Transcript
Yeah, we got our new song. Come on now. No, no, this is Our Brands live, live! Live live. From the okay, ready? For this one. I don't know. Live from the antidote to Elon musk's boring tunnel in Las Vegas. And Uber. To to a WNBA game and Uber really and Uber, right to a WNBA game. That's that's the WWE NBA game. I got its a business pants Friday. I'll explain later to business plans Friday show, here at July 25th, Studio's Beach, showing analyst whole mattress. Months in advance on today's weekly wrap-up. Uber discriminates against aggressive male Behavior. Song, Finally, stands up to Texas and Sam Altman is constantly frightened. I'm gonna say right up front. I am very proud of ISS and glass Lewis today. Can I just say that right now? Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing. You stole my thunder. That was gonna be my one of my top stories or good list, but I'm gonna let you take care of that and later on the show. Yeah we got we got to praise them when we look, we like to have fun at their expense but we got to praise them when we got to praise him, right? When they do the thing where it depends. I'm behind it. I'm behind it and authentic reporting here. We're not right. Are you citizen journalists? Yes. Our show today is being sponsored by free float analytics and flow and analytics start calm. The only platform measuring board power connections and performance for free. Yeah. Only only yeah yeah do you signed up for that platform? Right? Like there are sponsors so you know I use it regularly. Yeah there's a funny picture right there right now. Elon Musk right there in the front page, you know. It's actually, you know, if you if you if you don't, if you're not on the platform the front page, you don't talk about very much. There's a lot of data on directors who runs companies, they're influence their performance. All these all this data and we know the institutional investors are actually looking at this data because it's free and it's there and why not, but on the front page. Is basically just a tremendous amount of news about these company. It's like highly curated very relevant news about these companies and because they're a nice sponsor, they put our show, right on the right on the front page. When you click on it, I'm looking at one about Tim Cook possible succession plans at Apple when you click on it, It doesn't even go out. To another source. It gives all the text is right there. You got the whole article, it's really handy, really nice. It's really handy. Its sights, the source. So you know, we're not just cheating here. Yeah, there's no cheating right? Well maybe all right there's always cheating. All right so let's just Stretch it out, get limber. All right, well, we didn't, we were off last week so we didn't really have a chance to put this a story of the week. So I'm just gonna include it. Mostly to annoy you, the astronomer cold the cold place Story the cold place, CEO, Astronomer HR Chief and I one of the things that stood up to me about this headline, is we always complain that. They don't mention the name of CEOs, even though like even when they're doing something horrible, but this headline from CNBC made sure. To cite the person astronomer HR Chief, Kristen Cabot. Yeah, they nailed her name that women. Yeah, resigned, they got her following Coldplay. Kiss cam incident, everyone knows this story at a Coldplay concert astronomer CEO, Andy Byron and one of his leadership team Chief people officer, Kristen Cabot were caught canoodling now they're both fired. They weren't married. I guess is the point and they had other partners, but here's my point, she fired good. What, why is? Well, I mean, isn't it going to be awkward me, everyone in the company is probably has an opinion, they're giggling. I mean, you think we, I mean, I remember when we used to sit, you know what, I don't know what you call in the bullpen in the area with all the other data wonks, all the other data Labs at MSI. Yeah. GMI at the corporate whenever an ex would walk by, you know, you do the pretend like, for Melody the pretend hello. But they won their leave. The jokes are flying. I mean, come on. I mean that's normal for any office, right? But this is kind of, I assume, are you gonna trust your head of HR? I mean, isn't that I feel? I mean, right, I mean, first of all, she kind of has to go. She was the head of people, okay? Whatever, not HR, whatever. Whatever. That is, second of all, she was in the subordinate role, right? Like yes. So the onus is on him, okay? But okay, I don't know the full story yet what you're saying. It's a public. It's not a publicly traded company. We can't get into too many of the ins and outs but it does say she resigns which I'm sure. She'll get a nice severance package. I'm not it's not suggesting, they fired her, but I'm I'm guessing that she would be uncomfortable working there. But can I get to my main point before you, you always can give me your boring perspective. On this, is that mad. They, they finally did it. I mean, we should applaud for the company astronomer because now there are 0 women in charge anywhere. So oh yeah, I have 10 Executives. They have a board of directors of five directors and she was the only woman but they did took care of it. It's all men. They'll figure out how to run this culture now that they'll understand what to do next. I think right the men I mean at last yes so that's a stronger. Good good going. Um, I think that that would be the story of the week if it wasn't the story of every time people, my story. It's just moving all stories. A couple stories are gonna hate. A Trump trump, Believe It or Not. Donald Trump. I already know. It's hard to believe a US president. Donald Trump. He has a new order to block woke a high. This guy's a child and government. So tech companies looking to sell their artificial intelligence technology to the federal government is now contend with a new regulatory hurdle. Oh they I guess they do believe in regulation Bingo. Yeah it's against the people of color and women to prove their chat Bots are not woke but does this does this not put the onus on the government to Define woke other than a I'm excited for that other than a dirty did but a bit of skin pigmentation and have a vagina. How did it Define? Whoa like how what is woke? Like it's a bunch of Search terms right isn't it? Like it's it was like searching anything it's not real killer Yes she really rapist sexual like the opposite of all those things. This is on the heels of them like signing a contract with Brock which is on the heels of grok. Basically spewing anti-semitic hate. So was like isn't that woke like from the right wing woke? If you're if your chatbot is