x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Billionaire Biographies

Behind every billion-dollar fortune is a story they don’t want told. Billionaire Biographies is the definitive podcast that uncovers the real lives of the titans who have shaped our world for the last one hundred years—from the robber barons of the Gilded Age to the tech gods of Silicon Valley. We go beyond the sanitized myths and official histories to expose the ambition, the genius, and the brutal tactics that built the world’s greatest empires. This isn"t a celebration of wealth; it"s an

business courses

All Episodes

21:29

Episode 40 - Michael Bloomberg: Wall Street Data,...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

Michael Bloomberg’s career is a masterclass in leveraging one form of power to gain another. This episode traces his extraordinary journey, beginning with his dismissal from the investment bank Salomon Brothers. With his partner's check, he founded a company based on a single, brilliant idea: that Wall Street would pay a premium for fast, accessible financial data. The result was the Bloomberg Terminal, the iconic black box that became an indispensable tool for every serious trader and financial

en

36:42

Episode 39 - The Rise of Private Equity: How KKR and...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

How did a small group of Wall Street firms, once considered corporate outlaws, come to own everything from the hospital down the street to the country's biggest pet store? This episode provides a sweeping overview of the rise of private equity, the most powerful and least understood force in modern capitalism. We go back to the beginning, with the pioneers at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) who orchestrated the legendary, bare-knuckled leveraged buyout of RJR Nabisco, a battle immortalized in the book

en

26:04

Episode 38 - Ray Dalio: The Principles of a Hedge...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is one of the most successful and enigmatic figures in modern finance. This episode opens the doors to his secretive and unconventional company, which is run according to a set of rules Dalio has codified in his famous manifesto, "Principles." We explore his journey from a middle-class kid from Long Island to the head of a firm that manages hundreds of billions of dollars for sovereign governments and pension funds. We

en

34:04

Episode 37 - Steve Schwarzman: The New King of Capital

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

After the corporate raiders of the 80s came a new, more sophisticated force on Wall Street: private equity. This episode tells the story of Steve Schwarzman, the co-founder of the Blackstone Group, who became the undisputed king of this new financial empire. We trace Schwarzman’s journey from a Lehman Brothers executive to the head of a firm that would become the largest alternative investment firm in the world, with trillions of dollars in assets under management. We demystify the world of private

en

25:04

Episode 36 - The Fall of Michael Milken: The Scandal...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

The empire of the Junk Bond King was built on a foundation of genius, but it was destroyed by hubris and illegality. This episode chronicles the epic downfall of Michael Milken, a saga of greed and corruption that became the defining scandal of the 1980s. We follow the sprawling insider trading investigation led by a young, ambitious U.S. Attorney named Rudy Giuliani, who was determined to make an example of Milken and the excesses of Wall Street. We unravel the complex web of illegal activities

en

23:51

Episode 35 - Michael Milken: The Junk Bond King

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

The roaring, greed-is-good ethos of the 1980s was built on a financial instrument that Michael Milken all but invented: the high-yield "junk bond." This episode tells the story of the man who revolutionized Wall Street from his X-shaped desk in Beverly Hills. We explore how Milken discovered a massive, untapped market by arguing that the bonds of smaller, riskier companies—long dismissed as "junk"—were actually undervalued and could be a source of immense profit. We show how Milken and his firm,

en

26:29

Episode 34 - Carl Icahn: The Corporate Raider

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

In the 1980s, a new kind of predator roamed Wall Street: the corporate raider. And no one embodied that role more than Carl Icahn. This episode explores the life and tactics of the original activist investor, a man who built a multi-billion-dollar fortune by waging war on the management of America's biggest companies. We delve into Icahn's signature strategy: buying a large stake in a company he deemed undervalued, and then using that position to bully, threaten, and cajole the board into making

en

28:01

Episode 33 - George Soros: The Man Who Broke the Bank...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

To some, George Soros is a visionary philanthropist and champion of democracy; to others, he is a shadowy globalist puppet master. This episode cuts through the conspiracy theories to tell the real story of the man and his money. We trace his incredible life, from his survival as a Jewish teenager in Nazi-occupied Hungary to his emergence as one of the most successful and feared hedge fund managers in history. The centerpiece of our story is the audacious financial bet that made him a legend: his

en

27:20

Episode 32 - Buffett's Billions: The Contradictions...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

Warren Buffett has cultivated an image as America's favorite billionaire—a man who lives modestly, pays his taxes, and eats at McDonald's. But behind this carefully crafted persona lies a ruthless and pragmatic capitalist. This episode explores the deep contradictions of the Oracle of Omaha, contrasting his public pronouncements on social equity with the often-brutal realities of his business decisions. We investigate some of Berkshire Hathaway's most controversial investments, from its large stake

en

23:38

Episode 31 - Warren Buffett: The Oracle of Omaha's...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/13

