July 8, 2025 • 39 mins
Jemele is joined by finance expert John Hope Bryant, the founder and CEO of Operation Hope in Atlanta. John gives his thoughts on the Buss family selling a majority stake of the Lakers for $10 billion, and what that means for the broader landscape of sports. Jemele and John also discuss one of the most popular (and annoying) questions on social media: When in a relationship or marriage, should men and women split the bills 50/50?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Hey, what's up everybody, and welcome to this special bonus
episode of Politics Now. My guest today has been on
before and it was one of the most popular podcasts
that I've had. He's a financial guru, the founder, chairman
and CEO of Atlanta based Operation Hope, and one of
the most respected voices in the financial world. So when
the Bus family decided to sell a significant steak of
(00:32):
the Lakers to the tune of ten billion dollars, I
had to get his thoughts on what this sale means
for the Bus family, for the NBA, and the continued
skyrocketing price of sports franchises, especially since previously on his Politics,
my Guest said Michael Jordan did the right thing by
selling his majority steak in the Charlotte Hornets, even though
it meant that there would no longer be a majority
(00:53):
black owner in major professional sports.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Anyway. Not only do we talk.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
About that, we also talk about one of the most
popular and un annoying topics across social media, and that
is fifty to fifty, as in, should men and women
in relationships split everything fifty fifty?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Anyway?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Coming up next on his Politics, it is my pleasure
to welcome again John Hope, Brian John O'Brien, I want
to thank you so much for joining me for this
bonus episode of Spolitics because there are some financial things
happening in sports that I wanted to get your input on.
Number one is the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers
(01:31):
have just sold for ten billion dollars. Now, you were
the first person I thought of when this sale went down,
and that is because when you appeared as a guest
on Spolitics previously, I remember we had this back and forth,
this dialogue about whether or not it was a good
idea for Michael Jordan to have sold his majority share
in the Charlotte Hornets. And I believe what you told
(01:54):
me was like, Hey, businesses are meant to be sold.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
That's the whole point of it.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Kind of Now, given what the Bus family, what they
built with the Lakers, I get it, it's ten billion dollars,
but we're talking about something that was family owned and
deeply a part of their identity as a family. What
were your thoughts about the Lakers and the Bus family
deciding to sell their portion were not their entire portion,
but they're giving up majority share of the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Good timing. Look, you want to be Netflix, not Blockbuster.
You know, a Blockbuster had ego and they were like, hey,
I mean, I'm sure you remember you're young, but you
remember there was a time where every date was a
Blockbuster date, even it was during the week. You kept
(02:44):
you'd had tip five or ten bucks to the manager
of Blockbusch. Hey, look, this is the movie I'm looking
out for me. Put that one to the side for me.
Don't act like you don't act like you didn't do it.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Oh I totally did. Yeah, definitely, And.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Don't talk about Saturday Night. My god, you know that
might be twenty or forty bucks. Hey, look, this is
the movie. This is the movie I'm looking for. And
when Netflix Blockbuster got so arrogant about their market share
and market protections and how much they controlled the entertainment
market of household entertainment. They when Netflix went to them
(03:17):
to be sold for fifty million dollars, to sell themselves
to Blockbusters for fifty million dollars, Blockbuster turned their nose
up at them and said, we're blockbustered. We don't need anything.
And you go far enough for the north pole, you
end up south. And of course Blockbuster then found bankruptcy
I think there's one Blockbuster location still surviving. It's in
(03:38):
Alaska right now. It's a novelty. But you know, Netflix
makes that in the day. The purchase price that they
were going to sell themselves to Blockbuster for Netflix makes
that in the day or less. And you remember when
Kodak there were Kodak Boosts in every park a lot
(04:00):
in America. Right, We all remember J C. Pennies. We
just laid off a bunch of folks and closed some stores.
We remember, we remember, you know, kmart as Sears. So look,
you go, there's a time to sell. Don't over You know,
you don't want to. You don't want to live beyond
your your your due date right your buy through date.
(04:21):
And I don't know what the future holds. I just
know ten bion dollars is a really nice number. I
don't know many things that you pass up. Look, it's like, hey,
I love you my cousin now, but how much they
want to give me for you? I don't mean that's
I don't mean that like literally, but uh, this is
this is where emotions just gets gets disconnected, you know,
(04:43):
I mean marriage is Marriage is a beautiful thing and
it's spiritual and god endowbted with spiritual virtues, but it
was originally a business contract before three thousand years before
god endowbted with spiritual components, which we get all wrapped
up in and now it's just become oh she's cute
or he's handsome, which is worse, but at least spiritual
was a higher value than money itself. But it was
(05:05):
a business contract. It's two families often related by the way,
marrying to protect their economic interests.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
We get this thing twisted.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
You build a business, create value, and you need a
liquidity event at some point, whether you're going public or
you're selling it or your I guess if you really
believe there's value going into debt, but you need some
way to bonds or something. You need some way to
(05:35):
unlock the value. And that's the tradition. This is a
this is any business. Now you talk about a space
that has been undervalued for a long time. Like you
go back to not this iteration of pro professional players,
but their mothers and sorry, their fathers was some cases mothers,
but mostly in the show that this where we live
(05:57):
in mostly the pro players were men. You know, my
brother Reggie Jackson wasn't taking down some huge salary. Hank Aaron,
who lived around the corner from me, God rest his
soul was not taken down a large salary at all.
He made his money in automobile, automobiles in business, Hank Aaron.
(06:19):
I mean, by the way, so did Reggie Jackson. These
contracts for athletes are fairly new phenomena that are you know,
it was ten million, that was that was big not
so long ago. Twenty million, one hundred million dollars was
you know, ten years ago?
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Oh my god? Right?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And I just think that with the changing media landscape
right now, because a lot of the sports franchises are
monetizing themselves, not based on people coming and buying a
ticket and sitting in a seat. It's the media. It's
a lot of this is tied to the value of
the media contracts, the broadcasting rights. And I think if
you go far an the North Pole, you end up south.
(07:02):
I think that, uh, you know, you ask my nephew
what TV is and he'll tell you it's YouTube. That's
That's not me talking. I have an interest in people
watching TV. I'm I'm a contributor on you know, a
major brand. I don't want to say which name it is.
(07:22):
I'm like, I'm not trying to cast expersions here, but
you know it's it's mainstream TV. I don't get paid
for it. But I mean, I'm happy when they're successful.
But I'm looking at cable. People are cutting the cord
on cable. I'm looking at ESPN, I'm looking at I'm
looking at all these traditional television stations, linear stations, Cable
(07:43):
having to reimagine their business model. I'm looking at newspapers.
Who knows what the future holds. I don't. Then you
bring in aim my god, right, and will these contracts
persist for another twenty years or ten or five?
Speaker 4 (08:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I know there's ten billion dollars staying the Bus family
in the face right now, and it looks real attractive,
And I just think that, you know, you don't get greedy,
you don't get overly ambitious. You say really non emotional
about this and say that's a really great deal. I
(08:24):
need to move on to something else and consider that
a win. That's my answer. I think this is business
at the end of the day, and this is a
great I mean a great We're not talking about we're
not talking about the entire franchise. We're talking about the
entire lead talking about one team in one city. Ten
billion dollars. My lord, it's the GDP of a small country.
(08:48):
Take the money and cast the check, get the wire
transfer as soon as possible.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
But what you said about the changing media landscape really
is lends itself to a larger conversation about the business
of sports, because right before, you know, I don't think
we ever imagine the world where the Boston Celtics and
the Lakers will be sold in the same in a
span of a few months. The you know, Boston, they
(09:15):
had the record being sold for six point one billion.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Then you see what happened with the Lakers. They're ten billion.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Increasingly, leagues, specifically the NBA and the NFL, they're loosening
the guardrails about hedge funds being involved in professional sports.
