What’s up Graham, it’s guys here :-) If it’s your first time here, hit the subscribe button below to join 38,400+ smart investors and never miss an update on the market again. It only takes a second.
Sidney Weinberg was one of eleven children of an immigrant liquor dealer, and he dropped out of high school. In 1907, with no academic credentials to his name at age 16, he began to knock on doors of brokerage houses in New York offering his services, and at one small brokerage firm, he talked his way into a job as an assistant to the janitor for $3 a week. His duties included handling the hats and shining the shoes of the executives. Soon, his upbeat attitude and talking skills caught the eye of Paul Sachs, the grandson of the firm’s founder who gave him a job at the mailroom. The firm’s name was Goldman Sachs.
After that, Weinberg took every opportunity to improve his skills and learn as much as he could, and after a stint at war, his career at Goldman Sachs improved in leaps and bounds. He found a role as a securities trader in 1925, became a partner in 1927, and a senior partner in 1930. That year, he became the head of the firm and saved it from bankruptcy. That was just the beginning. For 39 years till his death, Weinberg was Goldman Sachs. He had a giant reputation in the entire market, with names such as “Mr. Wall Street” and “Director’s director.” And to think it all started with him being a janitor at 16 with unlimited drive and a hunger to learn.
I find such stories fascinating – for all the business books out there and “how-to” manuals, there’s something about hearing a personal story straight from the horse’s mouth that hits in a different way. It’s also one of the reasons I’ve been meeting with entrepreneurs I admire and learning from them. This week, I got a chance to sit down with another man who has an incredible rags-to-riches story: Ben Mallah, the $500 million man. He’s one of the most “over-the-top”, “offensive”, “loud-mouthed” real estate moguls you’re ever going to meet – but that’s what makes him shine through, his unfiltered authenticity and enthusiasm for business. I loved having this conversation and hope you like it too!
For the unfiltered, uncut conversation, check out the full version here.
Do you want to hear more insights from entrepreneurs and creators in a short, concise, actionable format? What would you want to learn? Let me know in the comments below.
The five best banks of 2023
In normal times, I would advise you against letting your money sit idle in a bank – but these aren’t normal times. With interest rates rising, banks have suddenly become the “go-to” option for safe investments, and there are some really attractive choices out there. It’s not just about the yield you get on your savings – finding the bank with the right benefits, perfect online support, and a seamless experience can let you relax and focus your efforts elsewhere. So these are my top five picks for 2023, and they all have their own unique advantages depending on what your priorities are. Check it out:
The Graham Stephan Show
I know you’re financially responsible, save up, invest, and do all the right things – but sometimes the best motivation to keep going on the correct path is to see someone who’s absolutely blowing it by doing things the opposite way. This 60 minutes video on how young people are financing a lavish lifestyle on credit card debt really got on my nerves – but I couldn’t stop watching it.
There were two other videos this week: This 41-year-old was trying to piece his life together, though he was “refusing to work” and choosing to live with his parents, and Caleb Hammer sat him down and had a talk. That’s what it looks like on the surface, but this story is pretty intense and gets into how it’s difficult to deal with the consequences of your past mistakes but still possible. This one is… complicated.
The other video is the polar opposite: A CNBC MakeIt video covered the story of a “Barista Champion” who turned her passion for coffee into a nice $144k per year. Morgan Eckroth’s story is pretty neat – but there are some nuances that you have to dig into before you drop everything and go the coffee route yourself. So check it out!
The Iced Coffee Hour
Michelle Khare has one of the coolest (and most challenging jobs) ever – After running marathons, training with NASA, taking Secret Service, FBI and SWAT training at their academies, and becoming a Chess Grandmaster, she says she is now giving everything she’s got to what she thinks will be the hardest encounter yet. She’s going to box Chess Extraordinaire Andrea Botez in the upcoming Creator Clash (Ah… Fond memories. Ouch). We get the behind-the-scenes scoop on her content creator lifestyle, how she balances the personal and the professional, and the craziest adventures she’s had:
So that’s it for my Sunday round-up. For the new folks here, in this newsletter, I give a quick recap of whatever you may have missed over the week on Sunday over all my different channels, and on Wednesday, I will be doing my deep-dive article on one of these topics. We now have a premium plan that gets you exclusive extra content every week and priority engagement – check it out.
See you next week with another bunch of exciting videos!
And force of habit – Smash that like button to help others find this newsletter. Hit that subscribe button if you haven’t done so already!