WEBVTT - Mellody Hobson 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:05.080 One of the most impressive people I've ever met in 0:00:05.080 --> 0:00:08.039 the business world is Melody Hobson. She's the co CEO 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:10.840 of Our Own Investments, a leading minority owned investment firm 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:13.760 in Chicago. She's also chairman of the board of Starbucks 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:15.920 and a member of the board of directors of JP Morgan. 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:17.840 I had a chance to sit down with her recently 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:20.720 talk about an incredible business career and now an incredible 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:24.439 philanthropic career as well. Right now, you are the chairman 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:28.479 of Starbucks. You are I think the only black female 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:31.760 who's the chairman of a major fortune company. Is that right? 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.560 Is that surprised to you in this day and age 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:37.400 that not one other black female is the chair of 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.519 a major company in public company? Yes? Absolutely. I think 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.960 it's quite disappointing. And you see any progress in this 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:48.279 area in terms of being chair I I don't know, Um, 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:50.920 there may be people are out there who are headed 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:53.800 for the chairmanship, but right now, just the idea that 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.560 out of five companies in the Fortune I'm the only 0:00:56.560 --> 0:01:00.320 one today, the second only in history. Urslamburne was the 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.240 executive chair of Xerox. That is just a poor statement 0:01:03.240 --> 0:01:05.040 about our society and where we need to be when 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.200 it comes to race in this country and gender. You 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:11.480 have been very active and trying to get more African 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.720 Americans on corporate boards. And in fact, you have a 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:18.400 conference that you host. You've at that and you interviewed me. 0:01:18.480 --> 0:01:23.120 I say, grilled me about my own situation. So I 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:26.080 got through it, But your husband said I did better 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.400 than most in any event. So why are you so 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:31.520 interested in this area and what progress do you think 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:34.800 you've made in getting African Americans on corporate boards. This 0:01:34.880 --> 0:01:36.600 has always been a big deal to us at Ariel. 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:38.240 I think it has a lot to do with our 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:41.720 founding as the first minority owned investment company in the nation. 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:46.240 Back will be thirty nine years old um in a month. 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:48.680 And I think it also has a lot to do 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.360 with the fact that we recognize the boardroom is where 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:54.080 all the power is and at the end of the day, 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.720 and for in order for a company to be world class, 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.200 and that's what we aspire to invest in. We think 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:02.320 you need all perspectos around the table, and you certainly 0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:05.560 need to understand all of the potential preferences of the 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.080 customers that you have, the buyers that you have, what 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:09.840 have you and So at the end of the day, 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:13.079 we think a diverse boardroom is essential to the well 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:16.079 being of a company and it's stewartship. And I say 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:19.280 this all the time that companies that don't really understand 0:02:19.320 --> 0:02:22.679 this are committing corporate suicide. And so we advocate in 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:24.640 a very strong way in terms of the companies that 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:28.240 we own, the smaller nitcap Us names for there to 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.160 be diversity in those boardrooms. It may not be there 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:33.840 when we first make our purchase, but you better believe 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.560 we're going to be pushing and saying, you know, what 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.160 is your plan for having a diverse boardroom? And at 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:42.280 the end of the day, in the last thirty nine years, 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.400 almost we can point to I think somewhere in the 0:02:44.480 --> 0:02:47.480 name of fifty companies where we've had diversity added to 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.720 the board. So let's talk about a company. Arial that 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.320 you started out as a person right out of Princeton 0:02:53.600 --> 0:02:56.519 and then you worked away to be Coco. But where 0:02:56.520 --> 0:02:58.840 we get it. Let's talk about your background. You are 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.560 from where should cago and you grew up in a 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:05.799 very wealthy family, No, just the opposite. Um, I grew 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:07.880 up as the youngest of six kids. My mom was 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.040 a single mom, I was really late in my family. 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:14.320 So my siblings are twenty plus years older than me. Uh. 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:16.799 They always joked that I was found on the doorstep. 