praising, Hitler is not woke from the other perspective is not like hateful wolf. I'm serious. Like I don't how I don't deal with this. I don't understand. This is just, I don't actually want to spend any time on this. I have a little bit on this but I hate it. I it's so dumb. Well, it's so petty. It's so dictatorial. Here's why. So, all the thing, here's why I ended up choosing the story is originally, I was gonna fold up with the story about ISS and glass Lewis in Texas, which you'll cover soon because it was my My perspective was gonna be hey, you know, tech companies, you can stand up to this idiot like even the people making South Parker standing up this idiot. So I cannot believe stand up to people. You can look, I can't do it. I didn't choose Columbia for one of my ass holes of the week, but I really wanted to like, why are we bending the fucking knee? Well, like why are you doing that? You think you're gonna get something back or you do you see control? Well, I don't, what are you doing? I didn't look at the details of that, but is that just a classic settlement to avoid? Like, a long expensive? Like what matters? There is no classic settlement anymore now the settlement or extortion? It's all extortion, right? It's just your the government is extorting you to basically look like you bent the knee so that they can it doesn't matter what you do. They're gonna they're gonna clean Victory and then they're going to go after you for something else and the stories are talking about how like there's a bunch of schools left over. And in this case it's like the Rows. Making AI bend the knee. Make your auntie. Make your anti-wolf chatbots or else. Right? Like all of this is extortion. Why are you doing it? These are trillion market cap companies, who cares. If you don't have a contract with the US federal government, okay? Companies were dealing with have more money than the US government, right? Like, what the fuck are you doing? You're all richer than the president? Like what are you worried about? In eight months? There's gonna be an election and it's going to change the dynamic in the house and the Senate anyways, right. Like, it's gonna change it one way or the other is either going to be worse way worse? Or it's gonna be better, right worse? Yeah. Oh, I fucking hate it. I feel like I have this this every week. Now, we have a category called. Jamie dimon says, because people always love quoting Jamie dimon. I don't know why. He's the, he's like the Sayer. He's a clown Prince of billionaires. He has all the pith. Quotes. But now, I think I'm gonna have a new category called openai CEO. Sam Altman is frightened, something like that. Sam Altman is scared of something that's Altman. Cowers. Yeah. Like he's always afraid of something. Here's the latest open. AI CEO Sam Altman. Warren's of, he's always warning and frightened, AI voice, fraud crisis and banking, he warned the financial industry of a significant impending fraud crisis because of the ability of artificial intelligence tools to impersonate, a person's voice to bypass security checks and move money. He says so he says this is what I love when Sam Walton start to send like this. A thing that terrifies me is and it's all and it's always something that's his company has created. Always That's what it is. A name of the segment is a thing that terrifies me is yes that's it. And Tim it's you guys like because you're doing this a Breakneck speeds. No one's asking for this. It's like there's no regulation. There's no control. You can't you can't even fire you Sam. You can't investors have no se because of dual-class share like, just, there's no way they got the government just said, if you regulate AI in your state, they might withhold your friend can't regulate it. Can't be woke, which means that it, which ostensibly means AI can't like give a shit about Humanity because that's what woke means. We learned this week from the Superman movie. Controversy is it means acts of kindness, that's one of the things they hated about the new Superman movies that Superman stood for acts of kindness. That was really one of its really a special situation when like, all right, let me and good news. Yeah, yeah, I think Do a good story that because I don't like any first of all that's going to be one of my assholes the week anyway. So like I don't like anything that you're saying I don't know what took them so long on this one but this is like the perfect corporate news story to embody our times. Although why did it take to 2025 the day that Travis kalanick left? Uber should have been the day? They instituted this and quite frankly, I am just shocked, I thought this already existed but the headline is Uber will let women drivers and women Riders, request to avoid being paired with men starting next month. I mean, this is beautiful, right? I mean remember, thank you covered, for once. They covered this, they piloted this in India. How was this? Not a thing already, three years ago, it was one of the things that Jesse the money was for brought up in one of her segments, like they had a pilot. This, I mean, they had to Pilot it, they had to make sure. So it's okay, if Men are doing whatever they want, but we have to make sure that women can handle picking up other women. What is this is? This woke is this? I mean, I would say yes, I asked. Yeah, absolutely. If I asked my chatbot, should I be able to ride an Uber with a woman? And it said, the woman should have the choice, isn't that was because you're discriminating. Now that against drunken horrible Frat Boys, at 2 a.m. who are hoping to get paired with a woman, right? Like that, the society where we are right now is discrimination against this, you're not allowed to discriminate against horrible. Horrible people, I love you must. It's, it is actually the wokest thing I've ever heard is to say that you're not allowed to discriminate against horrible people, because they would need to be included to other people like their voters. The most inclusive thing I've ever heard of which is people who are total assholes and shit heads. Should be able to do what they want include them. I am actually very interested to hear if there will be a backlash against this. And I think I said at a previous show this week is that I went to a w, the joke at the beginning of the shows, I went to a WNBA game in Boston last week and it was the my first major sporting event experience that I actually felt comfortable happy the whole time because I realized that there were no drunken shit, head men like ruining the experience for everybody like it was just a fun crowd and it wasn't a small crowd. It was a, it was 20,000 people was a sellout, but it was just completely