I read an interesting piece recently that was written by
a former ESPN colleague of mine who talked about the
costs of what it costs now for the average fan
to be able to watch their games because everything's being
(09:43):
split across multiple networks.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
You got your streamers, you have linear like.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You have to subscribe to like five or six different
things to watch one team. People have been operating on
the assumption that sports will there's not a sports bubble
like the bubble camp bust. They can only go higher,
they can never go lower. But seeing these escalating trends
and the changing landscape, what are your thoughts about whether
(10:10):
or not? And as you just said yourself, you don't
know where these contracts are going. I mean, we're on
the cusp of getting a half a billion dollar NBA player,
like they're going to be able soon to be able
to make just a billion dollars the high level players
in just NBA salaries.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
With this escalating cause, how sustainable is this?
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Not?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, thank you, John, there you go.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I mean, look, it's it is our professional sport. My brother,
my dear friend, Tony Resher did a brilliant deal, not
a smart deal, a brilliant deal for the Atlanta Hawks
in my opinion, and it has done wonders for Atlanta,
the entire Southeast region, and it has spawned development across
(10:58):
the street with Centennial your ours, creating a downtown, a
proper downtown in Atlanta, the biggest investment in Atlanta since Atlanta,
and that's multiple times the size of the of its
purchase of the Hawks, and and it's got the city rallying,
and there's a lot of knock on effects. So you
look at that that that's almost market building, city building stuff,
that's not just a team. And the value of the
(11:21):
team has gone up, but the knock on value has
also gone up. And that, to me, that's more sustainable
because it's entertaining. Now you're about entertainment, you're talking about people.
You're talking about the connective tissue of culture of frankly,
people are people are lonely these days. They want to
hang out, they want to they want to spend time
(11:41):
with each other. No, there was, as you know, not
during the pandemic. People are like, oh, I don't need
to hang out with anymore. I'm just going to stay
at home and do zooms. We realize the whole purpose
of a dating app and so you actually meet somebody
in person, Like so we realize we actually that's the
whole point of a dating app, right uh. And so
I think that to the extent that sports connects with
(12:05):
community culture, that it creates stickiness and manages down depression
and manages down loneliness to a point that in a
way that people say that changed my life like that.
(12:25):
I look forward to that on the weekend. I look
forward to that on Tuesday. I don't mind drudgery of
work or whatever, that this this friendships, this just rooting
for my team or whatever and all. And then I
go to a concert and then I go I go
to a restaurant or whatever before after the game.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I think that takes in that it becomes more of.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Las Vegas and every city Dubai in La right, a
local cultural system situation that creates excitement and joy in
our lives. Then I think it extends its value point.
I do believe. I do believe the media landscape is
going to reinvent itself. I think it's going to go
I don't think it's going to explode. So I think
sports is one of those unique things where you can't
(13:11):
extend the bubble.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
I do that, I think. I think.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I think Ambassador Young is right though, that men and
women fail for three reasons. You know, arrogance, crop pride,
and greed. So if people start becoming greedy, overly arrogant
and full of pride and refused, it just says, oh,
this is going to go on forever. That's where I
think that they're going to run into a wall. I
think nobody wants to be punk, wants to be used.
(13:36):
I think if the fans start to believe it's a
one way street about getting paid and not giving pleasure,
then I think that they will turn off. They will
find a way to turn off from that as well.
I think it's an elegant it has to be handled
with with suave white fears, Like it's like a relationship
with like being married. You know, you got to decide
if you want to be married long term. You got
(13:57):
to understand there's the difference between between being right and
being married.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Like those two things are very different. You can be right,
you won't be married.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
So I think that there's a nuance here that there's
a there's a there's something where the streets and the
suites have to get value, and there's been a lot
of value now given to the suites. I think we
have to make start start start focusing on value back
to the streets. And that's that's why I'll give an
(14:30):
example of here in Atlanta with the Hawks, where the
Hawks purchase If that was just about a few people
making money and getting paid and extracting I think the
story would have had would have a cap to I think,
like right now, but I think the timing was brilliant
to inspire a six billion dollar real estate development, which
(14:50):
is fifty acres. We's got to create jobs and affordable
housing and and and places to hang out and entertainment,
live nation just excited deal. And that got nothing to
do with basketball, and you got you got soccer. Now
now you have soccer football, uh, concerts, basketball all and
(15:11):
and and and relationship capital culture all creating GDP by
the way, and and uh something for everybody, hotels, all
that stuff. I just think that that's the way you
you build it. It has to you gotta go. You
gotta go horizontal, not just linear, I mean not just vertical.
And and I put another way, my rich friends, my
poor friends do better if only to stay rich. So
(15:33):
we're at this point now where where I think they've
got to reimagine the model.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
It's just not as simple as buns on seats, butts
on seats.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Times, eyeballs on games equals media contract from legacy media
minus value minus uh you know what I'm paying the players,
and it equals you'll pay whatever I say to go
see it. I don't think that that simple math holds anymore.
(16:05):
I think you got to be the whole thing gets reimagined.
In my opinion, I don't know the answer to that,
but I know it's this new software grade. I know you,
I know you can't keep doing the same thing ten
billion dollars as long as just keep going back to
that number, right, ten billion for one team.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
But here, you know, I think that was a very
very point phrase that you said. It's got to make
sense for the streets and the suites, and I think
right now in the streets there is an increasing feeling
among sports fans that they being pimped because if I
pay five bucks, you know, five to seven dollars for
a subscription to Peacock just so I can watch a
(16:44):
couple of playoff games, Okay, then I got to pay
an additional to watch this game on this network. And
then of course, you know you you have the sports bars, right.
I don't know what they do because on a given night,
they can't find the game because they might not have
the right subscription. And if that is, if the only
way that they can maintain this profit is by okay,
(17:06):
let me sell ten games to Amazon twenty games to Netflix.
Let me have Netflix take over Christmas, let me do
this if they keep doing that, and listen, I subscribe
to all the things. So it's like not a big deal,
but I can certainly see a world where to your point,
and I don't know how they make fans feel a
little more appreciated and a little more like their money's
(17:28):
going further when the cost of just doing business in
sports isn't going to go down.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
It's not going to ever go the opposite direction. It's
only going this direction.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
It's like, I don't know how they can make fans
not feel that way in this current financial landscape.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
So let me give you an example.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Well, first I'm gonna give you a bad example that the
I'm gonna give you a good one, an example that
reaffirms what you just said about this is crazy people
feeling pimped. So at operation, I hope we do coaching incounts.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
I am still.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
About the number of operational clients who are financing a
trip to Jamaica with one of these companies that are
you know they pay they is paymentized, Like people ask
what's the payment. They're financing car rentals, they're financing trips
(18:21):
to the Islands. They're financing sports tickets. This is crazy
to me. And so you're now a monthly payment. You
went to a one time situation and now you're paying
for a year to eighteen months or more a monthly
payment to pay that one time situation. And now you've
been paymentized with all these other monthly payments. And when
(18:42):
your outflow seed your inflow, you're overhead will be your downfall.
And folks first have got too much month at the
end of their money is a real serious problem. And
now they're again they're financing sports ticket not just I
mean these are mostly like Super Bowl and think big,
but I'm ea talking about five thousand dollars. I mean,
you know about big numbers now. Because they can't afford
to just write the check, they have to finance it
(19:04):
so that I don't I think that that's going to
hit a wall. Let me tell you the good news.
I don't want to name the companies. I'm not exactly
sure of the exact name you probably know, but there's
a company in l a.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
That has a.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Small version of what they're doing in Las Vegas with
what's that dome?
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Oh yeah, the dome where you get to watch the
games and yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
So uh that's bringing.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Virtually that's AI technology, virtual reality and the life blood
of the game and the energy of having other people
around you in community into a less expensive, not cheap
by Like.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I've seen the prices there, you know, but if you.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Can text that, you can do ten of I'm making
this up now, But if you can do ten of
those in each market for where there's a team and
deliver those in community where people can go and hang
out for twenty percent of the cost baby of going
to the actual game, that might be a way to extend,
(20:20):
broaden and deep and change the economic the economics. That
plus a few other things. I do believe that people
are willing to continue to pay for. My wife loves
the NFL and I'm a motorsports guy. She loves the NFL.
