 7% of the US economy, framing the upside if GLP-1 drugs cut that.

“The Milken Institute said obesity-related costs are $1.7 trillion a year. When you look at everything from knee replacements to cardiac to cancers that are obesity-related, we're looking at $1.7 trillion a year. That's 7% of our economy.”

The algorithm for happiness: be rich but anonymous

Galloway loves the affirmation of fame but warns there's an entire industry built on building people up then tearing them down. His happiness rule: be rich but anonymous, because eventually you become the villain.

“I do think there is an algorithm for happiness though, a pretty good one, and that is to be rich but anonymous. 'Cause at some point I'm gonna become the villain. And some of the things you talked about before, there's an entire industry in America around building people up and then tearing them down.”

Galloway averages $112K per speaking gig, his most lucrative business

Galloway says speaking is the most lucrative business he's ever been in: 340 inbound requests, of which he accepted 30, averaging $112,000 per engagement. To justify the fee he spends ~3 months with a team of analysts building each talk.

“So speaking is the most lucrative business I've ever been in. I had 340 inbound requests for speaking. I accepted 30 of them. I average $112,000 per speaking engagement.”

Use humor to soften the beach for new ideas

Galloway explains that humor lowers an audience's defenses so they'll be open to provocative or unfamiliar ideas, comparing it to softening the beach before a landing.

“Well, humor's a great way to lower people's defenses such that they'll be open to new ideas. And so when I say things that are provocative or I'm asking them to think something different, humor is a fantastic way to soften the beach for new ideas.”

Steal thisOpen provocative talks with humor to disarm the audience before introducing challenging ideas.

The Anti-Galloway Index: bet against his predictions, beat the S&P by 61%

Someone built an index tracking companies Scott Galloway predicted would fail. Doing the opposite of his calls since 2019 produced a 61% return, outperforming the S&P 500.

“Uh, tech companies that Professor Galloway has predicted would fail have outperformed the S&P 500 by a whopping 61%.”