Sol Price: The Retail Legend Who Taught Bezos & Walmart Their Secret Playbook [Outliers]

The Knowledge Project

Shane Parrish

Business, Society & Culture, Technology, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Entrepreneurship

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The most influential retailer you’ve never heard of. How Sol Price invented the warehouse club and a philosophy that still runs Costco and Amazon. Have you ever wondered why you can still buy a hot dog and soda for $1.50 today at Costco? We can thank Sol Price for that. To him, keeping promises to customers mattered more than profit margins. Sam Walton said he borrowed more ideas from Sol Price than anyone else. Jim Sinegal of Costco said, “I didn’t learn a lot from Sol. I learned everything.” Jeff Bezos studied him. Home Depot echoed him. He invented the warehouse club, pioneered membership retail and built two multi-billion-dollar companies. The real lessons aren’t about what he built, but how he did it. This is the story of how a lawyer with no retail experience created an industry, mentored his competition, and proved that nice guys don't always finish last. Sol Price founded FedMart and Price Club, pioneering the membership warehouse model that inspired Costco and Sam’s Club. His principles—limited selection, fair wages, capped markups, no loss leaders—shaped modern retail through disciples like Jim Sinegal (Costco), Sam Walton (Walmart/Sam’s Club), Bernie Marcus (Home Depot), and influenced Jeff Bezos (Prime). ------ Approximate Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (02:01) Early Years (08:29) Starting FedMart (28:33) Price Club (36:19) When Students Surpass the Teacher (42:09) The Teacher's Last Lesson (43:46) Reflections And Lessons ------ Upgrade: Get a hand edited transcripts and ad free experiences along with my thoughts and reflections at the end of every conversation. Learn more @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/membership⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Newsletter: The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠fs.blog/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Follow Shane Parrish X ⁠⁠@ShaneAParrish⁠⁠ Insta ⁠⁠@farnamstreet⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ ------ This episode is for informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	What does it take to build an empire?
0:02.8	For Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, it took a lot of hard work, a little genius,
0:06.9	and one crucial ingredient, theft, or as he preferred to call it, borrowing.
0:11.8	In his autobiography, Sam freely admitted, I've stolen, I prefer borrowed as many ideas from Saul Price
0:17.8	as from anyone else in the business.
0:20.5	He wasn't the only one. Jim Sinigal,
0:22.5	co-founder of Costco, was even more direct when a reporter called him one day and said, gee, you knew
0:28.5	Saul that long since 1954? You must have learned a lot. Jim's response was blunt. No, that's
0:35.0	inaccurate. I didn't learn a lot. I learned everything I know. Jeff Bezos
0:39.3	did the same thing. So to the founders of Home Depot. The list goes on. All of these people
0:44.0	pointed back to one man, Saul Price. A man most people have never heard of. A man who never sought
0:49.8	the spotlight, but whose shadow covers the entire landscape of modern retail, a man who didn't
0:55.3	just create a business, but a school of thought. His classroom was the warehouse, and his students
0:59.8	changed the world. Welcome to the Knowledge Project. I'm your host, Shane Parrish. In a world
1:06.8	where knowledge is power, this podcast is your toolkit for mastering the best what other people have already figured out.
1:15.6	This is the story of Saul Price, a man who invented the Warehouse Club, pioneered membership retail, and quietly revolutionized how 300 million people plus shop today.
1:25.4	He started Fed Mart and Price Club, which sold to Jim Senegal
1:29.3	one of his protégés at Costco. His innovations touch everything from how workers get paid to why
1:35.1	you can still buy a hot dog and soda for $1.50 today at Costco. But Sol Price's real genius wasn't
1:41.6	in what he built. It was how he did it. This is the story of how a lawyer
1:46.4	with no retail experience created an industry mentored his competition and proved that nice guys
1:51.7	don't always finish last. It's time to listen and learn.
	...

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