
Michael Novogratz (@novogratz) is the founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital. He was formerly a partner and president of Fortress Investment Group, LLC. Prior to Fortress, Michael spent 11 years at Goldman Sachs, where he was elected partner in 1998. Michael served on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets from 2012–2015. Michael serves as the chairman of The Bail Project and has made criminal justice reform a focus of his family’s foundation. He also serves as the chairman of Hudson River Park Friends and sits on the boards of NYU Langone Medical Center, Princeton Varsity Club, Jazz Foundation of America, and Artists for Peace and Justice. Michael received an AB in Economics from Princeton University and served as a helicopter pilot in the US Army.
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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
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Want to hear another conversation with an investor who’s got his mind on more than the market? Listen in on my interview with Howard Marks in which we discuss the secret formula to getting along with business partners, turning dumb money into smart money, why it’s not what you buy but what you pay, measuring the intrinsic value of cryptocurrency, and much more.
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
- Connect with Mike Novogratz:
- The Bail Project
- Hudson River Park Friends
- NYU Langone Medical Center
- Princeton Varsity Club
- Jazz Foundation of America
- Artists for Peace and Justice
- A Sidelined Wall Street Legend Bets on Bitcoin | The New Yorker
- Speed Racer | Prime Video
- Fred Segal
- Princeton University
- The P-rade | Princetoniana
- Mike Novogratz | National Wrestling Hall of Fame
- What is a Redshirt? | The Recruiting Code
- Beat the Streets
- Fortress’ Novogratz ‘Wrestles’ With Olympic Committee | CNBC
- Presidents Have Long Wrestling History | National Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Goldman Sachs
- Sierra Tucson
- Crisis Communication: Lessons from 9/11 | Harvard Business Review
- Eurodollar | Investopedia
- US Treasury Contract Explorer | Data Lab
- Fortress Investment Group
- Marathon Des Sables (The Marathon of the Sands)
- Complacent Investors At Morgan’s Lyford Gathering Could Lead To Sudden Downturn | Seeking Alpha
- Ten Famous Things Napoleon Bonaparte Never Said | War History Online
- ‘The Last Dance’ — The Untold Story of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls | ESPN
- What Does It Mean to Be Long or Short a Derivative? | Investopedia
- Bitcoin
- Paul Tudor Jones Buys Bitcoin with Reminder of Gold in 1970s | Bloomberg
- Bitcoin Endorsed by Top Hedge Fund Manager | Financial Times
- What Is ‘The Halvening’? | Bitcoin Magazine
- TD Ameritrade
- Charles Schwab
- Coinbase
- Square
- Robinhood
- Collibra
- Memento | Prime Video
- Pretty in Pink | Prime Video
- Army West Point Athletics
- Changing the Way the World Tackles Poverty | Acumen
- To Tackle the World’s Big Problems, This Is the Kind of Imagination You Must Have | Jacqueline Novogratz, Ideas.TED.com
- Jacqueline Novogratz: Inspiring a Life of Immersion | TED Talk
- Manifesto for a Moral Revolution: Practices to Build a Better World by Jacqueline Novogratz
- What Brownies Do | Girl Scouts
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Smith Street Tattoo Parlour
- The Wild History Behind Traditional Panther Tattoos | Tattoodo
- What Is Ayahuasca? Experience, Benefits, and Side Effects | Healthline
- The College of Education Commencement and Teacher Education Program Recognition Ceremony | University of Iowa
- Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (Resources) | tim.blog
- Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland | Disney Video
- 99 Zen Koans | AshidaKim.com
- Egoscue Institute
- Bryan Stevenson: We Need to Talk About an Injustice | TED Talk
- The Bronx Defenders
- A New ‘Birth of a Nation’ Dredges Up the Complicated, Ugly Legacy of the Groundbreaking 1915 Film | Los Angeles Times
- Ethereum
- Wampum Resurfaces as Bitcoin | The East Hampton Star
- Build Your Own 2020 G 550 SUV | Mercedes-Benz USA
- Galaxy Gives
- International Incarceration Comparisons | Prison Policy Initiative
- Reform Alliance
- A State-by-State Look at Coronavirus in Prisons | The Marshall Project
- Robin Steinberg: What If We Ended the Injustice of Bail? | TED Talk
- Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff: How We Can Make Racism a Solvable Problem — and Improve Policing | TED Talk
- Jared Kushner’s Felon Father Brought Two Fellow Inmates Into Company | Bloomberg
- Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre
- The Confessions of Saint Augustine: Book VIII | Sacred Texts
- The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss
SHOW NOTES
