In it’s heyday, Goldman’s special situations group was the navy SEALs of money making. Today’s guest, Alan Waxman, used to run that group before leaving to build Sixth Street, now a $115b behemoth. SSG heads were sometimes of the more brainy, nerdy variety. Not Waxman. He is a force of nature and energy who apparently would pound around the SSG office, loudly and enthusiastically asking people “who is going to make us some money today?!” When I asked another SSG alum about Alan, he said his main memory was his remarkable nose for talent. Once, the smartest guy at SSG (which is saying something) was a mere entry level associate, 6 or 7 rungs in the hierarchy below Waxman. But, Waxman immediately recognized the raw talent and was joined to this associate at the hip. Under Waxman and his team, SSG produced an insane (so insane I can’t quote it!) percent of Goldman’s bottom line. In creating Sixth Street with his partners and team, he sought to recreate and expand the magic of the SSG days. Here, in his first interview of this type, he shares the entire story. I found Alan to be a singular force. His team is ridiculously talented, and nobody leaves (they’ve never lost a senior person). They’ve even built a unique pool of capital called Tao that sits atop the rest of the firm…tens of billions that can go anywhere and do anything as a permanent pool of money with no restrictions, other than to earn the highest risk adjusted returns possible. Sounds a lot like SSG. This was one of my favorite conversations this year. I hope you enjoy. Face the tiger! Timestamps 0:00 Intro 0:38 The Formative Goldman Sachs Experience 5:58 Unitizing Risk and Return 10:09 Facing the Tiger: Culture and Values 24:55 The Genesis of Sixth Street 34:09 Spotify and Airbnb Investments 37:52 The Flexibility of TAO 41:42 COVID-19: Playing Offense 44:42 Analyzing Risk and Business Models 48:35 Investing in Sports and Live Experiences 54:44 Developing Investment Themes 58:16 Personal Development and Firm Culture 1:19:00 The Future of Sixth Street 1:21:52 The Kindest Thing