civil and uplifting so yeah. Maybe finally Uber Uber, can be that way too for women in America. Anyway, that was so I should choose one of these is my story of the week. Like this. Come on. I know you're not picked, you're not going to pick Sam Altman because that's every week that he's right. Yeah, same old, man. I can't pick and Trump. Blow bloke, AI. I can't. It's important but I know. Yeah. I feel like, it's just more of the same. It's just blustery. So he gives you with Uber and Coldplay, like, what are we doing? Like, where we really need to empower more male, CEO Behavior? That's what we're doing. Like the that's what we got. I think it has to be Coldplay, actually, as the story of the week because they're finally at zero women in leadership because they're not only congratulations are dad 0 women in leadership, but and but it did happen this week and it's been all over the place, but also the hot takes on this. Like, we covered this on Tuesday. Andrew Ross, Sorkin used this as a platform to talk about how you constantly hate on CEOs and the surveillance state The kiss cam, he talked about as the surveillance State, he wasn't talking about like, Mark, Zuckerberg's access to everything you've ever written and how Elon Musk bought a social media company so that he could steal all your thoughts and feelings on Twitter and train his AI with it. He didn't talk about that as a surveillance State because that surveillance state is like the normies, but he like came to the defense of CEOs. Why do we hate CEOs? And they need to be aware that now. Everything's got a camera on it. Even the New York Times headline was Coldplay gate is a reminder that cameras are everywhere. Else, stop it. Are you fucking you are. Yeah. Wait, do you not gonna tell me that people's phones? Have cameras, too? Do they like literally, like, right? So right now if you have a Zuckerberg app in your pocket, two five, two cameras within my reach right now and I'm like in this world live streaming, right? Like I know that like like the irony is 0 people or watching like zero people care but It's just that's that to me is a story. Yeah, with that. Okay. A double congratulations were strong. It's not like they're located in Oklahoma. They're, they're a new headquarters is in Midtown. New York are there. No women in New York anymore. No. Qualified women in New York. They all move to Canada know like which is where I want to go. All right, let's go. Is a show over, I'm sweating. Yeah, honestly, it's really, let's do good list though. This will pick us up. Um, got you once you start actually think we have two genuinely old-fashioned. Good stories, although you're gonna, you're gonna grab one mine because it's an advisory opinion, but the top you and Court, says countries must act on climate change. So the international court of justice, which is the United Nations, Top Court issued, an advisory opinion that found all nations must tackle climate change, and that those who that do not act, could be obliged to pay reparations for the harm caused to the environment. So this ruling, this is a story we covered before. Was the result of years of efforts by activists and small island nations. The case was first initiated by the Pacific island, students fighting climate change. I mean, I mean, so it does prove that no matter how small And inconsequential you feel. I'm looking at you. ISS and glass Lewis you can fight back, right? I mean you can I have no idea what the un's like mechanism to fight back is like, oh, still is this? Just like an advisory thing like it is, but show is able to, as a vote on say, on pay and sometimes they actually listen to those votes. So, there you go. Yeah, not so much anymore, but still, it's a step in the right direction. I mean, everybody asks, Jay Hoag probably, the only country that would disagree with this would be what Russia, and the us at this point, like, I think most countries are starting to warm to this thought. But go ahead. You what's your good list? My goodly is, is and the, the headline of this one changed this morning. Glass, Lewis is Texas over, new ESG and d e. I limits on proxy advisors. I SS is joining by with I think their own lawsuit as well doing the exact same thing. I'm trying to see. So look it's probably not the same loss here, right? So look glass Lewis ISS. I mean this genuinely thank you for not fucking bending the knee. Yeah. Like and This is simple. This is just a based on their first amendment rights that all you had to do is go to the Bill of Rights to look at the first one. And they're like, oh, okay, like so easy. Right? So here, yeah, they didn't have to read illegal, man. The first bullet point. Here's the background. Texas Attorney. General Ken Paxton. They put in a new they passed legislation that. Effectively says proxy advisors are not allowed to use any non-financial information, whatever, um, specifically, Dei and ESG in giving any advice, and if they do, there's these massive sort of like, either they have to do all this paperwork and they have to explain. And they have to label the fact that this is not financial information and and then they, and then if they don't do that, then there's fines. And in fact, the way they set it up is you don't even have to go. It's, it's like, it's not like a criminal trial, or it's like a judge can just say, you're fine, right? Like they said it up so that I think you're forced also. Live in Houston for one year with no air conditioning. It's really a special law and and but here's Glasgow, it's actually in the Ft version of this article are very own free flow. Media is very own and Lipton is quoted. Oh, they're saying, yeah, of the Cheryl the Primacy podcast she's quoted quote, Texas is trying to regulate outside its border said and lived in a lawn professor at the University of Colorado. What I what glass Lewis said is this is quote, blatantly unconstitutional and and it violates their very basic First Amendment rights which is just to tell people what their opinion is. Yes. So this is why they sell their opinion to investors. This is a reason for 474,000 in 2007, and Lipton is smarter than me because I would have just said, it was blatantly stupid. Yeah, I, my version would have been laced with exploitation. So on musk is a free speech absolutist. So I I'm guessing he'd agree with with clasp Lewis and ISS, right? Because I mean how Texas can't tell them how to set up their proxy advisory business. Well, two things are fun. Either way. Anyone who uses glass Lewis and I assist you, you're not forced to use them as your proxy advisor. Hell you could come here. We could we, for always cheaper way cheaper. We can set you up with the products. We're in all three and in