Warren Buffett is known today as a folksy, grandfatherly figure, a sage investor who dispenses wisdom from his modest home in Omaha, Nebraska. But how did this man become the "Oracle"? This episode journeys back to the beginning, uncovering the origin story of the world's most successful investor. We trace his early life as a prodigious, numbers-obsessed boy who was reading books on finance while his peers were reading comics. We delve into his formative years at Columbia Business School under the

en

27:44

Episode 30 - Hetty Green: The Witch of Wall Street

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/02

In the male-dominated world of the Gilded Age, one woman stood apart as one of its most formidable and feared financiers: Hetty Green. Nicknamed "The Witch of Wall Street" for her severe black attire and her legendary frugality, she was the richest woman in America, having built a massive fortune through shrewd investments in stocks and real estate. This episode resurrects the story of a forgotten financial genius who thrived in a world that was openly hostile to women in business. We explore her

en

33:55

Episode 29 - The Hunt Brothers: Cornering the Silver...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/02

For a brief moment in 1980, two Texas oil heirs, Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt, came perilously close to cornering the entire global silver market. This episode tells the incredible story of one of the most audacious financial gambles in history. Driven by a deep distrust of paper money and a belief that inflation would spiral out of control, the Hunt brothers began quietly buying up massive quantities of physical silver and silver futures contracts. We unravel the complex financial

en

25:37

Episode 28 - Larry Ellison: Silicon Valley's Samurai

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/02

Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle Corporation, is one of Silicon Valley’s most enduring and controversial figures. This episode delves into the mind of a man known for his brilliant technological vision, his extravagant lifestyle, and his notoriously aggressive "win-at-all-costs" business philosophy. We trace his journey from a college dropout to the head of a software behemoth that became the backbone of global business. We expose the ruthless tactics Oracle used to dominate the database

en

30:47

Episode 27 - Ted Turner: The Mouth of the South and...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/02

In 1980, the idea of a 24-hour television news network was considered a joke, a "Chicken Noodle Network" destined to fail. This episode tells the story of Ted Turner, the brash, bombastic, and visionary media mogul who proved everyone wrong with the launch of CNN. We trace Turner’s career, from inheriting his father’s billboard company to building a broadcasting empire in Atlanta that earned him the nickname "The Mouth of the South." We take you inside the chaotic and uncertain early days of CNN, a

en

34:17

Episode 26 - Richard Branson: The Rebel Billionaire

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/02

Richard Branson has built a global empire under the Virgin brand, all while carefully cultivating an image as the "rebel billionaire." This episode deconstructs the myth of the swashbuckling, anti-establishment entrepreneur to reveal the savvy marketing genius beneath. We trace his journey from a student magazine publisher and founder of a small record store to the head of a sprawling conglomerate that includes an airline, a mobile phone company, and a space tourism venture. We analyze Branson's

en

22:45

Episode 25 - William Randolph Hearst: The Real...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/01

Long before the term "media mogul" existed, there was William Randolph Hearst. This episode explores the life of the newspaper magnate who pioneered yellow journalism and built an empire that could start wars and shape the course of American history. We chronicle his rise, using his family's mining fortune to create a nationwide chain of sensationalist newspapers that prioritized eye-catching headlines and dramatic stories over factual reporting. At the heart of our story is Hearst's role in

en

33:35

Episode 24 - Aristotle Onassis: The Shipping Magnate...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/01

Aristotle Onassis, a Greek refugee who arrived in Argentina with less than $100, built a shipping empire and became one of the most glamorous and powerful figures of the 20th century. This episode charts the incredible rise of a man who used charm, cunning, and ruthless ambition to conquer the world of international shipping. We explore how he masterfully exploited the post-war demand for oil tankers, building a massive fleet that made him one of the richest men on Earth. But Onassis's true genius

en

29:18

Episode 23 - J. Paul Getty: The Richest, Stingiest...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/01

Paul Getty, the founder of Getty Oil, was the richest man in the world during his time, and quite possibly the most frugal. This episode explores the legendary and pathological stinginess of a man who built a colossal fortune in the oil industry and then hoarded it with a miser's zeal. We trace his rise, from his early wildcatting days to his masterful investments during the Great Depression, which allowed him to build a global empire while others went bankrupt. His reputation for frugality became

en

20:50

Episode 22 - The Madness of Howard Hughes: Pills,...

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/01

How does one of the richest, most famous men in the world simply vanish? This episode delves into the dark and bizarre final decades of Howard Hughes’s life, as he descended into a self-imposed prison of germs, drugs, and extreme paranoia. We chronicle his retreat from public life, as he moved from one hotel penthouse to another, living in blacked-out, sterilized rooms and communicating with his staff only through memos. His business empire, worth billions, was run by executives who often hadn't

en

33:45

Episode 21 - Howard Hughes: The Aviator in Isolation

Billionaire Biographies ·

2025/10/01

Before he was a recluse, Howard Hughes was one of the most famous and daring men in America. Inheriting a fortune from his father's revolutionary oil drill bit, Hughes funneled his wealth into his two great passions: aviation and filmmaking. This episode chronicles the early life of the dashing, fearless Hughes, who directed Hollywood epics like Hell's Angels, dated screen legends, and personally set world air-speed records in planes of his own design. He was a national hero, a symbol of American

en

101 results

Similar Podcasts

TaxTalent.com The Golden Rule Podcast

Adam Golden

TaxTalent.com Podcast

Tony Santiago

Handelsblatt Crime - spannende Streitfälle der deutschen Wirtschaft

Ina Karabasz, Solveig Gode, Sönke Iwersen

Deffner und Zschäpitz – Der Wirtschafts-Talk von WELT

WELT

Black Box - La scatola nera della finanza

Guido Brera e Gian Luca Comandini -...