{"id":2022120,"date":"2023-09-05T12:23:01","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T16:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dave-portnoy-tells-tucker-carlson-how-he-bought-his-company-for-a-1-after-selling-it-for-600m\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T12:38:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T16:38:36","slug":"dave-portnoy-tells-tucker-carlson-how-he-bought-his-company-for-a-1-after-selling-it-for-600m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dave-portnoy-tells-tucker-carlson-how-he-bought-his-company-for-a-1-after-selling-it-for-600m\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Portnoy reveals to Tucker Carlson how he acquired his company for a mere $1 after selling it for a staggering $600M."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">44<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdave-portnoy-tells-tucker-carlson-how-he-bought-his-company-for-a-1-after-selling-it-for-600m%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2022120&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Sometimes business owners thrive in spite of government regulatory boards<\/h2>\n<p>In Episode\u200b 21 of \u201cTucker\u200b on X,\u201d\u200c posted to X, formerly called Twitter, on Thursday, Barstool Sports \u200cfounder Dave Portnoy explained \u2062how he first \u2064sold\u200b his \u200ccompany for \u200dapproximately $600 million and then bought it back for $1.<\/p>\n<p>Host <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/tucker-carlson-gives-behind-scenes-story-trump-interview-musk-courting-twitter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tucker Carlson<\/a>, in the accompanying caption, called Portnoy\u2019s move \u201cthe\u2064 most impressive business transaction of our lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ep. 21 Dave Portnoy founded Barstool Sports and just completed the most impressive business transaction of our lifetime. He\u2063 also just got into an \u200bepic fight and shared the video with us \u200bfirst. Watch. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/W7AJ10kZni\">pic.twitter.com\/W7AJ10kZni<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerCarlson\/status\/1697378139729539549?\">August 31, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>Portnoy\u2019s epic move required two crucial \u2063elements.<\/h3>\n<p>First, Portnoy has made enemies.\u200d In fact,\u2064 his straightforward and irreverent brand of sports commentary has alienated many people, and in this case, their \u2062enmity worked to his advantage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI probably owe all \u200cmy haters, of which there are many, a \u2018thank you,\u2019 a postcard \u200dmaybe,\u201d \u2064Portnoy said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Portnoy\u2019s magical transaction required\u200c more than hatred alone.\u200d After all, millions of people hated the 19th-century oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, and yet not even Rockefeller could have done what Portney did.<\/p>\n<p>Second, Portnoy needed an \u2064aggressive and near-omnipotent class of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/second-generation-dairy-farmer-forced-cull-95-herd-environmental-regulations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">government regulators<\/a> \u2014 something Rockefeller never faced.<\/p>\n<p>With characteristic disdain for \u200chis detractors, Portnoy described these \u2062regulators as meddlesome bureaucratic \u200dtypes with \u200buseless undergraduate degrees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dave-portnoy-tells-tucker-carlson-how-he-bought-his-company-for-a-1-after-selling-it-for-600m\/\" title=\"Dave Portnoy reveals to Tucker Carlson how he acquired his company for a mere  after selling it for a staggering 0M.\">small liberal arts people<\/a>,\u201d Portnoy said, who \u201ccan make your life hell.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ironically, the combination \u2063of\u200d regulators\u2019 unchecked power and\u2064 hatred of Portnoy allowed the Barstool Sports founder to\u200d take \u2062the business he once sold for a small fortune and recoup it for pennies.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, \u200bPortnoy has sold and recovered his business not once but twice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe actually sold it to Chernin Group in 2016, a media group, and then we sold it again in 2021,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/tcg.co\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chernin Group<\/a> is a holding company specializing \u2063in media \u200cand tech. \u200bPortnoy did not elaborate on the \u2064circumstances of that first sale.