I'm paying, but I'm paying a mortgage payment trying to
(20:40):
get her so she can watch the NFL. I've got
like five subscriptions.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I'm like, are we done yet? Are we there yet?
Speaker 3 (20:48):
No? No, because this team you can't watch his team
on that platform, Like is real pimping? Like like I
got to send Roger Goodella. No, my man is like
he has mastered this. I love Roger Acson, but I mean,
the NFL is.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
The biggest, isn't it? The biggest? Is the worst friend
in the world, not the world?
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Is the biggest port in America? Basketball or I'm sorry,
I'm soccer. Soccer is the biggest port in the world.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Yes, in the world. Yeah, it's unbelievable. What what they
what they've built, And I say kudos to them. And
I think if you could, if you're doing that, and
I think you also. You know, Jed York is a
friend of mine. He owns a family owns the forty
nine ers, and we do hope inside with them for
the community right around the stadium. That eases tensions, that
(21:33):
re increases community pride. We're helping the workers who are
seasonal workers in the stadiums and and that gives them
more more sense of that that this is the team's
reinvesting in community. We're now about that. We decided deal.
I probably shouldn't be saying this, but the ryans Or
family in Chicago who own a couple of teams there,
(21:54):
we're doing the same thing. We will be doing the
same thing there, hoping side of community, hoping side the
workplace coaching and counseling, helping people to come up to
increase the credit score, lower their debt, increase their savings,
increase their joy, and then give them some you know.
This shows that the teams really does they do they
do care about their community. And there's a few other
(22:17):
owners that we're working with in the same way. I
hadn't put these things together until this conversation. I had
not like weed all this together, but it does seem
to me that the smart team owners are realizing that
you can't just take So before.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I get you out of here, there's two very important
internet conversations not related to sports. I want to ask
you about because anybody who follows you on Instagram knows
that sometimes you see things that are going viral related
to you know, finance, like the music executive that chose
to take a ninety nine dollars Southwest flight as opposed
(22:51):
to renting of private jet to Las Vegas. So you
chime me in on these social issues. I don't think
I've seen you talk about this, but you probably did,
and maybe I just missed it. I hate this conversation
on everything, but yet I want to bring this up
with you because I know you actually have some sense.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Give me your.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Perspective on the never ending fifty to fifty conversation.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Oh no, no, no, no, okay, Which which conversation that
we're talking about? Now?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Okay, so we're talking about in relationships, there's been Oh
so the fifty to fifty like men and women in
today's modern relationship should or shouldn't.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Be going fifty to fifty.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
I'll I'll just quickly say, there's so much about this
conversation I don't understand, and I realize everybody gros their
financial house the way.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
The answers no, okay, I meant the answers the answers no. Look,
the probably the most underrated position in the biggest economy
in the world is that of a domestic engineer. That's
the person who's not working, who's who's running, who's raising
the children. Typically traditionally it's a wife, it can be
(24:00):
the man. But if you're a domestic engineer, I mean,
my god, I don't know how people do it.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
How do you raise these kids?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
You get it's thankless, the kids cursing you out and
throwing stuff at you. You know, you're you're you're you're
going you're going to crazy depressed. You don't see an
adult around you for you know, days on end, you
feel you're locked out of the real world and you
get no credit. And then and then when you make
it's home, they want Wedn's dinner. You know, entertain me,
talk to me, you know, dance for me.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Whatever.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
So look, whatever you need to be paying that person
a bonus. So that's uh. Whoever was getting earning the
money got it. You got it easy. In my in
our family, I build the house, my mother, my wife
turns it into a home. I'm nothing but the house.
This is a beautiful house, but it's it's soulless without her.
(24:54):
That's valuable. I'm the head, she's a heart. I'm the
chief business officer. She's the chief love officer, she's the
chief cultural officer, she's the chief wellness officer. I mean,
there's so many things that she's done to save my
life that you can't put into a financial statement. Like
you know, she's lowered my blood pressure. You know, I
(25:16):
found vegan cookies. I didn't know there was such thing
as vegan cookies, you know. I mean the stuff that
I use in my life that I never would have
experienced it, has she not introduced me to it. Those
things alone are game changers. And it's proven that if
you are married, you're going to make more money, You're
going to build more wealth just by virtue of you
being married. So if you are, if you got too
(25:40):
much month of the end of your money, then yes,
it needs to be a very practical conversation between two
people who are making let's say together one hundred thousand dollars,
and if you're spending, if you're a household budget, if
you're spending eighty thousand dollars in rent, mortgage, car note,
whatever it is, groceries, all that stuff, that's what your
(26:00):
budget is. You're gonna have to both boat go in
together to split these bills. If you're lucky enough to
live on one of those paychecks. The other paycheck should
be used to invest money. So one person works, you
make money during the day you bill was in your sleep.
So one check is about it's about paying household bills,
(26:20):
I think all of them. The other paycheck should be
used to buy stocks, bonds, invest in new ventures. But
you know, you guys got to talk about that together.
But this whole concept that I owe you a paycheck.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
This is hope.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
We're going in another direction where people they are mate.
There are people who feel like this is some kind
of job occupation and because they're cute and the looks
are going to fail, all the butt's falling, the rest
of falling looks going away. I want to know what
your credits career is, by the way, because when all
the resident has gone, you're my business partner for life.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
What is your credits?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Go? Cute? Yeah, that's overrated. So I think that this
goes two ways. One, you don't get a free ride
just because you're cute, just because you're fine, because you're handsome. That, yeah,
that is highly overrated. I don't need to marry you
to be indebted by you. What do you bring into
the table. If two plus two does not equal six,
eight or ten in a relationship, what are you doing?
(27:21):
This is multiplication, not math. If you're not better together,
what are you doing? I can do bad all by myself.
I don't need help. To quote Quincy Jones, the only
thing worse than being alone is wishing that you were
so I over answered your question now, but.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
You gave a great answer.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
I mean my answer would be one hundred it's one
hundred one hundred really, because it's like we're putting it.
It's it's not fifty fifty, it's one hundred, one hundred.
I put in my one hundred, You put in your
one hundred. And it's like to your point, it's like
we're using for different things as we organize our financial life,
we use it, Okay. You know when when both me
(27:58):
and my both me and my husband we had really
state both coming in we both owned our own homes, right,
and so we both sold them and we bought a
house together.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
On top of some other money that we had saved.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
It's like, and we took the sale proceeds a lot
of them from what we sold our house, and we
invested in that as that was kind.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Of the point of being right. So it's a hundred.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
And being married you got tax benefits correct that you
would not have gotten had you married if you filed
married separately. Marriage jointly has much more benefits. If you
sell the property and you filed marriage jointly, you get
as much as a half of half a million dollars
in tax free capital gains proceeds. There's a benefit of
(28:45):
being married right there. There's many, many more benefits to
being married. But there are some financial benefits. And I
agree with you. You said it in a different way.
It is one hundred one hundred. It's one hundred and
hundred if you broke, is one hundred and a hundred
if you middle class, and it's just a different kind
of hundred and one hundred if you're if you're wealthy.
(29:08):
You know, I don't need I don't need my wife
to pay the light bill.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
But if she wants to go and do a business
venture or whatever. Uh, well, she she invested in bitcoin.
I'm not down with that. She used her own money.
Knock yourself out by the way she hit.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
She it worked for her. But if it but if
it goes sideway, she has me right.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
So she owns. She owns property. Has nothing to do
with me. She owns the property. She's a little capitalist.
She owns the property. Uh near the near the Obama
uh uh New President Library. She owned. I tried to
buy from her. She said, that's my little nugget. You're
not you know you? Oh yeah, no, no, no, no, that's
my nugget. I tried to buy it from her. Uh.
