A Little Kind Praise From Edgar Bronfman Jr.

 

I’ve worked with lot of executives, but one of the best as well as most misunderstood was Edgar Bronfman, Jr.

 

He had guts, creating a massive amount of value for Seagram shareholders. In fact, from the time Seagram bought Universal the stock price increased 300%.

 

He recognized opportunity where others saw fear—motivated by the real chance that Congress would step in and regulate alcohol the way they government did with the cigarette industry, understanding how the growth of the medical marijuana industry would impact the spirits business and more.

 

Edgar was a forward thinker and repeated his success with the acquisition of Warner Music, which had a pay back of less than a year. The often docile, easily manipulated, lazy and mean spirited press and media took the easy way out and never gave Edgar his due. He was a visionary, appreciating talent and not suffering fools well.

 

No matter what company I work for, I treat that company money like it is my own. It isn’t always popular in the industry of banking, but it is the reason despite being involved in $175 BILLION in transactions my companies or investors have never lost a penny.

 

Edgar saw this in my DNA and appreciated it. What made him better than others is he noted and told you how much he appreciated it, which only made me work harder.