Listen to the full audio here and read the highlights of O’Leary’s appearance.
To lead the podcast, O’Leary opened up about his role as a spokesperson for the failure of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and his recent critique of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse. O’Leary readily admitted to wasting $18 million on FTX, but said another popular one would be implemented while on the Wonder Fund rate. “When I invest other people’s money, it’s a top popular. I can’t take that kind of risk,” O’Leary said.
The Wonder Fund is comprised of $45 million in taxpayer dollars that is used to invest in developing corporations in North Dakota or make plans to move to the state, O’Leary explained. The fund reached its first deal in recent weeks, a $1. 25 million investment in LandTrust, which promised to open a base of operations in Fargo.
Working with the firm provided O’Leary with his first exposure in North Dakota. O’Leary has since said he’s interested in doing business in the state, a concept that has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If I look at my current portfolio of about 50 companies, 40% of the staff don’t go back to the office. It doesn’t matter where you put the QG. I can put it wherever I want. I don’t have to put it with AOC, I don’t have to put it with Elizabeth Warren,” he said. “I just took the cash out of Massachusetts and moved it here, where you have a governor and a state that has competitive politics and taxes. What’s up with that? It is a very undeniable economic decision.
However, North Dakota is an open state and willing to do business, O’Leary explained. “I’ve had very bad reports in states that don’t have strong policies or competitive taxes. I’m tired of it,” he said. It is an inevitable state, those are forbidden states. I’m just a user saying that and I’m going to hold my megaphone at full volume.
O’Leary said he was not challenging politicians but would denounce policies he sees as business-destructive. He said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s business successes had contributed to his way of governing the state.
“My thing with politicians is very simple: If you never received a paycheck, you shouldn’t be allowed to be a politician. This may sound aggressive, but he wants to perceive the essence of his mandate. You are the trustee of your state’s wealth and welfare. I mean, you have to perceive business,” O’Leary said when asked about Burgum. “This guy perceives. “
As for whether North Dakota’s neighbor, Minnesota, is a viable position to invest in, O’Leary didn’t mince words. “No investment, status prohibited,” he said, pointing to the other Fargo and Moorhead people in their argument.
“What’s the difference? Only one thing: politics. They have a lawless politics, they have a volatile politics, they have everything volatile, a volatile power politics. Not you. People are not stupid, they just crossed the river to the end. “Here and you have a prosperous village. Its people resemble Cuba. It’s not my fault, it’s their fault,” he said. “If they don’t recover, it will only get worse. “
O’Leary added that he would “have a company headquarters” in Minnesota.
Another of O’Leary’s private investments in North Dakota comes to Bitzero, a company looking to turn a deserted missile site into a knowledge hub. It aims to raise $600 million for the facility and could draw on sovereign wealth budgets, such as those controlled through Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to carry out the project. “This may be the most secure data center in the world, one of the largest on Earth. That’s the vision I have it and fortunately your governor sees it too,” he said.
When asked how he would cope with North Dakota’s shortage of hard work, O’Leary proposed reducing the source of taxes on the state’s income to 0 “tomorrow” to attract residents.
O’Leary owns an apartment in Miami and said Florida has controlled doing the same. On the contrary, he felt that taxes for those living in cities like New York and San Francisco are too high and scare away residents. Like this because state taxes are punitive,” he said. North Dakota can reduce all of its sources of income taxes and that would help attract citizens fleeing those places, he said.
As for the origin of the Wonder Fund call, O’Leary showed that it is indeed named for its “Mr. Wonderful nickcall”. I don’t know what M. Wonderful. Ma woman really called me that. , however, it is there. It’s a logo. That means business. It means a truly frank and fair business. I need this background to have that kind of logo aura around it,” he said.
Ultimately, O’Leary’s purpose with the Wonder Fund is to attract more investment from outside North Dakota, either personal or from the sovereign wealth budget in other countries. “The very concept of introducing the state into foreign capital is the raison d’être of this fund,” he said. “It’s like a banner. He says, ‘Listen, we’re starting with this and we’re going to make it a lot bigger. ‘”