Ask Me Anything: #1

As a consumer of content, I enjoy the AMA genre. But the disappearing wisdom is fleeting, and an endless stream of too-many banal answers can be tedious on an Instagram feed.

So, I’m going to make this a weekly AMA column, with longer answers, and relevant links as a permanent resource. Thank you for the 200+ questions. I’ll start with a few this week:

What is your best piece of life advice? Accept your reality. Never stop working to improve your reality, but along the way, accept it. This, in my opinion, is the key to happiness.

How much money should I save in my early 20s?  If you’re in a good job and feel secure, don’t worry about saving. Why stuggle to save $1 in your early 20s, when it’ll be easy to save $10 after a few years of advancement. Spend that cash! “Money is only something you need if you don't die tomorrow.”

What books do you recommend / are you reading currently? I just finished and really enjoyed “American Rascal,” the story of the great robber baron, Jay Gould, and “Unscripted,” the insane saga of billionaire Sumner Redstone and his media empire. (He’d pay his grandkids to set him up with their friends.) It was written by James B. Stewart, the author of one of my favorite books, “Den of Thieves.” Next up is “The Psychology of Totalitarianism,” the book that coined the now-famous term “mass formation psychosis,” and “The Guns of August,” so that I can have a better understanding of World War I.

What’s your view on work from home? If you want to work from home, especially in finance, and expect to have a career, you might as well quit now. The remote workers will be the first to be culled when the economy craters further. More important, you miss out on networking, mentoring, bonding, learning, spontaneous client opportunities, and culture-building. I was put on countless deal teams because of spontaneous after-work drinking sessions with seniors.

Why are you posting watches instead of memes? One of my good friends is a top 5 watch dealer in the country. A few weeks ago, he offered me a good deal on a Panda. For fun, I shared it on Instagram, and got like 300 DMs - mostly successful, good people with a lot of common interests. I don’t make any money by sharing the posts; it feels good to do a friend a favor and hook people up with good deals on hard-to-find watches. (In fairness, he also gives me very favorable pricing in exchange for some love.) To avoid spamming Instagram stories, we just started a weekly newsletter with deals on Rolex, AP, and Patek. So if you want a watch, you can subscribe here, or DM me on Instagram to get in touch with my dealer.

Also, I received about 30 AMA questions just about watches, so will address those in a watch guide coming out in a few days.

What is your biggest professional regret? Networking! In my 20s, I was so arrogant and dismissive of people. I’d take companies on global roadshows for public bond issues, working with CEOs and CFOs, armies of bankers from every prominent Wall Street bank, and meet hundreds of buy side investors. Most of the time, I’d leave a investor luncheon, and throw a handfull of business cards in the trash. These people - all ambitious, smart, and successful - are now dispersed all over the world in a varity of important fields - finance, corporate, tech, legal, politics, media, startups, etc. Network, and take the time to foster relationships, even if there is no obvious short-term professional benefit.

You live in Texas. How do you cook a steak? I rarely order a steak when I go out, because I know I can cook a better one at home. I also own a (small) ranch with ~300 head of Texas Wagyu and Mini Herefords. The most important thing is to buy good quality meat. Most cows are slaughtered at 18-24 months old. Feed lot cows are pumped so full of antibiotics, hormones, and high-caloric filler food (made from chicken excrement) that if not slaughtered, they’d only live for another year or so naturally; whereas, free range, grass-fed cows are healthy enough to live another 20 years. Here’s what I like to do (keep it simple): Heavy seasoning (salt/pepper). Let sit at room temperature for 2 hours to absorb moisture. Lots of quality butter. Cast iron pan on a gas stove if I’m in a hurry or too lazy to grill.
 Filet: 2 inches thick. Med/High heat. 3 minutes each side.
 Ribeye: 1.5 inches thick. High heat. 90 seconds each side.

What are some good hobbies you enjoy? Backgammon and pickleball. I know pickleball gets a lot of hate, and the sport’s vocal enthusiasts are really annoying. But, it is a great game. Young. Old. Male. Female. Casual. Experienced. Drunk. Sober. It doesn’t matter. Unlike many other sports, any one can play it, and it’s still fun.

What are the best dress shoes? One of the biggest mistakes people make is buying cheap dress shoes, when a quality pair will last 5x longer. I like these Gucci loafers or these Prada Saffiano loafers with a suit. Saffiano leather lasts forever.

What TV shows are you watching and what is your opinion regarding video games? I rarely watch TV; it’s such a waste of time. If I do, I’d rather re-watch The Sopranos while exercising or scrolling through Twitter than invest countless hours on a mediocre show. In the time it takes to watch White Lotus or Game of Thrones (never seen them), I could get my pilots license. The same is obviously true with video games, although, when I was in my early 20s in NYC and London, staying in with my Playstation on Friday nights saved me thousands of dollars. These days, I wilI make one exception. Once or twice a year, I’ll play FIFA or Madden very competitively with my younger brother, so we can feel like kids again.

How screwed are the banks? People underestimate the significance of the Fed rate hike. They were under enormous pressure to pause, and will take the blame for any further cracks in financial institution confidence. And yet, they hiked. All the inflation drivers - pandemic stimulus, shipping containers, commodities, tight job market, used cars, energy, housing, food - have subsided, and yet, we still have ~6% inflation. We’re so screwed, and they know it.

Regardless of unhedged interest rate risk, unrealized losses in bond positions, or depositors pulling cash out, the small banks are still screwed; they hold $2.3 trillion in commercial real estate debt (80% of commercial mortgages held by all banks). And $1.5 trillion is maturing in the next 3 years, which will need to be refinanced in an environment where rates are higher and valuations are lower, and in a market with much less liquidity.

Do bankers have a positive impact on society ? Yes, for obvious reasons - capitalism is the greatest system ever conceived. But also - No! In my experience, bankers take themselves too seriously, think they are smarter than they really are, and define themselves as human beings by what firm they work for. And the job isn’t even that difficult.

What is your favorite beach destination? Amanpulo in the Philippines, Jumby Bay in Antigua, Amanyara in Turks and Caicos, and because I now have kids, The Ocean Club Bahamas (so my kids can go next door to Atlantis). By far, the most overrated destination is The Breakers in WPB. That place sucks.

If you could only own one car , what would it be? I’d pick the Mercedes G-63 - timeless exterior, big & safe, and surprisingly fast. And because it weighs 6,000 pounds, it’s also tax deductible. In the eyes of the IRS (Section 179), it’s no different than buying a forklift.

What daily habit has had biggest impact for you? Easy and obvious answer, but I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t do this. I get at least 30 minutes of cardio every day. I think more clearly, feel better, sleep great, and have more energy. And then, I can eat and drink whatever I want after that.

Why did you stop tweeting as @GSElevator? The character got boring. Also, looking at it objectively from the outside, I was like, “Okay, it was original and funny. Bankers are racist, classist, elitist, sexist, deviant assholes. We get it, already. Now, shut the f*ck up.” But I like using Instagram to curate and reflect the same mentality without being in character. And I’m active on my personal Twitter account - @JohnLeFevre - but it’s heavy on the politics.

Next week: Trump vs DeSantis, alternate investing, best sources of news, crypto, Tesla, drinking, fashion, dating, Kyoto, etc.

John LeFevre is the creator of @GSElevator and the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Amazon Book of the Month, and TIME Book of the summer, Straight To Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, And Billion-Dollar Deals.