Episode
Charley Ellis on How America Actually Got Built (Investing in America Series) | #633
- Published
- Jun 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3265
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://traffic.megaphone.fm/TIFM5417041108.mp3
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-meb-faber-show-better-investing-743157/episodes/charley-ellis-on-how-america-actually-got-built-investing-in-america-series-633/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-meb-faber-show-better-investing-743157/charley-ellis-on-how-america-actually-got-built-investing-in-america-series-633.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
My guest today is Charles Ellis, founder of Greenwich Associates, longtime member of Yale’s investment committee, and author of more than 20 books, including the classic Winning the Loser’s Game. In today’s episode, Charley reflects on writing the first major book on share repurchases 50 years ago, when the idea was so foreign that Goldman mailed it to 1,000 corporations as a “legitimizer.” Charley also walks us through his new book, Great American Investments: A History of the Bold Initiatives that Shaped a Nation, covering 14 audacious public investments from the Louisiana Purchase to the Marshall Plan. He explains how each came down to one or two obsessed individuals, why Alaska turned out to be the bargain of the century, and how Frances Perkins muscled Social Security into law. As the episode winds down, he shares the lunch with Sandy Gottesman in the early 1970s that led him to buy Berkshire Hathaway at $700 a share — and hold it ever since. (0:00) Starts (1:54) Charley on stock buybacks (8:06) Current state of investing and behavioral economics (11:37) Advice for young investors and long-term strategies (16:41) Charley's new book: Great American Investments: A History of the Bold Initiatives that Shaped a Nation (25:42) The origins of social Security (32:46) American entrepreneurship (36:43) Will AI be the next great American investment? (42:34) Most memorable investment ----- Sponsor: Ivy Invest - To learn more about Ivy Invest's SEC-registered endowment-style fund, view the prospectus, and learn how to invest, visit ivyinvest.co/fund ----- Follow Meb on X, LinkedIn and YouTube For detailed show notes, click here To learn more about our funds and follow us, subscribe to our mailing list or visit us at cambriainvestments.com ----- Follow The Idea Farm: X | Li…