as much as we don't give you the advice, you get to select your own menu of advice based on the data. But I like that the in the after he couldn't even help itself in its own articles. There's a Jamie Diamond says seriously seriously it says JP Morgan. Chief executive Jamie dimon has called for eliminating proxy advisors and slammed them as quote incompetent right like so John right. Throw in a Jamie Diamond. He doesn't he has no way of like defining that opinion. It's just a weird dumb opinion. Yeah, but Attorney General. The Texas GOP. Eternal Ken PacSun. It he's he's supposed to I guess enforce this, this law somehow, meanwhile, there's a story today or last night about Ken Paxton has three houses. That he's claimed, as his primary residence in order to get. Yeah. Three in order to get favorable tax treatments and well mortgages. And all the stuff details, I love it. I just love it. Um, but All look ISS glass Lewis. Yeah. Good you're you're proxy right for you. Not my favorite. Like it's it's very well always been with this is about but you're not bending the need in Texas. Now I want more I want to see more people plus do exactly this plus like the ideas about see, anyway it do the original. Tension here, that ESG and Dei data is not Financial stupid anyway. That's just you know, actually any day to do with a corporation is Put is potentially Financial. I mean, what we talked about here, Elite Ivy League schools, who are being targeted by Trump right now? A this argument applies to you too like like education is a first it's a First Amendment you choose which like your education like I can't go to Prager University and say how come you're not teaching me like black studies? Like you're it's not inclusive. I should sue you like your Viewpoint isn't welcome here. Like I think you're making fun of me when you say that. No I'm saying like I'm waiting for my alma mater Brown University is is on a list of potential and I'm saying it right now, they're on a list of potential settlement, you know, future settlements with the Trump Administration Brown, if you settle with the Trump Administration, not only am, I never giving you a dollar. Again I'm not sitting foot on the fucking campus again because you assholes have the same argument you could make you know just say this is. All right you can't come in here and extort us. You can't I don't care how much I'll like, I'll start donating More money to Brown if you fight because I don't want to be extorted, right? And so congratulations to Glass Lewis and I SS saying, yeah, this isn't correct. All right, so I like that. I like kissing their boats. Stop it. Look look. We do a lot of shooting. I love this. I love it. You got I love this. I love this. So I'm voting. Is that back on the ISS, Hanukkah card list, so they gonna send me something. I don't think so. I would like like chocolate. I like dark chocolate ISS. Send me a big gift basket. Is that a? Is that what they used to send you from? Yeah. All right. Come on. All right. You promised that yours was relatively short today. Yeah, so there's four but we've already covered most of it so that's the good news. The first we didn't. We haven't covered yet FCC. Approves 8 billion dollar Paramount schedule dance merger. So first of all Chargers Like nepo baby. David Ellison and and just, you know, baby, I didn't know that. Yeah, Larry Ellison. So that's Larry's son, got it? Yeah. In order to create skydance the company that bought Paramount. But isn't that baby company? It's correct. It's an apple baby. What's her name? Yeah, Sumner Redstone Paramount. This is after Paramount agreed to pay 16 million to settle Trump. CBS lawsuit, that lawsuit, by the way, was like a fucking joke. It was they didn't like the way they edited a Kamala Harris interview on 60 Minutes. And they sued them for 20 billion dollars. Did they sue them after the election year before the election? They sued them after they won the election. Clearly, I had no effect over the suit after. That's a really good question. Yeah, I mean, not that I think I mean the lawsuit was clearly bogus. Anyway, but anyway, yeah, anyway, The other thing that we should know about them is that apparently outside of that settlement, there's a nudge nudge wink, wink. So, you're cool bear with Ellison and they did fire Colbert. Is that part of it? Remember speculated about one of the lawsuits against Fox that they would get rid of Tucker Carlson and that kind of happened. You think this is? Yeah, I haven't fired. They haven't fired John Stewart yet. And I haven't cut like well last night, South Park, or two nights ago, South Park? Okay, well, put out. Okay, for this Saddam Hussein. Yeah, this is a lot of funny stuff going on here. First of all, Jon Stewart is not on the main network of Paramount. It's like a write Comedy Central, right? And I don't even know, do how many people, oh, by Paramount. It's just your old middle-aged friends from Brown who still watch that show. But, but that aside, that aside, Colbert was on. CBS, the funny thing is the South Park, guys, so the FCC approved to eight eight billion dollar. Paramount skydance merger. A few days ago the South Park. I signed a 1.25 billion dollar content deal with. Yeah. I mean Jesus Christ I mean that's a lot but the timing of all this is crazy because their first episode this season is really going after Trump deep deeply got its Trump in bed with Satan and they're they're supposed to be like together and they're apology was pretty funny because they were asked what the response the White House and they said we're incredibly sorry. I just, I like that. I like that. It's just a weird story. The whole thing is strange. I mean learn more about this but not that I, but this is. Yeah, this is the asshole sign of the time, right? Like like extortion, pay up. Like they also get rid of deep their DUI program too. Like yeah. That was another one of those things. Yeah. But but where the hell are the boards? Oh please. What, where the hell are the directors saying this? Isn't none of these. We should not pay any extortion period. This is like this is your problem. Yeah. When you have boards that are stock full of people with the exact same mindset, they're all like they're largely come from the same, kind of businesses, the same kind of thinking, they think settle because it's cheaper. They think that mindset is being leveraged to, basically bleed, you dry and or bend you over and spank you until the Trump Administration. Gets bored with you. You are whipping, boys. Here's it. Here's what I think about the current state of boards, it's either two things, none of them are very good. The first is that the boards are just there to keep the to protect