Guggenheim Partners

It's all bad in the industry.

And if you're thinking about why asset managers want to buy these insurers or make their own, It's because they get fees, right? And in this particular case of Guggenheim, they're using it as a piggy bank.

When I was on last, I was critical of Athene.

I'm still a critical of Athene, but just to be honest, you don't see Mark Rowan using it as a personal piggy bank.

And he got the rest of the money from policyholders.

And he's done this through F1.

He's done this through the Dodgers TV deal, which he negotiated on the side of Guggenheim.

And it seems like allegedly that it was a precondition for the purchase of the team, which was in distress because our former owner went bankrupt.

That was a key part of David's testimony on that episode.

It was a key, Mark Walter and his partner Todd Boehly and Guggenheim Partners paid more than $3 billion for Mike Ryan's Chelsea Football Club.

That happened.

And then they paid $10 billion for the Los Angeles Lakers, and then have an agreement to sell it for 12.5, another record.

This wasn't just paying a player more than he is allowed to be paid.

This was four concurrent financial schemes operated by the LA Clippers, owned by Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft, in which they figured out ways to get money funneled from A to B to C, where A was Steve Ballmer's Clippers, C was Kawhi Leonard, and B was a series of companies that the Clippers partnered with.

Daktronics, a scoreboard manufacturer.

Aspiration, a tree-planting, good guy carbon credit startup.

There's an agreement, but not yet the funds, and so we're waiting.

The thing about that story, though, Tim, in a nutshell, is that Mark Walter is an insurance guy.

He owns life insurance companies, these annuity deals in which America's parents and grandparents think they're making the most risk-averse conservative investment possible.

And instead, what they're learning through this reporting is that their money is being used to invest and purchase sports teams.

Tell us about the Lakers.

Tell us about Guggenheim.

What is the connection there, either of you, whoever wants to take it?

Sure.

I can try to give the big picture over here.

There's been a lot going on.

But the basic idea is Mark Walter runs a co-founded or oversees Guggenheim, a big, very large private equity company.

He also owns two or has controlling stakes in two life insurers, Clear Spring and Delaware Life.

Highly recommend you check out that episode.

He, he has a, like a, a deep throat style source, you know, that, that, uh, you know, s- from the Guggenheim Partners', you know, vetting department no less, and, you know, who's got his voice all, you know, transformed.

It's amazing.

[laughs] We could use that technology here if we felt like there was an appropriate, uh, way to deploy it so.

I don't think in and off itself its going to be enough to significantly advance the Dodgers story beyond what, where Passan had navigated it to this point.

But I do think it's um, it's sign that there's potentially real rot here That it was basically a favor for favor situation with Magic Johnson You can't just hand somebody an insurance company y'know Um, that's not really how that works Even if you own the insurance company Uh, like Mark Walter in a sense did So Im fas- Now that Pablo's vision is on it im way more interested quote unquote With where this goes Yeah I think it's a lot of seeing a guy in Magic Johnson who If you go back to when the dodgers were originally bought mark walter His name was third or fourth name in that group n the actual ESPN associated press write up At that time you see magic John-Johnson at the very front of it Well This guy helps you buy the Dodgers By being this front face presence To give you credibility in a sports world Right well All of a sudden How do I scratch your back afterwards result Getting this insurance company turns him From a guy Who Just looking at Where Magic Johnson earned $40 million in his nba career He wasn’t viewed As a billionaire Or Anything in that light Essentially gift Insurance Company Helps continue Dealings Been doing Billionaire Scratching One guys Back Helping Each other Out Reveals What that Entire worlds Like Realize Magic Johnson Is operating Guggenheim Partners Still running Business Dealings trouble First place

Dallas Your estimation Ahh much fuckery Abound Situation Versus Above board loophole Any Team Could Do Technically legal Albeit Black hat tactic

Um good question Because thats We all Perceive Myself Included Conspiracy theory brain Fuckery abound Loopholes Exposing Leveraging Technicalities Legal Mm-hmm Extent Best Express Loophole Stretched Fucking Ear holes Newly Pierced Emo child Figure out Grunge Willing Commit Don't Know There's Not nefarious activity Going on Insurace company world Slimy Grimy Different ways Feels like Go Asking me Much is legal Divvying Up Percent 70% legal 30% fuckery Believe 100% Legally Exercised Operating North Of 100% Should not be doing Guess Definitely Some things should not Be Doing Aren't Allowed Absolutely Everything Remember Debates Between Donald Trump Hillary Clinton When Yeah Used loopholes Candidate Oh Okay, so we are admitting that these loopholes are being, being leveraged.