She she she has a problem in price property in Harlem. Now,
(29:53):
if she ever needs me, I'm there for But I
think she needed her own She also needs her own achievement.
She owns he needs her own sense of accomplishment. Right now,
when you need me and we can we do stuff together, great,
But I don't need to own your legacy your life.
You know that's not what this is about. It is
one hundred, one hundred and two plus two should equal six,
(30:15):
eight or ten. That's what you just describe with with
what your days are doing. You're better together, You're able
to do things together. You couldn't do a part. But
you're going to be different. You're different. You're a female
and she and he's a man. You're just different, and
we must respect the difference. I'll give you one example.
And got nothing to do with this podcast or this topic.
(30:37):
I just really evenole hear this. You want to know
what difference is. A man will learn the love the
woman he's attracted to. A woman tends to become more
attracted to the man that she loves. Okay, a bar
Now there's a tech man rule, but that is that
is generally a rule. Women are more mature, women are
more thoughtful. Women or you know, but that man visual creatures.
(31:01):
You know, that's why a man will fall in love
with a dummy, right because it's a visual thing. For
God knew what he was doing. God made women with
with with the body and along hair like these guys
in the Anderthals and women and women have what blind
spots too, right, But he understood that a woman is
going to be looking for more, uh, you know, protection, safety, security,
(31:25):
your heart, your soul. So again, a man will learn
to love the woman that he's attracted to, but that
woman will become more attracted over time to the man
that she loves. And that's a beautiful coming together. It's
it's uh, it's it's it is. It is one one
one equals four, five, eight ten, it's one hundred and
(31:45):
one hundred. And that difference together is quite beautiful.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Even though I didn't expect us to take this turn,
I'll make the messy question this because what you just
said was you know, that was that was some wisdom
right there. And the year of our Lord twenty twenty five,
John O'Brien is a prenup essential.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
It's not a bad idea, look, and I told you
it's a business contract. I mean it was business before
it was personal. If the guy's gonna be whoever's making
the money, because it could be the woman is example,
and they're going to be all wigged out and and
I can't and can't relax when they were traumatized because
(32:36):
the last relationship jacked them up. Then give them whatever
it takes to make them comfortable. If they need a prenup,
then that's cool. But if you but if you're marrying
somebody and you are looking at them sideways from Jump Street,
like you know, I don't really trust you. I need
some I need I need a I need a document.
Probably the wrong person to be married. Probably you probably
(32:59):
just day to hang out, you know, be engaged for
twenty years, you probably shouldn't be married. I uh, I
think that what's whatever makes you comfortable? And but here's
a practical answer. Whatever I made before I met you
and none of your business. However you want to however
(33:20):
you want to structure that whatever I made before I
met you none of your business. Why don't we try
to claw back and saying you that you want half
of No, No, that's just now you've confirmed it. You
ain't right, So there's no one should If somebody wants
to pre nup, I think that it has a It
has a potential of messing up the vibe, messing up
(33:42):
the energy if you got to press too hard for it.
But if somebody wants that, the other person really should
be okay with it, because it's like, that's your it's
it's it's talking about what happened primarily before we got here.
Now from this day forward, if we're building together, why
wouldn't I want to share with you? I wouldn't have it.
(34:04):
I wouldn't have it without you. It wouldn't have had
the peace when they had the peace of mind. It
would not have had this ability. I would not I
would not have had the the ability to dream big
dreams because of the foundation that my family gave me.
So why wouldn't you want to know? Different than why
should you be resembled about paying taxes? Uh, you got
roads that you didn't pay for, the roads you didn't
(34:24):
pay for, the light the lights you didn't pay for,
the the you know, law enforcement, the structure, the you're in,
the you're in the the best structured rule of law nation.
In spite of current situation in the world, in spite
of current political situation still in the world, rule of law.
And that's why if everybody wants to that's why it's
(34:46):
a flight to quality. Everybody wants to invest in the United States.
You know, China's talking about we hate the US. Meanwhile,
they're all running here in Russians, running here to invest
their money when the cameras go off, because this is.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
The flight to quality.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
All all these folks in the world, Iranians, Koreans, they
all want to invest here because it's flight to quality.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
It's safe.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
So why should you be Why should you be upset?
Because you've got to pay taxes. That's my partner. You're
the government's my partner. You've helped me become wealthy. Now
when I pay the million dollars in the state of
Georgia one year and state taxes, you know that I
stopped every time I hit a pothole.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
Uh, and and.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Send a note to the Congressman, the Senator, the city
council person, the commissioner, the mayor. I had them on
speed a yo, yo, y'all, Here is exactly where the
pot He's a photo of it right. Uh. When you start,
when you start paying taxes, you start getting real attentive.
But I think that this is uh, this is no
different than this relationship. You know, if I'm gonna, if
I'm with you and you're with and we're together and
(35:43):
we're partners in this, why wouldn't I want you to
to advance with me? And why wouldn't I want you
to share reasonably and what you helped me create?
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Uh with the exception degree, all things in balance I
think are reasonable. Alcohol and BASM and balance lowers your
blood pressure. Drugs and balance are prescribed. You know, sleep
isn't balanced. All these things in balance makes sense. You
get out of balance too much of any of these
things and and you know, you start having a problem.
All all of the addiction is is an emotion you
(36:14):
can't handle. And so when you become addicted to these
unnatural things, including being addicted to money, are being if
you if you're obsessing now obsessing them out about this prenup,
you shouldn't be married. You've got you need to go
to counseling, right And if you're obsessing about not having
a prenup, you shouldn't be married because you're trying to
pimp this dude and you and you because you try
(36:35):
you're trying to hide the ball. I think it's no
problem having the conversation and see how the person responds,
and if you're comfortable with the response.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
Then.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Oh, I was going to say with John, this is
one of the reasons, many reasons I love talking to you,
because you have the versatility to be able to talk
about the Lakers sale in addition to whether or not
want to get it.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Get a freeing up.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
You know, on top of all the wonderful civil rights
work that you're doing in the field of finance. You know,
you calling it the civil rights movement of our generation.
I think there's so much truth in that. I think
that is the truth. Yeah, yeah, financial literacy. Let me
be specific about that being the civil rights movement. I
think that's extremely true.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
So listen.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I know you're super busy. I thank you for just
doing this on the fly with me.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
I love all your commentary and your thoughts, and just
thanks again.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
It was a pleasure to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
My pleasure. And let me say this, there are other
ways for your for people listening to you, and I
encourage people to listen to you and follow you and
tell your friends and follow you. I think you're brilliant.
You're making smart sexy. There are other ways to protect
yourself in a relationship. You can do limited liability corporations, UH.
You can do trust, revocable and irrevocable trust. You can
(37:54):
have a will, You can have a life insurance policy,
and if you get your partner to agree to that,
you can sort of bake in agreements around what they get,
which will relax them, make them feel they're not being pumped. Right,
And so now I think you really need to get
(38:14):
as quickly as you can, get off of the financial
conversation and get on the building conversation, Get off of
focus on me and start focusing on we as soon
as possible.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
Amen of that. That's a mic drop.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
All right, John, Will you take care and continue to
fight the good fight you too. This can close this
special bonus episode of Politics. Make sure you get at
me across social media or even email. I'm at Jamail
Hill across all social media platforms Twitter, Instagram, fan based,
Blue Sky, and threads. Please use the hashtags politics. You
also have the option of emailing me at Politics twenty
(38:51):
twenty four at gmail dot com. You can also video
me a question, but Please make sure it's thirty seconds
or less. Don't forget to follow and subscribe to Politics
on iHeart and follows Politics Pod on Instagram and TikTok.