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:21.080 And my mom worked extraordinarily hard. She was in the 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.640 real estate business, and it was I don't even call 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:27.400 it feast or famine or food not feast, um. And 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:29.720 she really struggled a lot. We used to get evicted. 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:31.919 I told these stories all the time because they were 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:34.680 foundational to who I am. We used to get our 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:38.680 car repossessed. And because your mother was supporting the family 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.000 and the business wasn't so wonderful sometimes, and also she 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.200 was a black woman trying to do something on her own. 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.960 It was very very hard during those times. There was 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:49.960 a lot of um Uh. There was just a lot 0:03:49.960 --> 0:03:55.160 of obstacles for someone like her. She didn't have my education. Um. 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:58.360 But she was very very wise, and she imparted I 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:01.080 hope that wisdom and that allowed me to be the 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:03.720 person that I am, as did my siblings. You were 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:06.040 able to overcome all this by doing well in school. 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:08.360 You did pretty well in high school. I guess school. 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:10.680 I was very good at school. Yes, So you applied 0:04:10.680 --> 0:04:14.120 to college, and you applied to Harvard and Princeton and 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:17.280 you got in right, Yes, And Harvard is a great place. 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:19.760 I'm on the board of the Harvard Corporation. So why 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:21.600 did you choose to go to Princeton, which is a 0:04:21.640 --> 0:04:24.520 great school over Harvard. Harvard is a great place. I 0:04:24.560 --> 0:04:26.560 loved it. My mom really wanted me to go there. 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:28.560 I told the story all the time that she told 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.159 me Harvard was like Coca Cola, that anywhere in the 0:04:31.160 --> 0:04:33.600 world that I would go, including an African village, if 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.520 I said Harvard, people would know what I was talking about. 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:39.839 And Princeton was like sprite, she said, we only knew 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:42.719 it in America. And at the end of the day, 0:04:43.080 --> 0:04:48.480 after visiting both, a Princeton alum named Richard Missner called 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:51.680 me every single day after I got into Princeton and 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:53.839 told me why Princeton was the better school for me, 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.720 and he ultimately invited me to a lunch with Bill Bradley. 0:04:57.800 --> 0:05:00.120 In between the two of them and John roger Is, 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.960 the founder of Ariel, I was triple teamed, and ultimately 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:07.640 I said, any school where people would be this uh 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:11.360 fanatical about the school and having someone go there must 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:14.720 be a really great place. And so against my mother's wishes. 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.760 I chose Princeton and you never regretted it, right, Oh? 0:05:17.760 --> 0:05:20.480 I loved Princeton in every way. You know, Princetonian's we 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:23.799 were hardcore, as we say, we bleed orange and black. Okay, 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:27.920 So you graduated from Princeton what year and then you 0:05:28.040 --> 0:05:30.000 decided to go back to Chicago. I assume you could 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:31.840 have had a lot of jobs in New York or 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:33.800 the East Coast, but you went back your hometown and 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:37.040 joined a then relatively small firm Aria Is that right? 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:39.240 It was tiny and at one point six billion dollars 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:43.520 in assets, maybe one billion at the time. And I 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:45.839 did an interview on Wall Street. But one day, after 0:05:46.320 --> 0:05:48.560 making lots of trips into New York on the train 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:51.279 to do the interviews, one day I just called John 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.880 Rogers that then he had the title of president, and 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:56.680 I said, I want to come to Ariel because I 0:05:56.680 --> 0:05:59.800 could see what I could learn from working with him 0:05:59.880 --> 0:06:02.440 up close versus the layers down that I would be 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:04.400 in some of the other firms. I think he was 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.240 surprised by the call. He told me I didn't open 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:09.040 invitation to joined the firm after I was an intern, 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:13.920 and I eagerly went there. I knew from the first day. 0:06:14.000 --> 0:06:16.120 And I know it's going to sound crazy that I 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.279 would work there my whole life. I knew it. You 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.560 have worked at Ariel your whole life. In fact, I 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:22.719 think you're the only person your class or prince who 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:26.160 has the same telephone number that you had when you graduate. 