Scott Galloway: Stop Being an Earner, Start Being an Owner

Dave Meyer (0:00)

If you don't own assets, you're about to be in for a rude awakening. That's Scott Galloway's warning. You may know him as Prof G. He's an entrepreneur, NYU Stern School of Business professor, and author of The Algebra of Wealth. Scott has gotten wealthy three different times, because per his own words, he's gone broke twice. He tried to time the market, he launched numerous companies, and he still made it out alive. Scott says today's economy is different. It's quote, prosperous but fragile. If you've got assets, it's good, but if you don't, it's a real struggle. So how do you move from being on the earner side of the table to the owner side, so you can build wealth and not get stuck in the rat race? We're gonna talk about everything today. The chance of an economic crash, whether AI will pay off, should you buy a house right now, and if so, where, and why getting a corporate job may get you to financial freedom faster, contrary to what 99% of people are saying.

Hey, everyone. I'm Dave Meyer. Welcome to the BiggerPockets Podcast. Today, we have a very special show for you. Our guest today is Scott Galloway, also known as Prof. G.

Scott Galloway is a successful entrepreneur. He is one of the foremost economic thought leaders in our space right now, and a prolific author, and he's the kind of guy who's just going to tell you exactly what he thinks. He does not pull punches, and today I've got a lot of questions for him about the economy in general, about housing and how to get ahead in this confusing economy. Let's bring on Scott Galloway.

Scott, welcome back to the BiggerPockets Podcast. So good to have you here again. Thanks for being here.

Scott Galloway (1:47)

It's great to be with you, Dave.

Dave Meyer (1:48)

It's been three years since you've been on the show, and of course, a whole lot has happened geopolitically and economically, and I'd like to just start at the top. How would you describe the moment we're in right now in the American economy?

Scott Galloway (2:03)

I guess K-shaped, and it feels like prosperous but fragile.

I was walking through New York the other day, and New York, 65 million visitors last year, 85 billion in economic activity, 400,000 jobs. Broadway attendance is greater now than all the attendance of all the sports teams regionally. Job growth of 1.1 million, but the asterisk is inflation is at 4.6% versus 3.4% nationally. So if you're in the right place and the right time in New York, it's never been better. Bankers' compensation is up 38%, but if you're the kind of person who has to show up for jury duty, you probably have inflation, and your rent is just getting more expensive, and of those 1 million jobs created, most of them were in healthcare. Most of those people are taking care of old people. And I think that's a larger metaphor for the United States, and that is if you're in the right place, if you have the right credentials, the right skills, it's just never been better.

One of the reasons the middle class has an increase, and some people would argue is decrease, and we don't like to talk about this because catastrophizing is a better narrative, is that a lot of the middle class has been elevated in a millionaire status. There are a lot of people making a lot of money. GDP growth in the US is actually pretty strong. Unemployment isn't that bad. Now, go to the fragility part, whether or not living on borrowed money from future generations, spending $7 trillion and $5 trillion in tax receipts, that feels like a recipe for disaster. And I would argue some of the damage we're doing geopolitically will take generations, if ever, to repair in that our economic relationships and alliances aren't even being frayed. There's like enormous fissures. So K-shaped, if things are good for you, probably great for you, better than they've ever been. A lot of people just struggling, I think, to maintain wage growth with inflation, and what I would call a series of macro or structural decisions that will haunt us.

Dave Meyer (4:02)

I worry about many of the same things and do personally identify with the feeling of fragility. It does feel even for those of us who are fortunate to remain employed, to have assets, to be doing relatively well in this economy, it just feels like something is about to break.

Do you get that sense?

Scott Galloway (4:22)

If we woke up tomorrow, Dave, and the S&P was off 20% in one day, and it was off 40% a year, we'd go, well, of course it is.