Politics is spelled s p O l I t i
c S. A new episode of Politics drops every Thursday
on iHeart Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This
(39:13):
is politics, where sports and politics don't just mix, They
matter
Hey, what's up everybody, and welcome to this special bonus
episode of Politics Now. My guest today has been on
before and it was one of the most popular podcasts
that I've had. He's a financial guru, the founder, chairman
and CEO of Atlanta based Operation Hope, and one of
the most respected voices in the financial world. So when
the Bus family decided to sell a significant steak of
(00:32):
the Lakers to the tune of ten billion dollars, I
had to get his thoughts on what this sale means
for the Bus family, for the NBA, and the continued
skyrocketing price of sports franchises, especially since previously on his Politics,
my Guest said Michael Jordan did the right thing by
selling his majority steak in the Charlotte Hornets, even though
it meant that there would no longer be a majority
(00:53):
black owner in major professional sports.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Anyway. Not only do we talk.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
About that, we also talk about one of the most
popular and un annoying topics across social media, and that
is fifty to fifty, as in, should men and women
in relationships split everything fifty fifty?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Anyway?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Coming up next on his Politics, it is my pleasure
to welcome again John Hope, Brian John O'Brien, I want
to thank you so much for joining me for this
bonus episode of Spolitics because there are some financial things
happening in sports that I wanted to get your input on.
Number one is the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers
(01:31):
have just sold for ten billion dollars. Now, you were
the first person I thought of when this sale went down,
and that is because when you appeared as a guest
on Spolitics previously, I remember we had this back and forth,
this dialogue about whether or not it was a good
idea for Michael Jordan to have sold his majority share
in the Charlotte Hornets. And I believe what you told
(01:54):
me was like, Hey, businesses are meant to be sold.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
That's the whole point of it.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Kind of Now, given what the Bus family, what they
built with the Lakers, I get it, it's ten billion dollars,
but we're talking about something that was family owned and
deeply a part of their identity as a family. What
were your thoughts about the Lakers and the Bus family
deciding to sell their portion were not their entire portion,
but they're giving up majority share of the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Good timing. Look, you want to be Netflix, not Blockbuster.
You know, a Blockbuster had ego and they were like, hey,
I mean, I'm sure you remember you're young, but you
remember there was a time where every date was a
Blockbuster date, even it was during the week. You kept
(02:44):
you'd had tip five or ten bucks to the manager
of Blockbusch. Hey, look, this is the movie I'm looking
out for me. Put that one to the side for me.
Don't act like you don't act like you didn't do it.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Oh I totally did. Yeah, definitely, And.
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Don't talk about Saturday Night. My god, you know that
might be twenty or forty bucks. Hey, look, this is
the movie. This is the movie I'm looking for. And
when Netflix Blockbuster got so arrogant about their market share
and market protections and how much they controlled the entertainment
market of household entertainment. They when Netflix went to them
(03:17):
to be sold for fifty million dollars, to sell themselves
to Blockbusters for fifty million dollars, Blockbuster turned their nose
up at them and said, we're blockbustered. We don't need anything.
And you go far enough for the north pole, you
end up south. And of course Blockbuster then found bankruptcy
I think there's one Blockbuster location still surviving. It's in
(03:38):
Alaska right now. It's a novelty. But you know, Netflix
makes that in the day. The purchase price that they
were going to sell themselves to Blockbuster for Netflix makes
that in the day or less. And you remember when
Kodak there were Kodak Boosts in every park a lot
(04:00):
in America. Right, We all remember J C. Pennies. We
just laid off a bunch of folks and closed some stores.
We remember, we remember, you know, kmart as Sears. So look,
you go, there's a time to sell. Don't over You know,
you don't want to. You don't want to live beyond
your your your due date right your buy through date.
(04:21):
And I don't know what the future holds. I just
know ten bion dollars is a really nice number. I
don't know many things that you pass up. Look, it's like, hey,
I love you my cousin now, but how much they
want to give me for you? I don't mean that's
I don't mean that like literally, but uh, this is
this is where emotions just gets gets disconnected, you know,
(04:43):
I mean marriage is Marriage is a beautiful thing and
it's spiritual and god endowbted with spiritual virtues, but it
was originally a business contract before three thousand years before
god endowbted with spiritual components, which we get all wrapped
up in and now it's just become oh she's cute
or he's handsome, which is worse, but at least spiritual
was a higher value than money itself. But it was
(05:05):
a business contract. It's two families often related by the way,
marrying to protect their economic interests.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
We get this thing twisted.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
You build a business, create value, and you need a
liquidity event at some point, whether you're going public or
you're selling it or your I guess if you really
believe there's value going into debt, but you need some
way to bonds or something. You need some way to
(05:35):
unlock the value. And that's the tradition. This is a
this is any business. Now you talk about a space
that has been undervalued for a long time. Like you
go back to not this iteration of pro professional players,
but their mothers and sorry, their fathers was some cases mothers,
but mostly in the show that this where we live
(05:57):
in mostly the pro players were men. You know, my
brother Reggie Jackson wasn't taking down some huge salary. Hank Aaron,
who lived around the corner from me, God rest his
soul was not taken down a large salary at all.
He made his money in automobile, automobiles in business, Hank Aaron.
(06:19):
I mean, by the way, so did Reggie Jackson. These
contracts for athletes are fairly new phenomena that are you know,
it was ten million, that was that was big not
so long ago. Twenty million, one hundred million dollars was
you know, ten years ago?
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Oh my god? Right?
Speaker 3 (06:39):
And I just think that with the changing media landscape
right now, because a lot of the sports franchises are
monetizing themselves, not based on people coming and buying a
ticket and sitting in a seat. It's the media. It's
a lot of this is tied to the value of
the media contracts, the broadcasting rights. And I think if
you go far an the North Pole, you end up south.
(07:02):
I think that, uh, you know, you ask my nephew
what TV is and he'll tell you it's YouTube. That's
That's not me talking. I have an interest in people
watching TV. I'm I'm a contributor on you know, a
major brand. I don't want to say which name it is.
(07:22):
I'm like, I'm not trying to cast expersions here, but
you know it's it's mainstream TV. I don't get paid
for it. But I mean, I'm happy when they're successful.
But I'm looking at cable. People are cutting the cord
on cable. I'm looking at ESPN, I'm looking at I'm
looking at all these traditional television stations, linear stations, Cable
(07:43):
having to reimagine their business model. I'm looking at newspapers.
Who knows what the future holds. I don't. Then you
bring in aim my god, right, and will these contracts
persist for another twenty years or ten or five?
Speaker 4 (08:02):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
I know there's ten billion dollars staying the Bus family
in the face right now, and it looks real attractive,
And I just think that, you know, you don't get greedy,
you don't get overly ambitious. You say really non emotional
about this and say that's a really great deal. I
(08:24):
need to move on to something else and consider that
a win. That's my answer. I think this is business
at the end of the day, and this is a
great I mean a great We're not talking about we're
not talking about the entire franchise. We're talking about the
entire lead talking about one team in one city. Ten
billion dollars. My lord, it's the GDP of a small country.
(08:48):
Take the money and cast the check, get the wire
transfer as soon as possible.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
But what you said about the changing media landscape really
is lends itself to a larger conversation about the business
of sports, because right before, you know, I don't think
we ever imagine the world where the Boston Celtics and
the Lakers will be sold in the same in a
span of a few months. The you know, Boston, they
(09:15):
had the record being sold for six point one billion.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Then you see what happened with the Lakers. They're ten billion.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Increasingly, leagues, specifically the NBA and the NFL, they're loosening
the guardrails about hedge funds being involved in professional sports.
I read an interesting piece recently that was written by
a former ESPN colleague of mine who talked about the
costs of what it costs now for the average fan
to be able to watch their games because everything's being
(09:43):
split across multiple networks.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
You got your streamers, you have linear like.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
You have to subscribe to like five or six different
things to watch one team. People have been operating on
the assumption that sports will there's not a sports bubble
like the bubble camp bust. They can only go higher,
they can never go lower. But seeing these escalating trends
and the changing landscape, what are your thoughts about whether
(10:10):
or not? And as you just said yourself, you don't
know where these contracts are going. I mean, we're on
the cusp of getting a half a billion dollar NBA player,
like they're going to be able soon to be able
to make just a billion dollars the high level players
in just NBA salaries.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
With this escalating cause, how sustainable is this?