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:29.120 Is that right? That's right? Out of people, So you 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.560 can tell that loyalty means a lot to me, as 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:35.560 well as consistency and stability, which is the opposite of 0:06:35.560 --> 0:06:38.520 what my childhood experience was. So Ariel, for those who 0:06:38.520 --> 0:06:41.960 don't know, is I guess it's the oldest minority owned 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.080 investment firm of its type, and it's a value oriented firm. 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:48.000 Is that right? You buy stocks that are let's say, 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.960 value oriented cheap In other words, that's right. We cut 0:06:50.960 --> 0:06:53.919 our teeth in the small and mit cap space US dots, 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.320 and in two thousand and eleven we branched into international 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.080 and global with a New York team in a New 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:01.680 York office. So we do small and it kept investing 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.400 in US stots, and then we do all kept investing 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.160 in international and global, and then very recently we went 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:09.320 it to your business. Now you're in the most important 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:11.640 business of the law private equity, right I don't know 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.000 if it's the most important, it's the hottest one right now. 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.680 We're trying to do it differently. So your firm specialized 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.480 in what's called value stocks, which means cheap stocks. You're 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.720 not into the high technology high flyers. But the high 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:26.000 flyers have done so well crushed it in recent years. 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.000 So I've made you think maybe you should get into 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:30.120 that business as well. As a contrarian, I think just 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:33.560 the opposite. Whatever worked in the past won't work in 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:37.000 the future. Most people fight fight last year's war. That's 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:38.960 not how we think about things. You want to look 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.800 and see what hasn't been successful, and that's where you 0:07:41.840 --> 0:07:43.640 want to be. So when we look at this past 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:47.800 decade where large caps and growth have dominated in a 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.280 way that we've never seen before, selling it valuations that 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:56.720 we've never seen before relative to value or or cheaper stocks, 0:07:57.040 --> 0:08:00.640 we see a tremendous opportunity. People think we're sucking our book. 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:03.480 We're not. I'm just looking at data. I love that line. 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:05.720 Map has no opinion. When you look at the map, 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.400 the differences in returns over long periods of time between 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:13.640 growth and value and the divergence that we've had recently, 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.160 you can't help but to see a tremendous amount of 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:21.360 opportunity and value, especially with the backdrop of rising interest rates. 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.080 Warren Buffett has often said that people will be better 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:26.920 off just put their money in stock index funds rather 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.640 than people who are picking stocks, as your firm often 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:31.920 does you pick stocks. So what do you say to 0:08:31.960 --> 0:08:34.800 Warren about that. Well, first of all, he's outperformed by 0:08:34.880 --> 0:08:38.000 not owning an index, so he's proved positive that it's 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:42.400 possible that you can outperform the broad market. But more importantly, 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.440 in our world, we believe in the efficient market theory, 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.960 and the inefficiency is in areas that are the that 0:08:49.040 --> 0:08:54.240 are overlooked, misunderstood. People don't follow it very well, and 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:57.760 so that's smaller companies. They tend to be less widely followed. 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:01.400 You also see that inefficiency and in national markets. That's 0:09:01.400 --> 0:09:04.240 where we work and live at Ariel, and so we 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:07.920 think we can exploit those inefficiencies in those areas, which 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:12.520 is where we would say, um, we would respectfully disagree 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:15.560 with Warren Buffett. Let me talk about Starbucks for a moment. 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:17.800 You've been on the board for how long? Wow? A 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.439 long time since two thousand and six. Okay, And when 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:21.839 you got on the board, did you stop to go 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:25.520 to Starbucks every day? And I got a lot. And 0:09:25.960 --> 0:09:27.560 when you check in, you have to wait in line 0:09:27.600 --> 0:09:30.120 like everybody else. I wait in line of like everyone else. 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:31.920 That's a that's an important part of the process to 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.760 see how everything's working, how long it takes with the 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.040 what's happening in the store. But now that you're the chair, 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:39.960 when you walk in any Starbucks in the world, they 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:42.480 must have your picture there. They that does not happen. 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:45.360 It's actually like being a secret shopper. It's pretty good 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.800 not to be recognized in any way so that you 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.520 can truly assess how things are going. I take pictures 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:52.719 of the cases. I do all sorts of things when 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.920 I go in. Now, what's your favorite drink? Can you say? 