Just finished an interesting read in Fast Company on Al Gore. The man was worth about $1M after the 2000 election. Today his net worth is around $100M. Not too bad. The more I learn about Gore, the more I like him. Wish we all could have got to know him better in 2000. It would be a different country today. A few excerpts...
On Current TV:
They would give viewers from 18 to 34 the means to create and control what went on the air--a user-generated model now familiar thanks to the likes of YouTube and MySpace, but a shot in the dark for TV back in 2002.
Today, less than two years in, at least 30% of the network's content is viewer generated, called VC2. Amateur filmmakers, some in their teens, upload three- to eight-minute documentary-style nonfiction segments, called "pods," to the Current Web site.
Current TV is now in 38 million U.S. homes via DirecTV, Comcast, Dish Network, AT&T U-Verse, and Time Warner Cable. Its expansion this year to the UK and Ireland on BSkyB and Virgin Media will put it in another 8.2 million homes.
Current TV is making money, about a 10% margin on cash flow, after less than two years, according to analyst estimates; new cable networks typically take four to six years to go into the black.On Generation Investment Management (investment fund):
Rather than rely on short-term earnings projections, they thought long-term investment potential--and good management--could be better gauged by looking at factors such as whether a company was preparing for a carbon-neutral future. Environmental stewardship, though, is just part of how Generation defines sustainability.
...a pool of about $100 million from himself, Gore, Knight (whom Gore brought in from Met West), and three other founding partners...[turned into]...nearly $1 billion under management, from 15 institutions, plus a few individuals.There's a lot more in the article. From an entrepreneurial perspective, an inspiring read.
When I researched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth a few years ago for movie club I had the same experience. The more I researched the guy the more I admired and respected him. That is a lot more than I can say for the people leading this country now.