Channeling Rage, Rolling Calls & Building an Entertainment Empire | Ari Emanuel, WME & TKO

Ari Emanuel is the co-founder of Endeavor, executive chair and CEO of TKO, executive chairman of WME Group, and founder of MARI. We talk about his $4.2 billion bet on the UFC, the ESPN deal that proved it right, lessons from Egon Durban and David Geffen, and how constantly making calls creates opportunities you can’t plan for. Ari also opens up about dyslexia, decades of insecurity, and learning to enjoy his life without losing the drive that built his businesses.

Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/ari-emanuel

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Chapters

(00:00:00) The UFC negotiation that blew up

(00:03:33) Meeting Egon Durban and buying IMG

(00:07:30) Betting $4.2 billion on the UFC

(00:15:16) Getting the ESPN deal done

(00:22:58) Taking over William Morris