<\/p>\n<p>The second sale \u200dbegan in 2020 when \u2062PENN Entertainment, a Pennsylvania based gambling company, purchased a 36 percent stake in Barstool. According \u2064to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/sports\/penn-espn-deal-barstool-sports-founder-dave-portnoy-buy-back-company-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox Business<\/a>, PENN launched its Barstool sports app the following year. Hence Portnoy\u2019s reference to 2021. PENN then completed its purchase of Barstool in early 2023.<\/p>\n<p>All \u2064told, between \u2062Chernin Group and PENN, Portnoy has sold his business for a total of roughly $600 million.<\/p>\n<p>In his interview \u200bwith Carlson, Portnoy discussed only the\u2064 second transaction.<\/p>\n<p>PENN purchased Portnoy\u2019s business hoping to expand its own profitability by tapping into\u200d the Barstool Sports audience.<\/p>\n<p>Alas, according to Portnoy, gambling regulators then subjected PENN and Barstool to unprecedented scrutiny. The \u201csmall liberal arts\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/elections-important-bureaucrats-trusted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bureaucrats<\/a> hated Portnoy, so they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-professor-wrote-an-article-the-caused-a-controversy-then-his-university-destroyed-its-free-speech-rule-while-attacking-him\/\" title=\"A Professor Wrote An Article The Caused A Controversy. Then His University Destroyed Its Free Speech Rule While Attacking Him.\">made life miserable<\/a> for the\u2064 new buyers and partnership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA\u200c gambling\u2062 regulator can say \u2064\u2014 do whatever they want. They can make up the rules, make up the laws,\u201d\u2062 Portnoy said.<\/p>\n<p>Together, PENN and Barstool could not prosper in the gambling business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe underestimated the regulators,\u201d Portnoy said.<\/p>\n<p>PENN\u2019s status as a publicly traded company\u2063 also required expenditures unknown in Barstool\u2019s history. Maintaining regulatory compliance, for \u200binstance, meant that Barstool now \u200chad\u2062 to hire many new people in multiple new departments.<\/p>\n<p>Portnoy\u200b explained that this involved \u201cthings that \u200cI never dreamed about as a private [company] \u2014 not \u200donly on the financial books \u200bbut HR.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In short, the PENN-Barstool partnership could not satiate the regulatory monster.<\/p>\n<p>PENN CEO Jay Snowden confirmed that his company had sold the Barstool back to\u2062 Portnoy.<\/p>\n<p>According to \u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2023\/digital\/news\/dave-portnoy-barstool-sports-paid-one-dollar-penn-entertainment-1235692418\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Variety<\/a>, \u2064Snowden told investors that \u2064as \u201cpart of \u2064a publicly held, highly regulated, licensed gaming company, it became clear that we were an unnatural\u200b owner\u201d for Barstool and that \u201cthere\u2019s probably long term \u200bonly one natural owner\u2064 of Barstool\u2062 Sports, and that\u2019s Dave Portnoy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Snowden\u2019s comment strongly suggested that gambling regulators had a problem with Portnoy, not PENN.<\/p>\n<p>PENN moved on to a deal\u2062 with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/stephen-smith-spills-beans-espn-explains-really-felt-tim-tebow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Portnoy re-acquired his now-unprofitable company for \u200cthe minuscule sum of $1. He told Carlson that \u2062Barstool lost roughly\u200d $10 million last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2062 seems like a lot,\u201d\u2063 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/tucker-carlson-sides-guest-trump-shouldnt-president-agree-100\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Carlson<\/a> quipped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt \u200cis a \u2062lot. It\u2019s a ton. But I\u2019m rich, and I can fix\u2062 it,\u201d Portnoy replied.<\/p>\n<p>That sort\u200c of bravado helps illustrate how Portnoy succeeded in the first place \u2014 how\u2064 he achieved the American dream by starting out with a \u2064few\u200d newspaper stands in \u200cBoston and becoming a multi-millionaire through the force of his own talent and hard work.<\/p>\n<p>In truth, now that he has achieved success, Portnoy explained that he purchased his old company primarily\u200d to save the jobs of people who had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-rep-cori-bush-and-her-fellow-faith-healers\/\" title=\"Meet Rep. Cori Bush and Her Fellow Faith Healers\">spent years working<\/a> for\u200d him.<\/p>\n<p>PENN, of course, had its reasons for jettisoning Barstool.<\/p>\n<p>The government regulators\u200d who made life miserable for PENN and Barstool, however, apparently had \u200bno better reason for doing so than personal vindictiveness.<\/p>\n<p>Portnoy made the best of the situation, and good for him.