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Not?
Speaker 2 (10:33):
Well, thank you, John, there you go.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
I mean, look, it's it is our professional sport. My brother,
my dear friend, Tony Resher did a brilliant deal, not
a smart deal, a brilliant deal for the Atlanta Hawks
in my opinion, and it has done wonders for Atlanta,
the entire Southeast region, and it has spawned development across
(10:58):
the street with Centennial your ours, creating a downtown, a
proper downtown in Atlanta, the biggest investment in Atlanta since Atlanta,
and that's multiple times the size of the of its
purchase of the Hawks, and and it's got the city rallying,
and there's a lot of knock on effects. So you
look at that that that's almost market building, city building stuff,
that's not just a team. And the value of the
(11:21):
team has gone up, but the knock on value has
also gone up. And that, to me, that's more sustainable
because it's entertaining. Now you're about entertainment, you're talking about people.
You're talking about the connective tissue of culture of frankly,
people are people are lonely these days. They want to
hang out, they want to they want to spend time
(11:41):
with each other. No, there was, as you know, not
during the pandemic. People are like, oh, I don't need
to hang out with anymore. I'm just going to stay
at home and do zooms. We realize the whole purpose
of a dating app and so you actually meet somebody
in person, Like so we realize we actually that's the
whole point of a dating app, right uh. And so
I think that to the extent that sports connects with
(12:05):
community culture, that it creates stickiness and manages down depression
and manages down loneliness to a point that in a
way that people say that changed my life like that.
(12:25):
I look forward to that on the weekend. I look
forward to that on Tuesday. I don't mind drudgery of
work or whatever, that this this friendships, this just rooting
for my team or whatever and all. And then I
go to a concert and then I go I go
to a restaurant or whatever before after the game.
Speaker 4 (12:43):
I think that takes in that it becomes more of.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Las Vegas and every city Dubai in La right, a
local cultural system situation that creates excitement and joy in
our lives. Then I think it extends its value point.
I do believe. I do believe the media landscape is
going to reinvent itself. I think it's going to go
I don't think it's going to explode. So I think
sports is one of those unique things where you can't
(13:11):
extend the bubble.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
I do that, I think. I think.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I think Ambassador Young is right though, that men and
women fail for three reasons. You know, arrogance, crop pride,
and greed. So if people start becoming greedy, overly arrogant
and full of pride and refused, it just says, oh,
this is going to go on forever. That's where I
think that they're going to run into a wall. I
think nobody wants to be punk, wants to be used.
(13:36):
I think if the fans start to believe it's a
one way street about getting paid and not giving pleasure,
then I think that they will turn off. They will
find a way to turn off from that as well.
I think it's an elegant it has to be handled
with with suave white fears, Like it's like a relationship
with like being married. You know, you got to decide
if you want to be married long term. You got
(13:57):
to understand there's the difference between between being right and
being married.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Like those two things are very different. You can be right,
you won't be married.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
So I think that there's a nuance here that there's
a there's a there's something where the streets and the
suites have to get value, and there's been a lot
of value now given to the suites. I think we
have to make start start start focusing on value back
to the streets. And that's that's why I'll give an
(14:30):
example of here in Atlanta with the Hawks, where the
Hawks purchase If that was just about a few people
making money and getting paid and extracting I think the
story would have had would have a cap to I think,
like right now, but I think the timing was brilliant
to inspire a six billion dollar real estate development, which
(14:50):
is fifty acres. We's got to create jobs and affordable
housing and and and places to hang out and entertainment,
live nation just excited deal. And that got nothing to
do with basketball, and you got you got soccer. Now
now you have soccer football, uh, concerts, basketball all and
(15:11):
and and and relationship capital culture all creating GDP by
the way, and and uh something for everybody, hotels, all
that stuff. I just think that that's the way you
you build it. It has to you gotta go. You
gotta go horizontal, not just linear, I mean not just vertical.
And and I put another way, my rich friends, my
poor friends do better if only to stay rich. So
(15:33):
we're at this point now where where I think they've
got to reimagine the model.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
It's just not as simple as buns on seats, butts
on seats.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
Times, eyeballs on games equals media contract from legacy media
minus value minus uh you know what I'm paying the players,
and it equals you'll pay whatever I say to go
see it. I don't think that that simple math holds anymore.
(16:05):
I think you got to be the whole thing gets reimagined.
In my opinion, I don't know the answer to that,
but I know it's this new software grade. I know you,
I know you can't keep doing the same thing ten
billion dollars as long as just keep going back to
that number, right, ten billion for one team.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
But here, you know, I think that was a very
very point phrase that you said. It's got to make
sense for the streets and the suites, and I think
right now in the streets there is an increasing feeling
among sports fans that they being pimped because if I
pay five bucks, you know, five to seven dollars for
a subscription to Peacock just so I can watch a
(16:44):
couple of playoff games, Okay, then I got to pay
an additional to watch this game on this network. And
then of course, you know you you have the sports bars, right.
I don't know what they do because on a given night,
they can't find the game because they might not have
the right subscription. And if that is, if the only
way that they can maintain this profit is by okay,
(17:06):
let me sell ten games to Amazon twenty games to Netflix.
Let me have Netflix take over Christmas, let me do
this if they keep doing that, and listen, I subscribe
to all the things. So it's like not a big deal,
but I can certainly see a world where to your point,
and I don't know how they make fans feel a
little more appreciated and a little more like their money's
(17:28):
going further when the cost of just doing business in
sports isn't going to go down.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
It's not going to ever go the opposite direction. It's
only going this direction.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
It's like, I don't know how they can make fans
not feel that way in this current financial landscape.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
So let me give you an example.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Well, first I'm gonna give you a bad example that the
I'm gonna give you a good one, an example that
reaffirms what you just said about this is crazy people
feeling pimped. So at operation, I hope we do coaching incounts.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
I am still.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
About the number of operational clients who are financing a
trip to Jamaica with one of these companies that are
you know they pay they is paymentized, Like people ask
what's the payment. They're financing car rentals, they're financing trips
(18:21):
to the Islands. They're financing sports tickets. This is crazy
to me. And so you're now a monthly payment. You
went to a one time situation and now you're paying
for a year to eighteen months or more a monthly
payment to pay that one time situation. And now you've
been paymentized with all these other monthly payments. And when
(18:42):
your outflow seed your inflow, you're overhead will be your downfall.
And folks first have got too much month at the
end of their money is a real serious problem. And
now they're again they're financing sports ticket not just I
mean these are mostly like Super Bowl and think big,
but I'm ea talking about five thousand dollars. I mean,
you know about big numbers now. Because they can't afford
to just write the check, they have to finance it
(19:04):
so that I don't I think that that's going to
hit a wall. Let me tell you the good news.
I don't want to name the companies. I'm not exactly
sure of the exact name you probably know, but there's
a company in l a.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
That has a.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Small version of what they're doing in Las Vegas with
what's that dome?
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Oh yeah, the dome where you get to watch the
games and yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
So uh that's bringing.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Virtually that's AI technology, virtual reality and the life blood
of the game and the energy of having other people
around you in community into a less expensive, not cheap
by Like.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I've seen the prices there, you know, but if you.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Can text that, you can do ten of I'm making
this up now, But if you can do ten of
those in each market for where there's a team and
deliver those in community where people can go and hang
out for twenty percent of the cost baby of going
to the actual game, that might be a way to extend,
(20:20):
broaden and deep and change the economic the economics. That
plus a few other things. I do believe that people
are willing to continue to pay for. My wife loves
the NFL and I'm a motorsports guy. She loves the NFL.
I'm paying, but I'm paying a mortgage payment trying to
(20:40):
get her so she can watch the NFL. I've got
like five subscriptions.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
I'm like, are we done yet? Are we there yet?