- Clearing up two burning questions: what are Mike’s Speed Racer pants, and has he ever piloted a helicopter down Prospect Avenue? [06:57]
- What was Mike’s Princeton experience like? [09:27]
- Athleticswise, what flipped for Mike in his junior year? [11:34]
- What part has wrestling played — and continues to play — in Mike’s life? [12:39]
- How did Mike work his way through a particularly painful part of his journey — when he thought, after resigning from Goldman Sachs, his life was over at age 33? [14:00]
- What did Mike’s routine look like between rehab and ringing the bell after not working for almost six years? Did he change any habits in particular? [22:38]
- Mike may not consider himself the smartest guy in the room, but his intuition might make him one of the luckiest. [26:43]
- How has Mike learned to discern intuition and pattern recognition from irrational confidence? [29:16]
- Why does Mike consider himself the Forrest Gump of Bitcoin, and how does his speculation over cryptocurrency differ from that of fellow investor Paul Tudor Jones? [35:10]
- Putting on the Nostradamus hat, where does Mike see Bitcoin going over the next 12 months? [38:48]
- Growing up in a family of strong personalities, what was Mike’s childhood like? [40:54]
- Who is Jacqueline Novogratz? [45:01]
- Does Mike think the pressure he’s felt to excel comes from having so many high-achieving people in his family? [48:31]
- Mike describes the not-so-small tattoo on his forearm. [51:57]
- Why did Mike decide to include an experience with ayahuasca in a commencement speech he recently gave at the University of Iowa? [53:32]
- As someone with a competitive drive, how has Mike learned to be more forgiving of himself when he doesn’t come in first place? [57:21]
- What advice does Mike think his older self, 10-20 years from now, might give to his current self? [1:03:02]
- How did Mike come to be so passionate about criminal justice reform? [1:05:10]
- Interested in learning more about criminal justice reform and why it’s so important? Here are a few jumping-off points Mike recommends. [1:12:50]
- What books has Mike given often as gifts? [1:14:55]
- How does Mike refocus when he’s feeling overwhelmed? [1:16:30]
- Favorite quotations. [1:18:28]
- What investment of money, time, energy, or other resources has been Mike’s most worthwhile? [1:20:08]
- Parting thoughts. [1:21:49]
PEOPLE MENTIONED
- Gary Shteyngart
- Gloria Vanderbilt
- Carter Cooper
- Abraham Lincoln
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Lloyd Blankfein
- Byron Wien
- Ehud Barak
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Louis Bacon
- Bruce Kovner
- Stan Druckenmiller
- Paul Tudor Jones
- Michael Jordan
- Forrest Gump
- Nostradamus
- Jack Dorsey
- Abigail Johnson
- Pete Briger
- Wences Casares
- Scott Melker
- The Novogratzes
- The Kennedys
- Bryan Stevenson
- Pete Egoscue
- Anna Novogratz
- Nate Parker
- Robin Steinberg
- Billy Watterson
- Jay-Z
- Meek Mill
- Robert Kraft
- Phillip Atiba Goff
- Donald Trump
- Jared Kushner
- Charles Kushner
- Edwin Lefevre
- Jesse Livermore
- Doug McMillon
- Saint Augustine
- Nacho Novogratz
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Mike mentioned a book written in 1930’s that’s the “bible” for anyone trading. What was the title?
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Hi tim,
I know your “tools of titans” audio book is coming up, i really like you to consider the possibility to have the italian version i can provide in high quality.
Let me know if you like the idea, I really love the book and want to help you to have the best Italian vesrion possible!
Take care
Lorenzo Marte
Tim – What’s the best book on shamanism?
There may be many wonderful things one could say about Magic Spoon, but for you to say “It tastes just like your favorite sugary cereal.” leads me to belive that you either haven’t tried Magic Spoon, or you’ve never eaten sugary cereal before.
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Billionaire guy who has struggled with drug addiction, admits to being a hard boss, talks about drinking too much and yet feels the need to say he’d like to beat up the president. So disappointing.
Seem like he’s just being honestly raw with his own truth that is all. He hides nala of his own emotional life journey. what a brave soul! who probably can take a few more punches or swings from you.. and return double or quadruple (can’t wait to check out his book recommendation. Hope that will not disappoint. we’ll see..
Hey Tim, Love your interviews and content! Towards the end of this interview, Mike mentioned how badly prisons systems are needing reform… Have you heard of Chris Wilson, and his book “The Master Plan”? I highly recommend his book, and perhaps one day Chris can be a guest on your podcast? If somehow Mike and Chris connected, I think it would be powerful. Thanks for reading. Best, E