Quote · My First Million
Brutally honest guide to not losing money in the market
Where this was said
Great investors
At 33:30 · chapter starts 21:43
Sam Parr asks the natural follow-up question: if 90% of financial content is garbage, what's the 10%? Ritholtz first frames the problem with Ted Sturgeon's Law — the observation by the science fiction writer that 90% of everything, in any field, is crap. [1] — Barry Ritholtz "Ted Sturgeon's Law — 90% of everything is crap — applies in full to financial media. Before consuming any analyst, podcast, or newsletter, …" 28:10 He applies this ruthlessly to finance: most TV, social media, Substack, and research is not worth consuming. The bigger issue is that most people don't do the research lift required to vet a source — checking track record, process, how they performed in multiple cycles, whether they maintained temperament or ran around screaming on down days. Then he gives his actual list. Ed Yardeni for broad macro analysis — data-driven, constructive, 40-year track record. Sam Ro for market structure. Morgan Housel for behavioral finance storytelling. Jonathan Miller for real estate. Jim Chanos for short selling. Michael Lewis for Wall Street culture — including a forthcoming DOGE book. Richard Thaler at Chicago for hardcore behavioral research. The caveat that matters most: the value isn't in the list, it's in the process of building your own.
David Rubenstein built Carlyle Group into a $500 billion firm by spotting undervalued sectors the market ignored — starting with unsexy post-Reagan telecom deregulation. He then personally funded repairs to the Washington Monument and bought the Baltimore Orioles with a promise never to move the team.
Ted Sturgeon's Law — 90% of everything is crap — applies in full to financial media. Before consuming any analyst, podcast, or newsletter, demand a track record, a repeatable process, and evidence they've survived multiple market cycles.
Citing 'Sturgeon's Law' from sci-fi writer Ted Sturgeon, Barry Ritholtz argues that 90% of financial media, Substacks, and research is not worth consuming — the challenge is identifying the credible 10%.
Robert Kiyosaki publicly urged investors to exit US single-family homes in 2018, right before one of the best buying opportunities in recent history — illustrating why specific market forecasts are dangerously unreliable.
Ed Yardeni for macro, Sam Ro for market structure, Morgan Housel for behavioral finance storytelling, Jonathan Miller for real estate, Jim Chanos for short selling, Michael Lewis for Wall Street culture, and Richard Thaler for hardcore behavioral research. The list is secondary — the process of building your own is what matters.