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.080 Is that a state secret? I make a joke about this, 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.880 So I like my coffee black like me? Okay, Now, 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:03.000 Howard Schultz has been a mentor to you a bit, 0:10:03.320 --> 0:10:06.360 is that correct? He's the founder of for sure, very important. 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:09.320 So what did he do that made Starbucks so successful? 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:11.520 There are other coffee chains around the world. And wasn't 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:13.960 like he invented coffee chains. What did he actually do 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:16.520 that made it the biggest in the world. He really 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:19.199 started off from the very beginning saying that he wanted 0:10:19.240 --> 0:10:21.720 to create a different kind of company and that he 0:10:21.800 --> 0:10:24.760 had this point of view about leading through the lens 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.720 of humanity. It sounds like it could be a cliche, 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:30.760 but it's not at all. It is very much in 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:32.920 the dna of the company. How we look at things, 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:35.160 how we do things, it's always through this point of 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.719 view of people. And so at the end of the day, 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:40.680 I think he put people first, not only in terms 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:42.520 of the partners of the company, but also in terms 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:44.520 of the customer, and at the end of the day, 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.400 that is what has made the company so great. Okay, 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:50.280 so today you're coming to UH New York for a 0:10:50.360 --> 0:10:53.200 board meeting of JP Morgan, which is I think the 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:56.040 biggest bank in the world, at least by marketing largest 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:01.400 I think in the world, the largest, and it's led 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.480 by Jamie Diamond, who has been the CEO for quite 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:07.080 some time. So UH, as a board member there, what 0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:10.679 is your responsibility is it to help the bank grow? 0:11:11.480 --> 0:11:13.600 What have you learned from Jamie Diamond? Is he a 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.480 mentor to you as well. So start off with any 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:19.199 board role, you're a fooduciary for the shareholders. Howard is 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:21.400 the one who taught me this best. He told me 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.160 that every time he sat in the room, he pictured 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:26.360 two chairs and that we're empty. One chair was a 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:29.360 partner at Starbucks. Another chair was a shareholder, and he said, 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.840 when you're in that boardroom, be proud of everything you 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:35.160 say to those two chairs. And I've taken that to heart, 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:37.160 and I do the exact thing, same thing. When I'm 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.960 at JP Morgan. I assume that there's an employee sitting 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:42.320 in the room of JP Morgan, and that there's a 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.320 shareholder in that room, and I am supposed to look 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:48.320 out for them. That is my job. And in terms 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:50.880 of what Jamie has taught me, Um, Howard and Jamie 0:11:50.920 --> 0:11:53.840 have taught me different things. Obviously, I've been with Howard 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:55.840 for a very long time, and I think he molded 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:59.000 me as a person in terms of my my professional 0:11:59.080 --> 0:12:03.160 self from watching him, especially UM for so many years 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:05.839 and so up closed with Jamie. I haven't been there 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:07.599 as long, but what I can say to you is 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:12.040 I've learned without a question how he has put a 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.080 world class team around him to run an extraordinarily complex 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.400 business and at the end of the day, you're only 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.640 as good as your people. I think that is what 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:23.600 I see and I've learned from Jamie another initiative you've 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:26.920 been involved with, which is to um get JP Morgan 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:31.840 and other companies to invest in minority owned businesses, and 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:35.959 how is that going. So the initiative is really targeted 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:40.439 at growing sustainable minority businesses by bringing two things together, 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:43.880 capital and customers. We think people when they talk about 0:12:43.880 --> 0:12:47.360 growing minority businesses, they often rotate over rotate on this 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:50.559 idea of access to capital. We think access to customers 0:12:50.559 --> 0:12:53.480 are just as important. And it's actually this became clear 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.600 to me. John Rodgers used to talk about that all 0:12:55.640 --> 0:13:00.240 the time, saying customers, melody, customers, grow minority business is. 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.640 And then I sat in the boardroom at JP Morgan 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:05.920 and I realized very quickly and clearly, if you've got 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:09.600 a fistful of receivable that receivables, that bank will lend 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.000 you money. And so the idea is, how can you 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:16.920 create sustainable minority businesses of scale? And we think you 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:20.400 can do that by becoming Tier one suppliers to Fortune 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:24.840 five companies. Because those companies are looking to diversify their vendorless, 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:29.640 both literally and figuratively, especially after COVID. So how is 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:31.679 that going? Are you raising the money or you started 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.560 investing that fund? Yet we are. It's going very well. 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:36.800 So we're just off to the races we announced on 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.280 February seventeenth. We feel very good about our progress. We 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:42.920 can't say a time because we haven't had our final 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:44.800 clothes yet and there are a lot of rules around this, 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:48.400 but we are. We are very very optimistic. Many people 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:52.360 who are minorities feel, and African Americans, Latinos, others who 0:13:52.360 --> 0:13:55.360 are um not a majority status, not white, feel that 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:58.559 the system is built against them. In fact, I believe 0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:00.439 when I was growing up in the American dream. But 0:14:00.520 --> 0:14:02.679 I'm white and I believed in it, and I've lived 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:05.280 the American dream. But many people who are minorities don't 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:07.240 any longer believe in the American dream. They don't think 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:09.680 they can rise up. Your hometown of Chicago has had 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:12.000 lots of problems, of course, what do you say to 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.240 these people about whether this country really still exists for 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.160 the American dream? Is it possible for people to do 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.080 what you've done? So? First and foremost, I'm an example 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:22.120 of the American dream being possible, and I can't in 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:24.520 any way say that that's not the case. I didn't 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.200 come from anything. I didn't know anyone. I had no 0:14:27.320 --> 0:14:30.800 relationships that I could leverage in terms of what I 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:34.640 have become. It was just hard work and effort um 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.840 and along the way I got lots and lots of 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:40.080 breaks and miracles did happen. But the American dream, to 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:42.800 me is alive. And well, now that's said. I'm a 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.440 capitalist with a capital C, but I think capitalists should 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:48.800 be working for more people. Right now, the system is limited. 0:14:49.080 --> 0:14:50.960 It is not as good as it could be. It's 0:14:50.960 --> 0:14:53.320 gotten better over time, but it can be better still, 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:55.880 and it will be better still when more people of 0:14:55.960 --> 0:15:00.080 color can participate in the system. When everyone can a 0:15:00.680 --> 0:15:03.160 the game gets better. We have learned that time and 0:15:03.160 --> 0:15:06.800 time again. Reverend Jesse Jackson says that about baseball, it 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.400 wasn't as good as it could be until Jackie Robinson 0:15:09.440 --> 0:15:11.960 can play. When everyone can play, when you can have 0:15:12.000 --> 0:15:15.720 the best competitors competing, you ultimately end up with a 0:15:15.760 --> 0:15:20.480 better outcome globally, domestically, inside of a company. And so 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:23.440 to me, the American dream is possible, but it is 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.040 failing a lot of people because of some of these 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:32.160 racial blinders that exist. So today CEOs are under pressure 0:15:32.200 --> 0:15:35.280 to say something publicly about public issues. Do you think 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.480 that's a good thing that Jamie Diamond or or the 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:42.560 CEO of of Starbucks should say things about policy issues 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.840 that are really outside of their domain of their company. 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.760 We are human beings. We have opinions, and I don't 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:52.000 think being CEO, co CEO, chairman, et cetera means that 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:54.720 I can't have an opinion about something, and so I 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.440 always put that in the concepts of context when I 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:01.040 am giving my opinion. This is my opinion. It doesn't 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:04.200 have to be an opinion that represents Starbucks or Ariel 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.800 or JP Morgan. But I think I'm allowed to say 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.240 what I think. It doesn't also mean that I'm right 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:12.360 and Ariel I talk about truth. There's truth with a 0:16:12.440 --> 0:16:15.400 capital T and there's truth with a small T. And 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.400 if it's my opinion, it's truth with a small T. 0:16:17.920 --> 0:16:21.560 Now this country is bitterly divided between the left and 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:23.840 the right. It seems the government is not functional in 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:27.080 