RWH073: Unstoppable w/ Sir Michael Moritz

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

You're listening to TIP.

William Green (0:03)

Hi there. It's wonderful to see you again on the Richer, Wiser, Happier podcast. Our guest today is one of the most successful investors of all time, a legendary venture capitalist named Sir Michael Moritz, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at more than $7 billion.

As you'll hear, he and his colleagues at Sequoia Capital racked up astonishing returns by investing very early in businesses like Nvidia, Google, YouTube, Airbnb, PayPal, Stripe and LinkedIn.

Moritz was incredibly farsighted in identifying some of the most successful corporate founders of all time, but he also had another secret, the patience to hold on to his winning investments and never sell. Charlie Munger once told me that this temperamental advantage helped to explain why Moritz outperformed pretty much all of his peers. But before we get to my conversation with Michael Moritz, I also wanted to mention quickly that I still have several open spaces in my Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass, which begins in December. This is an opportunity to study with me over the course of a year in a very small, intimate group that's likely to be somewhere between 10 and 20 people. We'll meet once a month over Zoom, and we'll also get together in person at a couple of unique events. The aim is to create a year-long journey of exploration to help you move toward a life that is truly richer, wiser and happier. We'll talk in-depth about how we can actually apply in our own lives, the lessons I've learned from great investors like Sir John Templeton, Charlie Munger, Howard Marks, Bill Miller and Nick Sleep. Not just lessons about how to build enduring wealth, but about how to think and how to live. This will be the third year in a row that I've hosted a Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass, and I'm planning to make this my final offering of the class. The first two groups include an amazingly accomplished selection of people from around the world, including some hugely successful hedge fund managers and mutual fund managers, asset allocators, wealth advisors, managers of family offices, a medical doctor, a management consultant, several CEOs and entrepreneurs, and even a renowned physicist turned quant fund manager. But what matters most to me is that they're an unusually thoughtful, soulful group of people who love learning from one another and sharing insights about investing, business and life. If you're a keen investor and a passionate learner and would like to know more about the masterclass, please feel free to contact my friend and fellow podcast host, Kyle Grieve, and he can answer any questions you might have about dates, prices and the like. His email address is kyle, that's K-Y-L-E, at theinvestorspodcast.com.

I'm totally biased, but I think this is a really rare opportunity to become a better investor, to think more deeply about how you want to live, and to build rich friendships with a very special group of people. If this idea appeals to you, please reach out to Kyle. And if the stars align, I'd love to see you in December. And now back to the show.

SPEAKER_1 (3:14)

You're listening to The Richer, Wiser, Happier Podcast, where your host, William Green, interviews the world's greatest investors and explores how to win in markets and life. This show is not investment advice. It's intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. All opinions expressed by hosts and guests are solely their own, and they may have investments in the securities discussed. Now for your host, William Green.

William Green (3:49)

Hi folks, I'm absolutely thrilled to welcome today's guest, Sir Michael Moritz, who's arguably the most successful venture capitalist of all time. He spent about 38 years at Sequoia Capital, playing an important role in the firm's investments in early stage businesses like Yahoo, Google, YouTube, PayPal, Airbnb, Zappos, Klarna, LinkedIn, Instacart and Stripe. For good measure, he's also a terrific writer with an excellent new book that's just been published here in the US. I have the UK edition here, but it's a terrific book. A few years ago, I asked Charlie Munger, who were the most interesting investors that I should try to interview?

Charlie named one person Michael Moritz. As Charlie put it several times, he kept repeating the same phrase, I think you'll find Mike Moritz quite interesting. So welcome, Michael. It's wonderful to meet you finally.

Michael Moritz (4:39)

Oh, well, thank you for a very generous introduction. I think Charlie must have been having one of his weaker moments.

William Green (4:46)

He was not an easy man to impress. So we'll discuss some of the things specifically that he said later.

Your new book is really fascinating, Auslander. It's a German word that I gather means foreigner or outside or alien. And I wanted to start by talking about your early life in Wales. I think you were born in 1954, if I remember correctly. And I'm wondering if you could paint a picture for us of what it was like there to grow up as a Jewish boy in Cardiff in the 1950s and early 60s, what it looked like, what it felt like and why you, as well as many other members of your family, had this sense of being an outsider.