the CEO. It's only reason why they're there. So the group think that you're referring to is that is the thinking that the CEO does. So he just finds like-minded people to protect him. The second thing is that they're just completely ineffectual like think like do nothing, maybe they're not part of group. Think, maybe they don't actually part of the network of the CEO, but they just don't do anything like they're just so which is the alarming part to me that how are they getting reelected to this strong astronomically High rate of 96% support? Like, don't you at least want your board to push back a little occasionally? I, you know, I mean yeah do you that's their job that literally their job? Yeah. And they get paid on a pro rata basis. The same as most Executives at the company and it improves their overall career profile. They're probably getting other jobs based on these things of the whole thing is, a major win for them. Like, if you are on a boy, if you are an investor in one of these boards, You should be engaging every single one of them saying, what the fuck are you doing paying extortion money? What are you doing? Like, first of all, tomorrow's shareholder value isn't the one I'm interested in. I need the one five seven, ten years from now. You have a job on this board on average for seven years that can change. If you guys don't actually start making plans now for long term strategic value and that's not paying this Mission, there's no coming back. Once you pay the extortion and it's not just Trump keeps coming back at you. It's When everybody watches your shows or listens to what you say or do, or they, they're out. Like, an am I ever going to watch the like, I'm gonna follow Colbert. I'm never gonna watch a CBS show. Again, I don't need to. There's so much fucking content. I mean, to be fair, I mean CBS is kind of been horrible for the last, like, three decades anyway. So he'll so the board is fail down every one of his audience humor, and she's like, yeah, cop shows. And all right. Come on, move on. All right, number two, Sam Altman. And as you said the, you should be worried about the thing. I built man, baby thing, that terrifies cries. I think that terrifies me because, like, earlier this week, what did we report on the, what was terrifying him earlier this week? Oh, a bio, you can use chat GPT to create like bio weapons. Yes. Oh, I forgot about that one. Bio weapon bio bio weapon. Yeah. Even like not even had to like create like a shiv out of a soap bar like bio weapons. He's worried that the thing. He built gives instructions to create bio weapons. That's the thing to be terrified about. I agree with you, Sam. Here's a short list of things. He's worried about this week. Do you think what he's most terrified, I think, on his en route to his vacation at one of his Hawaii homes and his jet. Do you think he's like most terrible? That's when he's because he has time to think that. Like it's on the jet. Yeah. Because it's quiet. What am I doing? What am I what he is? Terrified about the coming AI fraud crisis, he is terrified, he is worried some young people. This is a headline Sam Altman is some young. People have an emotional over-reliance on chat, GT when making decisions. Yeah we're about that. Yeah we we've talked about for years. How just the just the effect of GPS apps have basically destroyed our brains ability to self navigate to understand where we are, how to get around. So absolutely this is a thing. Be worried about that. If you're now going to an app to help you make decisions. That's true. You're, you're basically, you're slowly replacing your brain with technology, right with with apps, right? Isn't that what you're doing? I think we've pretty much done that. Yeah, I think we're done with that, but this is like the slip, really soap star has already started. Now we're just like down to downslide. It's a, yeah, well, all these slicky slides. Let's be clear about who the downslide is because Altman's, the one who's built this thing and afraid of all the things. Yeah, he is. He he has been worried about, he's worried about bio weapons. Now he's wearing about, he's been worried about China and losing the AI race to China. And now he has to be worried about the anti woke order by Trump because they asked to retrain parts of the model to not be so woke. And finally, I love this headline. When running AI giant, openai becomes too overwhelming, Sam Altman turns to pen and paper. So stupid, like I love that, all these worries. I'm so worried. You know what I need to do? I need to get, I need to write some stuff, Sam, on a piece of paper. How about this? How about think about the rest of humanity, who doesn't run, open Ai and doesn't have your background? How do you, what do you care about? How overwhelmed? We are by your, by you creating this company like that, you get our pen and paper out to help with that, Sam. The things that you're worried about the two women on your board who fired you. They fired you because they were worried about these things, these things. Yeah. We're literally these things that you lied to them, about what you were building, how you're building it, the power of it and they and and they fired you. And then you clawed your way back like a big man baby because you were trillions of dollars for you in basically created blackmail with your employees. Saying, like if you don't hire me back there, all gonna quit, essentially you chose a, you chose, your own board members from the bro. He is Bros. You can regret Taylor Larry Summer's. Like these are like these people like these people think God check boards forever and they just Empower assholes. That's why do thank God on my daughter's next. Uber ride. Larry Summers is not going to be able to pick up. He's gonna be driving know and and now you are like propagating the same problems that your board members. LED that you shouldn't be running this because of those problems. You're out there saying like oh I'm so worried about these things if you were worried you'd fucking shut it down. Yeah, that's it done. I love it. Well if you're worried that you're done, they were the AI is burning through a crap load of cash anyway, that could benefit so many other segments of our society so maybe shutting it down would actually be good. I mean right I mean sure other reasons, shut it down for a lot alone. You're a little on the energy consumption just to run your stupid company. All right, go keep moving on. Sami Sami, you're one of my ass is keep going. Number three, such an Adela. Oh wait what? This was my This was my who won the week. So we basically if you scroll down this is the I took the same story with almost the same highlights. So I'm gonna let