TIP527: The Epic Collapse of GE w/ William Cohan

We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

Stig Brodersen

Education, Investing, Business

4.6 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2023

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Trey talks to New York Times bestselling author William Cohan about GE's history, including founder Thomas Edison, Jack Welch's controversial career & successes, Warren Buffett's investment on GE, and much more!

William Cohan's latest book, titled "Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon," chronicles the incredible history of General Electric, which was often the largest and most esteemed company in the world over its 130-year existence.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

0:00 - Intro

07:31 - The origin story of GE, starting with founder Thomas Edison with backing from JP Morgan.

11:19 - Why Charlie Coffin might be the best CEO of all time.

23:54 - The dark side of Jack Welch and his career at GE, as well as the many successes.

56:37 - How Jeff could have saved the company by listening to Bill Gross and Jim Grant.

59:55 The debate on whether Jack handed his successor, Jeff Immelt, a “royal flush” or an open grenade.

63:49 - Warren Buffett’s bet on the company.

63:15 - Why the company has now been deconstructed into 3 separate entities.

67:18 - The many cycles that repeated over its 130 year history.

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

Visit William Cohan website.
Check out Power Failure book.
Check out GE website.
Trey Lockerbie's Twitter.
William Cohan's Twitter.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	You're listening to TI-P.
0:03.2	My guest today is New York Times bestselling author, William Cohan.
0:07.0	William has just released a new book titled Power Failure, The Rise and Fall of an American
0:11.4	Icon.
0:12.4	It's the incredible story of General Electric, which at many points over its 130-year history
0:17.6	was the largest and most admired company in the world.
0:20.8	We sometimes take for granted all the many innovations that came out of GE, like for starters,
0:25.6	electricity, as well as diesel locomotives, jet engines, water treatment systems, power grids,
0:30.9	diagnostic and imaging products for healthcare, media and entertainment through NBC Universal
0:35.4	and RCA.
0:36.6	The list goes on.
0:37.9	The book is about as big as a Harry Potter sequel at nearly 800 pages, and if you're
0:42.2	like me and you listen to shows like this, probably more entertaining.
0:45.4	With over 17 years on Wall Street and the opportunity to work at GE Capital for a couple
0:49.8	of years, William's insights and research are unparalleled.
0:53.6	In this episode you will learn the real origin story of GE starting with founder Thomas
0:57.5	Edison with backing from JP Morgan.
0:59.8	Why Charlie Coffin might be the best CEO of all time?
1:03.2	The dark side of Jack Welch and his career at GE as well as his many successes.
1:07.8	The debate on whether Jack handed his successor Jeff Emelt a royal flush or an open grenade.
1:13.4	The many cycles that repeated over to 130-year history.
1:16.8	How Jeff Emelt could have saved the company by listening to Bill Gross and Jim Grant,
	...

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