Welcome to the summit series with Ari Melger and we have a very special one today.

I am joined by billionaire hedge fund investor, founder and philanthropist Leon Cooperman who founded a hedge fund

after many decades at Goldman Sachs and is one of the foremost philanthropists having committed

to the giving pledge and beyond which we'll get into and we are here in your home in Florida. Thanks for having us.

Pleasure to have you. Thank you very much.

You have written that under no other system would the son of a Polish immigrant

plumber reach your position. What do you mean by that and what do you attribute your success to?

Good question. My father came to America at the age of 12 as a plumber's apprentice in

1920. He had no education. I grew up in very modest circumstances in the Bronx. I went to public school

in the Bronx, Southeast Bronx, P.S. 75, I went to Hunter College,

was now called Lehman College in the Bronx.

And then I had a short stint at the Columbia Business School, which opened the door to

Wall Street.

I started my career in Wall Street with a six-month-old child, a negative

net worth. No money in the bank, a student loan to repay, which is what I had negative

net worth. I made a lot of money and I'm giving it all back to the system.

You know, I basically... I made a lot of money and I'm giving it all back to the system.

You know, I basically took the Gates-Bufford Giving Pledge,

I took a Jewish-giving pledge with Mike Levin,

so I'm going to give 50% to each,

and where I don't give away during my lifetime I intend to leave

in a foundation for my children and grandchildren to give away.

...