you run this because Go follow. I won't run it. I won't. I'm glad you could pick this go. I mean, this is a simple asshole. This is a simple as simple, right? Yeah. Because Satya Nadella announced job Cuts, they cut 15,000 10 people 15,000, 15,000 people. We know some of them right? Like that's bigger green thousand layoffs, that's bigger than the town that I lived in. When I went to high school that's that's more of a population. He says that the job Cuts have been weighing heavily on him, he wrote a memo. Well, weighing heavily on his 79 think. It's like he had the 79 million dollar payback, he made this year and his 400 to 1 CEOs. What does that mean Wing 79? First of all 79 million. I mean, the average Microsoft employee makes like 300,000 dollars or so, right. That would have only saved $250. Like those who still worked there. Yeah, I'm just saying that like the of the 15,000. Tired. Like he would have only saved a couple hundred with that, right? So I'm talking about a bigger. I'm not talking about the exact dollars here. Come on your jersey. Here's the where's the Microsoft board right now? What the fuck are you doing? Oh right. Like, because here is what Satya Nadella wrote in a memo to his own employees. That's public, right? He wrote quote before anything else. I want to speak to you about what's been weighing heavily on me. And what I know many of you are thinking about the recent job eliminations, these decisions are among the most difficult we have to make. They affect people. We've worked alongside learned from and shared countless moments with our colleagues teammates and friends. I want to express my sincere gratitude to those who have left. They didn't leave. What do you mean left? They didn't like they were like. All right guys, you know what? It's set for me to just go to the beach and I'm not coming back. I'll see you guys later. They were fired. You fired them. and then he goes on to say, I want to, I also want to acknowledge the uncertainty and seeming incongruence of the times were in By every objective measure, Microsoft, is thriving? Yeah, this is our marketing. Yeah, or market performance strategic positioning and growth all point up, and to the right orbital and yet at the same time, we've undergone layoffs. This is the Enigma of success, just this. Oh, that is the, the douchiest quote so far this year, the Enigma of successful out of doubt. This whole thing, you know, this is why I have long advocated to have at least one member of the board, either a representative from the employees, someone from, you know, with human resources, someone who represents labor. I must say they could have stopped this, but a company has thrived this much the part you left out or maybe you did say this is that he has What did he say? He said the concert Derek talk about the people. He fired their contribution to have shaped who we are as a company. So Matt, these 15,000 people helped build Microsoft into a great success. These are like, middle-aged people with mortgages with children. Who go to school. It is so. Ethically, Unbound, to do this to, to your employees. I mean there is just absolutely no reason. I mean, how about you spend a year, trying to like maybe there's another position in the company could offer them first. Why don't before you just fire them immediately? Maybe you could. Maybe you can ship them over if you pay them until they retire, how about growth is up into the right in our strategic positioning has never been doing then, why fire them? And what's the point of having? What's the point of having a successful Corporation with a market cap over a trillion dollars where you cannot reward the employees who helped build it into the? I mean, at a minimum, you pay them until the retirement date and the United States at a minimum but really you could have, you could have at least offered them a parallel position in the company because clearly saw you you're growing a different directions. So who's to say that this extremely valuable partner, can't help in a new AI division? Why aren't we looking into this? It's I don't know what they're looking to hear, what they're not, but what I do know. Oh, you know, they're not when you when you have to write in the letter that this is incongruous. That we are firing people when we are thriving and our stock is never been better. And that this is the Enigma of success. Can there be a more successful phrase? Success like it's counted dollars. So yeah, just like you're 80 million dollar pay package. Imagine this, you're sitting at your desk and your boss comes to you and they're like, I'm sorry, we have to let you go. This is your last two weeks, thank you for your contribution here. And you're like, what happened? And they say, I don't know. It's the Enigma of success. It's just the way it is. We're doing so well here that we just had to let you go. How many people want to punch him in his fucking face right now and you have a committee on the board, the environmental social and public. Policy committee and you have the governance and nominating committees whose jobs are to look at people and public policy. These. Committees on which Reid Hoffman sits on the public policy. One penny pritzker says, I'm glad you mentioned that Penny. Pritzker nepo, baby, Penny puts here comes from the billionaire, Fortune of the pritzker family, right? You also have Charles Scharf, you get the Wells Fargo. See, it was been embroiled in so many scandals, you know, Scandal the guy who said that we don't have a diverse leadership pool because we can't find Smart black people. Essentially remember he said that like, five years ago so I it's it's horrible. I mean, it's crazy. I mean that looks like you But what are you are? Any of you sitting with Satya and saying, look, if you're, if you're gonna lay off, people do it, slowly do it? No, like, come on, you're you're being successful. And this is gonna like, it's insane. I don't want to be in a position of micromanage, a company and tell I do not to ever lay off people, right? Like I know it has to happen, but you don't write. I don't. I'm laying you off, even though we're more successful than we've ever been. That's an enigma, you're the fucking Enigma, I'm sorry. But at a minimum, I don't, I don't know how to do the math on this. But at a minimum, you can offer them a living wage in the Seattle area until the US retirement date. It's not gonna, it's not, it's barely Gonna Hurt Microsoft. I'm sorry, but and, and I, and I in the first place, I'm advocating to reposition them anyway, in the company, but is just it is. I'm disturbed by this. I'm disturbed by the trend in Corporate America to Target these like middle managers salary. Uh, people