Wilbur Ross was on Charlie Rose earlier this week. Below is the beginning of the transcript followed by a link to the interview. For all readers unfamiliar with Ross here is a brief bio:
Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. is the founder of private equity firm WL Ross & Co. He is known for distressed investing and restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, foreign investment and textiles. He specializes in leveraged buyouts. In 2005, Forbes magazine listed Ross as one of the world’s billionaires for the first time. He was ranked #346 the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $1.7B.
He earned a B.A. from Yale College, his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School.
CHARLIE ROSE: Wilbur Ross is here. He is the CEO and founder of WL
Ross and Company. It has invested in textiles, auto parts, healthcare, and
other industries. In 2002 he began purchasing financially stressed U.S.
steel makers with initial investment of $325 million. Two years later he
sold that for $4.5 billion.
In the wake of the economic crisis he thinks there’s another
opportunity to revive regional banks in states such as Michigan, Florida,
New Jersey. I’m very pleased to have Wilbur Ross at the table to share his
thoughts on what he does, bankruptcy, and also the idea of where the
American economy is, and, since he’s investing in banks, what he thinks is
the future of the financial sector. So, welcome.
WILBUR ROSS: Thank you.
CHARLIE ROSE: Let me just talk about you. You came out of Yale and
then — in Yale at the beginning, did you want to be something other than a
financier?
WILBUR ROSS: Yes, indeed. I wanted to be a creative writer. But
Yale has course called “daily themes.” You have to put in 1,500 words of
original prose each day. By about the third week I was out of the course.
So I dropped the course, and it saved me from the life of poverty.
Wilbur Ross on Charlie Rose