many ways. Are you optimistic about the country's future or 0:16:27.200 --> 0:16:29.600 you think we're heading to a dark path where we 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:31.840 won't be able to bring the country together. I'm very 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.080 worried about the polarization, and I think that we all 0:16:34.120 --> 0:16:39.360 have to work harder to be more um willing to 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:42.040 listen to other points of view. At the same time, 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.080 I take that Warren Buffet view. I think that if 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:47.960 you're born in America, you've won the birth lottery, as 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:52.840 he says. And I think that America's promise remains very, very, 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:56.880 very great because we've had a certain spirit in this 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:59.840 country that I don't I think it's in our DNA. 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.320 And I think if we can realize our best selves, 0:17:03.800 --> 0:17:07.000 which is what America was founded on, inclusion in terms 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.440 of religion, in terms of people from all walks of life, 0:17:09.440 --> 0:17:12.080 all of these things being a melting pot, if we 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:17.440 can realize that our future and our possibilities are truly endless. 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:20.680 The question is will we allow ourselves to realize that. Now, 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.399 some people would say, uh, Melody, you are a lot 0:17:23.480 --> 0:17:25.880 of corporate boards, you're a lot of nonprofits, will talk 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.240 about you've also married a very very wealthy, famous person 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.440 named George Lucas. They creative star wars, among other things. 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.080 So why do you need to be the co CEO 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:37.719 of Aria. Why don't you just do nonprofit boards, corporate 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:39.639 boards and other things? Why do you still want to 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.960 do this? Anyone who knows me knows that that question 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:45.280 doesn't make sense for me, because my heart, my love 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.560 is Ariel. Ariel's my first child. It was the thing 0:17:48.640 --> 0:17:50.879 that I did that I thought about every morning when 0:17:50.920 --> 0:17:53.120 I woke up, and every night when I went to bed, 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:56.840 and all day long, and it really became a labor 0:17:56.880 --> 0:17:59.040 of love for me. John joke that he started it 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:01.520 and that became a point that he thought, maybe I 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:03.800 loved it more. I don't think that's true. We don't 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:06.240 compete for the love of Arial, but I do think 0:18:06.240 --> 0:18:09.000 it became a part of my DNA, and so leaving 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:11.080 it is not something I would ever consider. I've always 0:18:11.080 --> 0:18:13.359 wanted to be there. So let's talk about some of 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.560 the nonprofit things you're doing. One of them, I just 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:17.840 want to talk about the one that you're doing. Talk 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:20.840 about first you're doing with your husband. You're building a 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:25.359 museum in Los Angeles for narrative arts. I guess it 0:18:25.400 --> 0:18:27.840 would be dealing with his art that he's purchased and 0:18:27.840 --> 0:18:30.120 all the things he's done. Can you explain why you're 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.159 building a museum and when it's going to open and 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:34.520 what it's going to be. That's so unique about it, Well, 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:36.600 it's the first museum that's ever been built that is 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:40.639 dedicated to the art of storytelling, the narrative. So the 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.560 way to think about it is a story that is 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.920 told in one frame. Many directors can see this very 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:50.400 clearly when you look at, for example, a Norman Rockwell picture, 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.439 a painting, you can understand the story just in one frame, 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:57.639 one shot. And that's what the whole museum is about. 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:00.440 We dedicated this work to building this bill day. It 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.240 will be the first of its kind. It's in Los Angeles, 0:19:03.800 --> 0:19:07.080 it is it is seated with the collection that George 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.600 started collecting for a very long time. It also has 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.200 a component of it that is dedicated to Star Wars. 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.199 But the bigger issue is to create an environment, a 0:19:16.240 --> 0:19:19.800 place where anyone can walk in from any walk of life, 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.800 from a scholar to a six year old, and feel 0:19:22.880 --> 0:19:25.280 not only like they belong there, but also that they 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.520 understand what's on the walls. Now you are in effect 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:30.840 self funding this, putting up most of the money for this. 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:35.080 Such all okay, that's all right. So that's more than 0:19:35.119 --> 0:19:37.600 a billion dollars. Let's say, isn't that I don't know 0:19:37.640 --> 0:19:39.520 of anybody that's ever put up that much money for 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:41.960 a museum. You ever think about the cost or you're 0:19:41.960 --> 0:19:45.240 just not worried about that so much. What we have said, 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:48.240 and we really do believe this, is that we are 0:19:48.320 --> 0:19:52.439