Speaker 3 (20:48):
No? No, because this team you can't watch his team
on that platform, Like is real pimping? Like like I
got to send Roger Goodella. No, my man is like
he has mastered this. I love Roger Acson, but I mean,
the NFL is.
Speaker 4 (21:01):
The biggest, isn't it? The biggest? Is the worst friend
in the world, not the world?
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Is the biggest port in America? Basketball or I'm sorry,
I'm soccer. Soccer is the biggest port in the world.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Yes, in the world. Yeah, it's unbelievable. What what they
what they've built, And I say kudos to them. And
I think if you could, if you're doing that, and
I think you also. You know, Jed York is a
friend of mine. He owns a family owns the forty
nine ers, and we do hope inside with them for
the community right around the stadium. That eases tensions, that
(21:33):
re increases community pride. We're helping the workers who are
seasonal workers in the stadiums and and that gives them
more more sense of that that this is the team's
reinvesting in community. We're now about that. We decided deal.
I probably shouldn't be saying this, but the ryans Or
family in Chicago who own a couple of teams there,
(21:54):
we're doing the same thing. We will be doing the
same thing there, hoping side of community, hoping side the
workplace coaching and counseling, helping people to come up to
increase the credit score, lower their debt, increase their savings,
increase their joy, and then give them some you know.
This shows that the teams really does they do they
do care about their community. And there's a few other
(22:17):
owners that we're working with in the same way. I
hadn't put these things together until this conversation. I had
not like weed all this together, but it does seem
to me that the smart team owners are realizing that
you can't just take So before.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I get you out of here, there's two very important
internet conversations not related to sports. I want to ask
you about because anybody who follows you on Instagram knows
that sometimes you see things that are going viral related
to you know, finance, like the music executive that chose
to take a ninety nine dollars Southwest flight as opposed
(22:51):
to renting of private jet to Las Vegas. So you
chime me in on these social issues. I don't think
I've seen you talk about this, but you probably did,
and maybe I just missed it. I hate this conversation
on everything, but yet I want to bring this up
with you because I know you actually have some sense.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Give me your.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Perspective on the never ending fifty to fifty conversation.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
Oh no, no, no, no, okay, Which which conversation that
we're talking about? Now?
Speaker 1 (23:21):
Okay, so we're talking about in relationships, there's been Oh
so the fifty to fifty like men and women in
today's modern relationship should or shouldn't.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
Be going fifty to fifty.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
I'll I'll just quickly say, there's so much about this
conversation I don't understand, and I realize everybody gros their
financial house the way.
Speaker 3 (23:40):
The answers no, okay, I meant the answers the answers no. Look,
the probably the most underrated position in the biggest economy
in the world is that of a domestic engineer. That's
the person who's not working, who's who's running, who's raising
the children. Typically traditionally it's a wife, it can be
(24:00):
the man. But if you're a domestic engineer, I mean,
my god, I don't know how people do it.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
How do you raise these kids?
Speaker 3 (24:07):
You get it's thankless, the kids cursing you out and
throwing stuff at you. You know, you're you're you're you're
going you're going to crazy depressed. You don't see an
adult around you for you know, days on end, you
feel you're locked out of the real world and you
get no credit. And then and then when you make
it's home, they want Wedn's dinner. You know, entertain me,
talk to me, you know, dance for me.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Whatever.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
So look, whatever you need to be paying that person
a bonus. So that's uh. Whoever was getting earning the
money got it. You got it easy. In my in
our family, I build the house, my mother, my wife
turns it into a home. I'm nothing but the house.
This is a beautiful house, but it's it's soulless without her.
(24:54):
That's valuable. I'm the head, she's a heart. I'm the
chief business officer. She's the chief love officer, she's the
chief cultural officer, she's the chief wellness officer. I mean,
there's so many things that she's done to save my
life that you can't put into a financial statement. Like
you know, she's lowered my blood pressure. You know, I
(25:16):
found vegan cookies. I didn't know there was such thing
as vegan cookies, you know. I mean the stuff that
I use in my life that I never would have
experienced it, has she not introduced me to it. Those
things alone are game changers. And it's proven that if
you are married, you're going to make more money, You're
going to build more wealth just by virtue of you
being married. So if you are, if you got too
(25:40):
much month of the end of your money, then yes,
it needs to be a very practical conversation between two
people who are making let's say together one hundred thousand dollars,
and if you're spending, if you're a household budget, if
you're spending eighty thousand dollars in rent, mortgage, car note,
whatever it is, groceries, all that stuff, that's what your
(26:00):
budget is. You're gonna have to both boat go in
together to split these bills. If you're lucky enough to
live on one of those paychecks. The other paycheck should
be used to invest money. So one person works, you
make money during the day you bill was in your sleep.
So one check is about it's about paying household bills,
(26:20):
I think all of them. The other paycheck should be
used to buy stocks, bonds, invest in new ventures. But
you know, you guys got to talk about that together.
But this whole concept that I owe you a paycheck.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
This is hope.
Speaker 3 (26:38):
We're going in another direction where people they are mate.
There are people who feel like this is some kind
of job occupation and because they're cute and the looks
are going to fail, all the butt's falling, the rest
of falling looks going away. I want to know what
your credits career is, by the way, because when all
the resident has gone, you're my business partner for life.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
What is your credits?
Speaker 3 (27:00):
Go? Cute? Yeah, that's overrated. So I think that this
goes two ways. One, you don't get a free ride
just because you're cute, just because you're fine, because you're handsome. That, yeah,
that is highly overrated. I don't need to marry you
to be indebted by you. What do you bring into
the table. If two plus two does not equal six,
eight or ten in a relationship, what are you doing?
(27:21):
This is multiplication, not math. If you're not better together,
what are you doing? I can do bad all by myself.
I don't need help. To quote Quincy Jones, the only
thing worse than being alone is wishing that you were
so I over answered your question now, but.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
You gave a great answer.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
I mean my answer would be one hundred it's one
hundred one hundred really, because it's like we're putting it.
It's it's not fifty fifty, it's one hundred, one hundred.
I put in my one hundred, You put in your
one hundred. And it's like to your point, it's like
we're using for different things as we organize our financial life,
we use it, Okay. You know when when both me
(27:58):
and my both me and my husband we had really
state both coming in we both owned our own homes, right,
and so we both sold them and we bought a
house together.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
On top of some other money that we had saved.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
It's like, and we took the sale proceeds a lot
of them from what we sold our house, and we
invested in that as that was kind.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Of the point of being right. So it's a hundred.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
And being married you got tax benefits correct that you
would not have gotten had you married if you filed
married separately. Marriage jointly has much more benefits. If you
sell the property and you filed marriage jointly, you get
as much as a half of half a million dollars
in tax free capital gains proceeds. There's a benefit of
(28:45):
being married right there. There's many, many more benefits to
being married. But there are some financial benefits. And I
agree with you. You said it in a different way.
It is one hundred one hundred. It's one hundred and
hundred if you broke, is one hundred and a hundred
if you middle class, and it's just a different kind
of hundred and one hundred if you're if you're wealthy.
(29:08):
You know, I don't need I don't need my wife
to pay the light bill.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
But if she wants to go and do a business
venture or whatever. Uh, well, she she invested in bitcoin.
I'm not down with that. She used her own money.
Knock yourself out by the way she hit.
Speaker 4 (29:26):
She it worked for her. But if it but if
it goes sideway, she has me right.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
So she owns. She owns property. Has nothing to do
with me. She owns the property. She's a little capitalist.
She owns the property. Uh near the near the Obama
uh uh New President Library. She owned. I tried to
buy from her. She said, that's my little nugget. You're
not you know you? Oh yeah, no, no, no, no, that's
my nugget. I tried to buy it from her. Uh.
She she she has a problem in price property in Harlem. Now,
(29:53):
if she ever needs me, I'm there for But I
think she needed her own She also needs her own achievement.
