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Money Talks, Bullsh*t Walks: Inside the Contrarian Mind of Billionaire Mogul Sam Zell |  | Author: Ben Johnson
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $3.85
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Seller: BookHouseUSA
Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 345816
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 1591843006
Dewey Decimal Number: 333.3092
EAN: 9781591843009
ASIN: 1591843006
Publication Date: December 31, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"The challenge is, how do we get somebody 126 years old to get it up?" This was Sam Zell's unique way of saying hello to a large gathering at the Los Angeles Times shortly after taking charge of Tribune Company. "I'm your Viagra, OK?"
Even for Sam Zell, one of the greatest contrarian investors, buying Tribune Company was a risky and controversial move. Many saw the purchase of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times by a man who had made his fortune in cargo containers, real estate, fertilizer, and plumbing to be a sign of the coming media apocalypse. Maybe they were frightened by Zell's nickname, "the Grave Dancer."
The move didn't seem to make sense for Zell either. Why would an epithet-slinging, motorcycle-riding scrapper-who had started with nothing and worked his way up to a $5 billion real estate fortune-be interested in a declining media company (it would have been another story if Zell had taken over Playboy, issues of which Zell had bought and resold for profit to friends around town when he was a teenager)?
Ben Johnson has the answers in this fascinating biography of a uniquely colorful mogul, who is fond of blunt declarations and bold business moves. Johnson also tells the real story of Zell's adventure at the Tribune, that feverish year between his purchase of the ailing company and its declaration of bankruptcy.
Between the story of Zell's rise to astounding riches and previously untold details of his conflicts with his employees and investors, Money Talks, Bullsh*t Walks will keep readers alternately laughing and on the edge of their seats.
The Quotable Sam Zell
"If you're the biggest kid on the block, you can throw your weight around. Of course, I never was the big kid, but I've made up for it over the years."
"The true test of an entrepreneur is someone who spends his life constantly testing his limits. The definition of an idiot is someone who has reached their goals."
"I don't do business with anybody who's not afraid, and I won't hire anybody who is confident to the point where fear is not very close to the surface. I've often said that fear and courage are cousins and very closely related."
"Extremism in the pursuit of opportunity is not a vice. If you've seen me step over the edge, it's only to get you to take a few steps toward the line."
"The eleventh commandment is Thou shalt not take oneself seriously."
"The best thing to have in the world is a monopoly, and if you can't have a monopoly, you want an oligopoly. I'm more than willing to leave all the rest of the highly competitive world to everybody else."
"To create an enormously successful corporation that provides both opportunity and sustenance for employers today and a future for them tomorrow, that's the challenge. That's what everybody should be talking about. Not my f*cking language because it doesn't matter."
"I think it was Confucius who said that 'Money talks and bullshit walks."
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| Customer Reviews:
 Biography That Misses the Man February 28, 2010
Charles J. Rector (Woodstock, IL United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Sam Zell is a memorable character who regularly spews out interesting quotes for reporters. Zell was able to create a massive business domain based on real estate before he took the fateful step of entering the media business by acquiring the Tribune Corporation.
However, this book misses the mark. While author Ben Johnson gets the details of the deals down pat, he fails to create a compelling portrait of the man himself. There is but little in this book about the private Zell, his thoughts or about his family. Johnson also fails to provide an examination of Zell's dealings and the way that he operates his businesses. Worse of all, Johnson's handling of the Tribune fiasco is poor and one wonders why he could not wait until its concluded before undertaking this book.
In sum, this book works both as a compendium of Zell's real estate transactions and as a treasury of Zell's most famous quotations. However, if you want to get past the gloss and into the substance, you have to wait for a future biographer to come along.
 Oddly lacking February 24, 2010
Victor Christianson (New York, New York USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sam Zell has been doing deals for many decades and I'd be surprised if he hadn't done dozens of very large transactions. The book claims to be a tell-all about him - "inside the mind of Sam Zell" - yet most of the book is about just one transaction, the Tribune purchase. Pretty shortsighted examination of a major businessman.
 A Must Read for Anyone Does "Deals" January 26, 2010
Kevin Maggiacomo (Irvine, CA)
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a terrific book and a fascinating read. Getting inside the mind of Zell and learning of his poker strategies were great learning experiences. Johnson delivers remarkably personal insights into the thinking and complexities of the players and real estate deals which have permanently changed the commercial real estate landscape. Well done.
Kevin Maggiacomo | President & Chief Executive Officer
Sperry Van Ness International
MTBW January 26, 2010
Jamison Group (Charlotte, NC United States)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Good overview on Zell if you're a new follower. Interesting take on the Tribune odyssey, but I'm not certain that particular episode is over.
An honest and intriguing look behind the curtain January 15, 2010
E. Ski Sullivan (Texas)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
As a first book effort, Ben Johnson bites off more than most could chew and chews like Hell with "Money Talks" -- covering a lot of ground, from Sam Zell's childhood through his early entrepreneurial success at the University of Michigan and his entrée into the real estate business, which formed the backbone of his long career. It also gives a blow-by-blow account of several of Zell's biggest deals, including his attempts to buy the Empire State Building and the machinations behind selling his huge office building empire. The details in and of themselves could have proved staggering to a lesser researcher and writer, but Johnson lays out the tumultuous chronology at a steady clip that leaves you winded but excited for the next stage.
Zell is revealed as a polarizing figure, but the book provides a balanced and detailed discussion of his many strengths and weaknesses. Zell embodies one's notion of just what a "complex character" is, does and seeks. And in this story it becomes clear that he's ultimately successful because of his inner churn, and thanks to (in no small part) his contrarian investment bent. Johnson's deft touch also reveals the downside of Zell's chutzpah, and the personally painful details of Zell's biggest failure, the bankruptcy of Tribune Co., and why the deal ultimately unraveled.
And as if the story wasn't tasty enough, "Money Talks" also dishes up some of the spice of Zell's colorful tongue; language which drives home his blunt, matter-of-fact business ethos. It's the flavor of a walking, talking legend, and part of the grit and character that fuels his continued popularity in business circles and keeps audiences coming back for more.
"Money Talks" is an easy read only because Johnson made it so. Tough subjects make for equally difficult writing, and the author has taken the twister that is often "over-Zell-ous," and slowed it down just enough for us to enjoy the ride. I strongly recommend this book for anyone craving the lessons of what makes a true contrarian tick, warts and all.
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