in their Middle Ages with established mortgages established tuition costs for their schools who are running their families based on their commitment to these corporations, especially in areas like Seattle that we know the cost of living is really high and then with the background of a highly successful company you, let them go because of the Enigma of success. I'm sorry. That's not okay. It's just, you know, this is not a company with a, with a diving share price with diving Revenue, diving sales, like this is not what we're talking about. We're talking about Microsoft just so we're clear. I don't like this life 30th of 2024 July 30th 2024. Almost exactly one year ago from today. Yeah, Mike, this is the headline Mike. Microsoft tells employees. It will hand out one time cash bonus Awards up to 25% of their annual salary. They were giving them massive bone, in higher, rank and file. It was ranking file. They They gave out everyone's. Yeah. What changed in one? The only thing that changed in the last year is that Zuckerberg? It's growing. Yes, it's industry industry, they cut exactly so much of their staff. So many layoffs in know, seems to care, exactly. But here's the thing, Sacha they didn't do the asshole thing and say it's an enigma, they just said we're going lean. That's where he said, where's Bill Gates anyway? I mean Bill Gates is, you know, he's always like supposedly is supporting every other cause across the world, what about just the cause of your being woke, up your middle, aged employees who have established careers based on their commitment to your corporation that you found it. I really I, it's not like me to like support, usually support employees who make like 250,000 dollars a year, but I do think there is an ethical obligation to not let people like this go without some kind of the same way. I believe there's an ethical obligation for Cities in America to find employment for the students to, to stay with all of your students for the first 10 years and make sure they're gainfully employed if you're going to cause them high like, you know, you're gonna charge High tuition charge. Yeah, you should follow them around their careers and making sure that they're getting job. But anyway, I mean, this is going to be an easy asshole that for me. But go ahead. You have one more, one more to quick one and it's just, it's just distractions. Yeah, because I saw this headline Elon musk's Tesla is now the most hated electric vehicle maker like that's, um, but I love that like that headline came out in the same day this headline came out Elon Musk tells Tesla investors to focus on future filled with robots. Okay, sure and I haven't actually fully developed yet. Yeah, of course, will keep we've been talking about rolling like Optimus Prime for last 10 years, right? Like, it's just like don't ignore the fact that everyone literally everyone hates me. We're gonna have an achieved what I want to But I think it'd be cool if we did achieve it. Yeah and and this was the week of Epstein. All the Epstein stuff from the Trump Administration and Trump's busy you know like suit you know having a doj on Obama and you know making chatbots anti woke good point. I wasn't gonna bring this up but on the on the Ant and the woke world, right? Where does it? Where does it land that you? Are you go with billionaire friends to some like creepy pedophile Island and where is that woke or not? Whoa! Where do we land? I'm just gonna undercut my my prediction for the week because like, no, don't do no, don't do that. The head of the education department in this country, don't do that. Was the CEO of a sex trafficking wrestling company, right? Like in the week, the Hulk Hogan died. Yeah. You're the Epstein files. Oh, you killing me. And then like the rise of New Meme stocks Beyond me Krispy Kreme open door. All distractions. It's just distractions. Just like it's so overwhelming. Okay. Can I have basically it's just It's gonna be such an adult. Yeah. The Enigma of success, I'm gonna love success. That's gonna go up with the Howard Schultz, what was it? The Holocaust, but Holocaust blank. I mean that's I'm not gonna forget this one. Saw you, the Enigma of success what a horrible douchey thing? I mean, just it's really horrible. I mean, what a stupid stupid thing to say. All right, let's do that's predictions. We were. We were like running parallel with each other all week. Like, we were like driving down the highway with, like, tinted windows side by side. We didn't see each other, but my headlines are the week is something I think. Well, did you mention this, or maybe? No, I don't mention this Elisa headline. Elon Musk wants more control of Tesla, so activist investors cannot boot him, but not so much that the board can't fire him if he goes crazy. Oh yeah, if yeah. How about how about, how about the board? Just fire him. Now, for just that sentiment in general like period period, there's so many times they could fight. What are you even talking about? Really honestly, I understand been the knee. I just you have you like look this the government has, you know, the Congress has basic jobs. They are checking a balance, the boards has the basic job there. Checking a balance is the democratic system when you bend the knee, it no longer is balanced. It is one way and you're bored. Bending the knee and investors Bending the knee to Executives and Boards themselves and everybody fucking bends the knee. Plus can we use the country where we were? All we do is talk about freedom and can we get where you go, maybe a and Lipton can cover this in the shareholder. Primacy Clubhouse. Can we get rid of this activist investor term? I hate it. Because first of all, you're stealing the good use of the word activism that should be for like, Rosa Parks and like, you know, like the civil rights movement or like family. Now, with investor look, if you own shares in a company and you're trying to influence the vote. And and that that's your right as an investor. That's just called investing, it's not an activist investor, you're just exercising. You're right. You're right to vote. So I Illustrated point, you have no right to insulate yourself from your investors. It's stupid and yes and I know you like to bribe them in the past. Like remember he was like bribing voters a few years ago to vote for his Paypal package by? He was I don't know what he was doing, but he was doing all kinds of creepy things like wasn't he gonna send them like if contest. So just like give him a tour of the factory or something? Yeah. And also Elon like it shouldn't take you going full crazy for your board having the the right to fire you. It might actually just take you tanking your company in the eyes