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April 22, 2025
Henry Singleton: The Greatest Capital Allocator in History [Outliers]
The Knowledge ProjectAbout this episode
If Warren Buffett is the king of capital allocation—Henry Singleton is the ghost. Singleton built one of the most successful conglomerates in American history, transforming business while remaining virtually unknown. While Wall Street chased fads, Singleton, who could play chess blindfolded, quietly turned industrial conglomerate Teledyne into a business juggernaut with 20.4% annual returns over nearly three decades—outperforming Buffett, outmaneuvering rivals, and outlasting the hype. Dive into the mind of a man who Charlie Munger said had "the best operating and capital deployment record in American business—bar none." This is a masterclass in disciplined capital allocation and long-term thinking on the most underrated business genius of the 20th century. If you're building a business, allocating capital, or simply trying to think more clearly in a noisy world, you cannot afford to miss this one. (03:16) Prologue (05:59) PART 1: THE MAKING OF A MAVERICK (07:48) After MIT (10:24) Founding of Teledyne (14:04) The Future is Semiconductors (17:18) What to Acquire? (19:12) Integrating into the Teledyne System (21:49) Vasco Metals and George Roberts (23:40) PART 2: MASTER CAPITAL ALLOCATOR (28:10) Entering Insurance (29:44) The Great Buyback Revolution (32:46) Teledyne Operating Systems (34:56) Thinking Local (37:41) Building Knowledge (39:59) PART 3: PEAK PERFORMANCE (42:51) Planning for Retirement (44:09) Passing the Torch (46:45) End of an Era: Singleton Retires (47:41) Teledyne After Singleton (48:46) Singleton’s Legacy (51:05) SHANE’S REFLECTIONS This episode is for informational purposes only and most of the research came from reading Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It, with an Introduction to Teledyne Technologies by Dr. George A. Roberts with Robert J McVicker and The Outsiders by William N. Thorndike, Jr. Additional source: 1979 Interview with Forbes MOMENTOUS: Head to livemomentous.com and use code KNOWLEDGEPROJECT for 35% off your first subscription. Check out highlights from these books in our repository, and find key lessons from Singleton here — https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-henry-singleton/ Upgrade — If you want to hear my thoughts and reflections at the end of all episodes, join our membership: fs.blog/membership and get your own private feed. Newsletter — The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices