The World’s Best Investor? Bruce Flatt’s Unpopular Rule That Built a Trillion $ Empire

Video Description

The unpopular rule behind Brookfield’s trillion-dollar empire: protect downside, compound durability, and ignore the crowd. In this conversation: * 25 years of change: passive flows, privatization, and de-globalization reshaped where returns live * Where value hides now: data centers, low‑carbon transition, and repatriated manufacturing * Rates, risk, and debt: how Brookfield underwrites in a higher cost-of-capital world * Private markets and insurance: why annuities and balance-sheet design matter to compounding * Process over prediction: a 6-step decision cadence, accountability, and post-mortems that actually teach * Talent systems: how Brookfield trains investors to think in cycles, not quarters what you’ll learn: * the 1 rule that prevents permanent loss (and why it beats forecasting) * a simple map to today’s real assets: where durability and cash yield stack * how to underwrite with higher rates without missing dislocations * the 3-part flywheel behind Brookfield’s insurance and private-markets engine * a repeatable process: cycles, checklists, and post‑mortems that compound judgment ---- Bruce Flatt is CEO of Brookfield, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers, overseeing more than a trillion dollars in assets across real estate, infrastructure, renewables, transition, and private equity. ---- Timestamps: 00:00:54 Changes in Investing Over the Past 25 Years 00:02:50 How Private Enterprise Has Built Our Tech Infrastructure 00:05:07 Implications and Opportunities of Passive Investing 00:09:55 Advantages of Private Companies 00:13:23 Three Investment Themes 00:15:58 Winners in Digitalization 00:17:32 Application of Artificial Intelligence in Businesses 00:22:30 Transition to Low-Carbon Energy 00:26:11 Future of Data Centers 00:28:19 De-globalization of Industry 00:30:46 Implications of Manufacturing Repatriation 00:31:58 Long-term Prospects for America 00:33:14 Future of the U.S. Economy 00:34:26 Changes in Real Estate 00:38:44 Approach to Risk and Debt 00:40:12 Impact of Interest Rates 00:43:11 Managing Market Dislocations 00:44:54 Long-term Investing Strategy 00:47:31 History and Future of Brookfield 00:50:19 Exploration of Private Markets and Insurance 00:51:12 Investment Decision Process 00:53:06 Introduction to Annuities 00:55:27 Expansion into Other Insurance Businesses 00:57:42 Understanding Brookfield's Structure 01:02:45 Talent and People Management at Brookfield 01:05:22 Focus on Downside Protection 01:07:27 Accountability in Investment Decisions 01:08:56 Understanding Investment Cycles 01:10:38 Learning and Training in the Organization 01:11:30 Postmortem Analysis of Investments 01:13:38 Consideration of Geopolitical Risks 01:16:43 Investing with Own Capital First ---- Thank you to our sponsors for this episode: NordVPN: EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/KNOWLEDGEPROJECT. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee. --- Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://www.shopify.com/shane. All lowercase. --- ShipStation: Get a 60-day free trial at https://www.shipstation.com/knowledgeproject. ---- Sign up for my weekly newsletter and join 900,000+ people who learn timeless lessons and thoughtful ideas they can use in work and life every Sunday https://fs.blog/newsletter/ ---- ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE PROJECT Like the mentor you’ve always dreamed of having, The Knowledge Project shares timely yet timeless lessons for work and life. Past guests include Naval Ravikant, Daniel Kahneman, Jim Collins, Angela Duckworth, Seth Godin, Melanie Mitchell, & Esther Perel.