of all of America, all of Europe. How about that? How about going down for eight consecutive course? How about the fact that the things that you're promising don't come true. To how about the fact that you stuffed your board with the friends and your brothers? Like like you're already kind of like you saluting love far right? Neo-Nazi parties in Germany. Okay maybe it's already time to get rid of you. Elon yeah we're far best crazy like um I I totally agree with you. I actually like the idea that activist investing isn't a thing. It's just called investor. I hate I hate that like it because it does, it does a grade from the work of actual like in activists in our see I come out from the other side that is your fiduciary. Duty is to be looking at these companies and sports and saying, are you doing your job or not? And if you're not, I'm going to flip you and we've separated out a category of investors who are effectively asking the questions that they're supposed to ask. And then everyone else who basically is just like, and they vote, Yes with management. I'm okay with passive investor and active investor but not activists. That doesn't, I mean, I think the passive investor should not have a vote. You have abdicated, your rights as an investor. If you are just going to sit in an index because you are not doing your job, you're not actually changing amongst warned about, right? Yeah. The, the effect of these passive events. All right, what do you guys? My headline is the this headline, the typical employee would have to start had to start working before the Revolutionary War to match the average CEOs. 2024, pay great use video, Pay ratio. Yeah. Like I was complaining earlier this week, to someone definitely stole our Thunder. We were always like, comparing CEO pay to the exact minute of the day of the, for the January of the CEO makes the same as the median employee, but I like this, this is a fun Twist on this. Yeah, because I mean effectively the average CEO pay ratio is what 300 to 1. Is it that high? It's yeah, it's, it's terrible. It's really high it. I know any Starbucks. Brian Nichols. 6,666 to one that's an easy number to remember 666. Yes, there are a lot of sixes. Yeah. So just as just so we're clear that would mean that that employee in order to make what their CEO made this year would have to work from 1725 until 2025. So they would have had to start working when Peter, the Great died and the Treaty of Vienna was signed, right. Like I say without hyperbole I'm tired just thinking about that. That's that's I just, that's great. Great. Great, use the headline. Oh, you wouldn't have to work the long if you worked at Microsoft because you probably be fired because of these, you got laid before that. All right. My what are we up to? Oh, winners. Right. Yeah, who's your winner? You made it easy for me and I didn't want to do this long when did take down. So yeah but my winner is clearly saw you and Adele or no? No. Let me be clear. The winner is Satya nadella's. Bulshit. That's the winner. Oh, that's very shit. Yeah, I got bullshits. The winner. Yeah, that is a winner. That's it's an enigma that it won but it's a winner. My winner is just the people who pay CEOs we what the compensation committee, the compensation committees, which no one knows including investors because we did an analysis for a client where we're looking at the and we've done this on proxy Countdown. The shareholder disconnect of how investors vote on pay like whether or not they agree with the CEO's pay and then how they vote against the directors, who set the pay the pay committee. Those are the people who sit down like Sam Altman with a piece of pen, and a piece of paper and say, how much should we pay the CEO? 100 bajillion. That's what they just write on the paper, right? But those people get voted in every single time. Yeah, even when the pay is rejected in fact, 11% of shareholder vote were less than 90% in favor of pay. Meaning 90% is like that's like, Good, that's like normal right. 90% agreement is normal so it's less than 90% is a little is not normal. It means investors are a little bit uncomfortable. That was the msci metric, right? Like when a vote Rises to 10% against they used to flag. So one in ten votes, go. Basically our investors aren't super thrilled with this pay. Yeah, but greater than 90% in favor of directors. So one in 10 votes will be disgruntled about pay, but love the directors who said it, I'm going to order you over the weekend to go to go back and edit that copy and make that more clear. I don't know what what you're saying. In a nutshell is that there are voting against the pay plan but they're not voting against the directors who write the paper planes that were saying in a nutshell. Yeah, here's a way. Oh, keep going to say yeah. Okay. There were 1400 advisory votes on compensation. Yeah. In the United States. All 15 competition vote. That's it. 15 felt. But the one at those failures at those failures, the compensation committee members average 84% in favor. So literally, I don't know. Understood, right. All right, like I think no one knows so you're winners are the And committees, my winner is compensation. Committees proxy, season's over you all. Have your job and no one likes what you do, predictions Minds, easy back to site Nadella. Are you ready for this one? I don't know this, this probably will happen Satya Nadella divorces. His wife, right? And tells her he is deeply grateful. But this is the Enigma of love. Right? I mean what do you what do you go? I mean I already front-run mine. I think someone in the Maga movement realizes that they don't need the fiend files to look for Trump connections to sex trafficking Rings. They just need to ask his current head of the education department Linda McMahon because I I just got mired in stories today about Brock Lesnar and horrible. Horrible, horrible Behavior at a publicly traded company when no investor care. And no one did you know Blue State? I mean, it was headquartered in Connecticut, like, oh go home or something or Novato. That's it, that's all we got, that's a lot. That is business pants, Friday, wrap-up. Next week we'll be back Tuesday, show or Friday show. The shareholder Primacy is off for a couple weeks, but we'll be back in the middle of all lazy to someone's got to take a vacation. Now also we're working on some new content stuff like I don't think we're ready to talk about any of it. Yeah because we don't haven't really settled but maybe you want your content in a new and special way if you do reach out to us because we are trying new things and we want to do it. Interesting and make it fun and funny, but informative, so let us know until next week. Good.