<\/p>\n<p>Still, it is not clear how we can reconcile such vast and arbitrary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/ap-supreme-court-limits-federal-power-wetlands-boosts-property-rights-clean-water\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">regulatory<\/a> power with freedom and self-government.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the outcome in Portnoy\u2019s case should \u2063remind us of the\u200d flawed reasoning that saddled us with regulatory commissions in the first place. It is an old story.<\/p>\n<p>After the Civil War, railroads emerged as America\u2019s first corporate juggernaut. The question of how \u200dto prevent these new behemoths from running roughshod over smaller businesses and acquiring undue \u2062influence in government occupied many of the era\u2019s finest\u2063 minds.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in 1871 Charles\u2064 Francis Adams, Jr.\u2013grandson of President\u2064 John\u200c Quincy Adams\u200b and \u200bgreat-grandson of the Founding \u200cFather, President John Adams\u2013published an essay entitled, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/quod.lib.umich.edu\/m\/moa\/AEC3027.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Government and the Railroad Corporations<\/a>,\u201d which appears \u2064in a collection\u200c called \u201cChapters of Erie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adams argued, in short, \u2064that large corporations \u200dcreated new circumstances that existing \u2063governments could \u200cnot manage. Corporate interests easily \u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/fired-ukrainian-prosecutor-accuses-joe-biden-corruption-bribed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">corrupted<\/a> and manipulated elected legislators. \u2064In any \u2062case, legislatures lacked experts who understood how each new industry worked.<\/p>\n<p>The solution, according to Adams, lay in the creation of special tribunals \u2014 regulatory commissions. These tribunals would consist of \u2064people who had extensive knowledge of an industry and thus knew how it should operate. According \u200dto this theory, regulation by experts \u2063would produce efficiency and result in fairness.<\/p>\n<p>But here arises\u200b the problem. If corporations can corrupt a legislature, why can \u2063they not corrupt a regulatory commission? Adams anticipated this objection, and his answer is most instructive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u200b may do \u2063so,\u201d Adams wrote of the corporations\u2019 capacity to corrupt the commissions, \u201cbut somewhere and at some point, put on\u2062 all the checks and balances that human ingenuity can devise, we must come back and rely on human \u2063honesty at last.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And there it is. <strong>We must come back and rely on human honesty at last.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adams believed human honesty more likely to \u2063manifest on small regulatory commissions than \u2062in large elected\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/aoc-anti-cop-pals-congress-spent-whopping-amount-campaign-cash-private-security\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">legislatures<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The problem, of course, is that those commissions and those legislatures are staffed by human\u200d beings. Thus, human honesty cannot be more likely \u2063to manifest in one or the other place. Human vices most certainly will infect\u200c both.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Adams\u2019 own words undermine the rationale for a sprawling regulatory\u200b bureaucracy. Impose\u2064 \u201call the checks\u200c and balances that \u200chuman ingenuity can devise,\u201d he wrote, and you still cannot do without honesty.<\/p>\n<p>Circumstances might have changed since 1871,\u200c but human nature has not.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2062 wonder\u200d about \u200cthe likelihood\u2063 of \u201chuman honesty\u201d prevailing among modern regulators, ask Portnoy.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2063post\u200c <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/dave-portnoy-tells-tucker-carlson-bought-company-1-selling-600m\/\">Dave Portnoy Tells Tucker \u200bCarlson How He Bought His Company for \u200ba $1 After Selling It for $600M<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In &#8220;Tucker on X&#8221; Episode 21, Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports founder, revealed how he sold his company for $600 million and repurchased it for $1. He highlighted the challenges posed by unaccountable regulatory boards, but emphasized that some business owners still manage to thrive despite their interference. The episode was posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2056,"featured_media":2022121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022120","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2056"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022120\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}