She owns he needs her own sense of accomplishment. Right now,
when you need me and we can we do stuff together, great,
But I don't need to own your legacy your life.
You know that's not what this is about. It is
one hundred, one hundred and two plus two should equal six,
(30:15):
eight or ten. That's what you just describe with with
what your days are doing. You're better together, You're able
to do things together. You couldn't do a part. But
you're going to be different. You're different. You're a female
and she and he's a man. You're just different, and
we must respect the difference. I'll give you one example.
And got nothing to do with this podcast or this topic.
(30:37):
I just really evenole hear this. You want to know
what difference is. A man will learn the love the
woman he's attracted to. A woman tends to become more
attracted to the man that she loves. Okay, a bar
Now there's a tech man rule, but that is that
is generally a rule. Women are more mature, women are
more thoughtful. Women or you know, but that man visual creatures.
(31:01):
You know, that's why a man will fall in love
with a dummy, right because it's a visual thing. For
God knew what he was doing. God made women with
with with the body and along hair like these guys
in the Anderthals and women and women have what blind
spots too, right, But he understood that a woman is
going to be looking for more, uh, you know, protection, safety, security,
(31:25):
your heart, your soul. So again, a man will learn
to love the woman that he's attracted to, but that
woman will become more attracted over time to the man
that she loves. And that's a beautiful coming together. It's
it's uh, it's it's it is. It is one one
one equals four, five, eight ten, it's one hundred and
(31:45):
one hundred. And that difference together is quite beautiful.
Speaker 1 (31:53):
Even though I didn't expect us to take this turn,
I'll make the messy question this because what you just
said was you know, that was that was some wisdom
right there. And the year of our Lord twenty twenty five,
John O'Brien is a prenup essential.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
It's not a bad idea, look, and I told you
it's a business contract. I mean it was business before
it was personal. If the guy's gonna be whoever's making
the money, because it could be the woman is example,
and they're going to be all wigged out and and
I can't and can't relax when they were traumatized because
(32:36):
the last relationship jacked them up. Then give them whatever
it takes to make them comfortable. If they need a prenup,
then that's cool. But if you but if you're marrying
somebody and you are looking at them sideways from Jump Street,
like you know, I don't really trust you. I need
some I need I need a I need a document.
Probably the wrong person to be married. Probably you probably
(32:59):
just day to hang out, you know, be engaged for
twenty years, you probably shouldn't be married. I uh, I
think that what's whatever makes you comfortable? And but here's
a practical answer. Whatever I made before I met you
and none of your business. However you want to however
(33:20):
you want to structure that whatever I made before I
met you none of your business. Why don't we try
to claw back and saying you that you want half
of No, No, that's just now you've confirmed it. You
ain't right, So there's no one should If somebody wants
to pre nup, I think that it has a It
has a potential of messing up the vibe, messing up
(33:42):
the energy if you got to press too hard for it.
But if somebody wants that, the other person really should
be okay with it, because it's like, that's your it's
it's it's talking about what happened primarily before we got here.
Now from this day forward, if we're building together, why
wouldn't I want to share with you? I wouldn't have it.
(34:04):
I wouldn't have it without you. It wouldn't have had
the peace when they had the peace of mind. It
would not have had this ability. I would not I
would not have had the the ability to dream big
dreams because of the foundation that my family gave me.
So why wouldn't you want to know? Different than why
should you be resembled about paying taxes? Uh, you got
roads that you didn't pay for, the roads you didn't
(34:24):
pay for, the light the lights you didn't pay for,
the the you know, law enforcement, the structure, the you're in,
the you're in the the best structured rule of law nation.
In spite of current situation in the world, in spite
of current political situation still in the world, rule of law.
And that's why if everybody wants to that's why it's
(34:46):
a flight to quality. Everybody wants to invest in the United States.
You know, China's talking about we hate the US. Meanwhile,
they're all running here in Russians, running here to invest
their money when the cameras go off, because this is.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
The flight to quality.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
All all these folks in the world, Iranians, Koreans, they
all want to invest here because it's flight to quality.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
It's safe.
Speaker 3 (35:03):
So why should you be Why should you be upset?
Because you've got to pay taxes. That's my partner. You're
the government's my partner. You've helped me become wealthy. Now
when I pay the million dollars in the state of
Georgia one year and state taxes, you know that I
stopped every time I hit a pothole.
Speaker 4 (35:21):
Uh, and and.
Speaker 3 (35:22):
Send a note to the Congressman, the Senator, the city
council person, the commissioner, the mayor. I had them on
speed a yo, yo, y'all, Here is exactly where the
pot He's a photo of it right. Uh. When you start,
when you start paying taxes, you start getting real attentive.
But I think that this is uh, this is no
different than this relationship. You know, if I'm gonna, if
I'm with you and you're with and we're together and
(35:43):
we're partners in this, why wouldn't I want you to
to advance with me? And why wouldn't I want you
to share reasonably and what you helped me create?
Speaker 4 (35:52):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Uh with the exception degree, all things in balance I
think are reasonable. Alcohol and BASM and balance lowers your
blood pressure. Drugs and balance are prescribed. You know, sleep
isn't balanced. All these things in balance makes sense. You
get out of balance too much of any of these
things and and you know, you start having a problem.
All all of the addiction is is an emotion you
(36:14):
can't handle. And so when you become addicted to these
unnatural things, including being addicted to money, are being if
you if you're obsessing now obsessing them out about this prenup,
you shouldn't be married. You've got you need to go
to counseling, right And if you're obsessing about not having
a prenup, you shouldn't be married because you're trying to
pimp this dude and you and you because you try
(36:35):
you're trying to hide the ball. I think it's no
problem having the conversation and see how the person responds,
and if you're comfortable with the response.
Speaker 4 (36:44):
Then.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Oh, I was going to say with John, this is
one of the reasons, many reasons I love talking to you,
because you have the versatility to be able to talk
about the Lakers sale in addition to whether or not
want to get it.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Get a freeing up.
Speaker 1 (36:58):
You know, on top of all the wonderful civil rights
work that you're doing in the field of finance. You know,
you calling it the civil rights movement of our generation.
I think there's so much truth in that. I think
that is the truth. Yeah, yeah, financial literacy. Let me
be specific about that being the civil rights movement. I
think that's extremely true.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
So listen.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
I know you're super busy. I thank you for just
doing this on the fly with me.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (37:25):
I love all your commentary and your thoughts, and just
thanks again.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
It was a pleasure to talk to you.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
My pleasure. And let me say this, there are other
ways for your for people listening to you, and I
encourage people to listen to you and follow you and
tell your friends and follow you. I think you're brilliant.
You're making smart sexy. There are other ways to protect
yourself in a relationship. You can do limited liability corporations, UH.
You can do trust, revocable and irrevocable trust. You can
(37:54):
have a will, You can have a life insurance policy,
and if you get your partner to agree to that,
you can sort of bake in agreements around what they get,
which will relax them, make them feel they're not being pumped. Right,
And so now I think you really need to get
(38:14):
as quickly as you can, get off of the financial
conversation and get on the building conversation, Get off of
focus on me and start focusing on we as soon
as possible.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
Amen of that. That's a mic drop.
Speaker 1 (38:29):
All right, John, Will you take care and continue to
fight the good fight you too. This can close this
special bonus episode of Politics. Make sure you get at
me across social media or even email. I'm at Jamail
Hill across all social media platforms Twitter, Instagram, fan based,
Blue Sky, and threads. Please use the hashtags politics. You
also have the option of emailing me at Politics twenty
(38:51):
twenty four at gmail dot com. You can also video
me a question, but Please make sure it's thirty seconds
or less. Don't forget to follow and subscribe to Politics
on iHeart and follows Politics Pod on Instagram and TikTok.
Politics is spelled s p O l I t i
c S. A new episode of Politics drops every Thursday
on iHeart Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This
(39:13):
is politics, where sports and politics don't just mix, They
matter
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.