Oaktree founded 1988 — 20 years of credibility
Oaktree was founded in 1988, giving Marks and Karsh 20 years of track record and relationships to draw on when raising the $11B fund in 2007–2008.
Snapshot · My First Million
Howard Marks: how I make money while you worry about a market crash
Explore episode
Jul 15, 2026
Where this was said
Being a Good Father
At 25:30 · chapter starts 25:01
Prompted by the repeated mentions of his son Andrew throughout the conversation, Shaan Puri asks Marks how he managed to raise a child he genuinely enjoys being around. Marks starts with a striking anecdote from Forbes, about the only therapist with an office on Wall Street, who observed that his patients' problems were inversely proportional to the support they received from their fathers. He notes how many successful men feel compelled to assert superiority over their sons — perhaps something Freudian — and says he simply never wanted to be that father. He always let Andrew be smarter than him in some domains. He extends the principle to children's choices more broadly: if a choice isn't going to cause harm and both options are reasonable, let the child decide. They get experience making choices — and critically, experience making incorrect choices, which is 'very important.' [1] — Howard Marks "A Wall Street therapist once said his patients' problems were inversely proportional to the support they got from their fathers. Marks says…" 26:16
Fatherhood: Never Assert Superiority Over Your Son
A Wall Street therapist once said his patients' problems were inversely proportional to the support they got from their fathers. Marks says too many successful men feel compelled to assert superiority over their sons — and deliberately chose never to be that kind of father.
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