Tony Robbins on Ownership, Proximity and Investment Decisions
In a Billionaires.com interview, Richard C. Wilson asks Tony Robbins about business growth, access, people and investing.
Richard C. Wilson introduces Tony Robbins and frames the conversation around decisions in business and investing. Robbins answers questions about how he approaches company growth, relationships, personnel and investment choices. Wilson also adds his own commentary after each answer, including examples from his work with businesses and family offices.
In this video: Richard C. Wilson (Founder of The Family Office Club and interviewer), Tony Robbins (Billionaire and interview guest)
What they said
- Tony on moving from operator to owner. Tony says he moved toward ownership by asking who could do a task best, rather than how he could do it himself. He says he now has 111 companies doing over $7 billion in business, after feeling stressed with two companies doing less than $5 million.
- Tony on proximity and deal access. Tony says proximity to people already getting the results you want can increase the chance of making a deal. He credits relationships with investment bankers with helping him take a company public in a reverse merger at age 39, making over $400 million.
In their words
"The reason is you have so many people in the entertainment business that are your fans, writers, directors, producers, actors, heads of studios."
"At the time I was stressed with two companies that were doing less than $5 million in business."
Why it matters if you are building or preserving great wealth
Robbins's examples make correlation the practical question for a family office. He pairs public assets with private equity, private credit or private real estate, so his risk argument depends on how those holdings relate to one another.
From Richard's exclusive Billionaires.com interviews
Lessons from Richard C. Wilson's one-on-one interviews, as published on each interview page.
- Michael Lee-Chin: Find the person who is responsible. When a problem comes up, he asks who the agent was. He wants a specific person to call, not a department.
- Anu Aga: Check before you give. Study the work of an NGO, ask more questions, and visit it if you can. This leads to an informed decision.
- Tony Robbins: Think like an owner. His biggest turning point was moving from operator to owner. An operator tries to supervise everything and cannot scale.
See the data
Frequently asked questions
Who suggested Richard interview Robbins?
Richard says Harry, an attendee at his investor summit, suggested the interview after seeing his recommendations for billionaire books. Richard sent Robbins the questions, and Harry arranged the interview.
What example did Robbins give about proximity?
He recalled a Canadian businessman's point that people in the entertainment industry around Robbins were fans of his, which helped him get small film roles before a larger part in Shallow Hal.
Sources
Quotes are copied from the video captions and checked against the transcript. Timestamps link to the moment in the video. General information only, not legal, tax or investment advice.