Chapters
(0:00) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins the show
(0:55) Recapping 2025 and the state of the economy
(3:13) Tariffs: Leverage, legal challenges, implementation
(15:20) Affordability: inflation, BLS data, interest rates
(23:00) The Fed: biggest mistakes, how we got a 15-year asset bubble, rate cycle, appetite for US debt, Fed Chair candidates
(42:44) Focus on Main Street, taking equity stakes in American companies
(50:40) Tax cuts, Trump accounts, economic legacy
Follow Secretary Bessent: https://x.com/SecScottBessent
Referenced in the show (opens in our online library):
The Fed's New "Gain-of-Function" Monetary Policy
Follow the besties:
https://x.com/chamath
https://x.com/Jason
https://x.com/DavidSacks
https://x.com/friedberg
Follow on X:
https://x.com/theallinpod
About the Besties
Chamath Palihapitiya is a Canadian-American venture capitalist and entrepreneur who founded and leads Social Capital, launched in 2011. He previously served as a senior executive at Facebook from 2007 to 2011, where he led the company’s Growth, Platform, and Mobile teams. Before Facebook, Palihapitiya held leadership roles at The Mayfield Fund, AOL, and Winamp. He is also known as the “SPAC King” for his involvement in special-purpose acquisition company deals and co-hosts the All-In podcast.
Through Social Capital, Palihapitiya has invested in technology and healthcare companies, including notable investments in Yammer, Slack, Swarm Technologies, Relativity Space, Groq, MrBeast, and Palmetto. Social Capital initially focused on companies in fields ignored by other venture capitalists, such as health, financial services, and education. It later expanded to energy transition, climate science, life sciences, and deep tech. Palihapitiya also holds a minority stake in the Golden State Warriors.
Palihapitiya recently made a significant return from an early investment in Groq following NVIDIA Corp.’s $20.6 billion deal with the rival semiconductor firm. Social Capital was an early backer of Groq, investing $10 million in 2017 and an additional $52.3 million the following year, which gave the firm nearly one-third ownership at the time. Palihapitiya had predicted Groq could reach a $100 billion valuation by 2045 and praised Groq’s founder, Jonathan Ross.
Jason McCabe Calacanis (born November 28, 1970) is an American Internet entrepreneur, angel investor, podcaster, and author. He co-founded Weblogs, Inc., a publishing company, with Brian Alvey, which was later sold to AOL. Calacanis is known for investing in over 300 early-stage startups, including companies like Uber, Robinhood, Thumbtack, Calm, and Superhuman. He has also authored the book “Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups: Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor Who Turned $100,000 into $100,000,000,” published in 2017.
Calacanis hosts the “This Week in Startups Podcast” and is a co-host and executive producer of the “All-In Podcast” alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks, and David Friedberg. He is also the founder and CEO of Launch and Inside.com, and runs Founder.University, a pre-accelerator program for startups. Calacanis attended Fordham University and is based in Austin, Texas.
David Sacks is a South African-American entrepreneur, author, and investor in internet technology firms. He is a co-founder and general partner at Craft Ventures, a venture capital fund established in late 2017. Sacks was previously the Chief Operating Officer and product leader of PayPal. On December 5, 2024, President Donald Trump named Sacks the White House AI and crypto czar, a new role focused on creating a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry.
A New York Times report, published on November 30, 2025, detailed how Sacks’ government advisory role could benefit his investments and those of his close associates. The report alleged that Sacks has positioned himself to personally benefit from his official government role, retaining at least 449 stakes in AI-related companies that could be aided by his policies. Critics also suggested potential conflicts of interest between Sacks’ political role and his investments, with Senator Elizabeth Warren stating that Sacks “simultaneously leads a firm invested in crypto while guiding the nation’s crypto policy,” which she called an “explicit conflict of interest.”
Perspectives
The New York Times’ report on David Sacks’ conflicts of interest is accurate and concerning.
The New York Times investigation found that David Sacks has “positioned himself to personally benefit” from his role as White House AI and crypto czar, a position he holds as a “Special Government Employee” exempt from key financial disclosure and anti-corruption laws.
The investigation revealed that Sacks has retained at least 449 stakes in companies with ties to AI that could be directly or indirectly aided by his policies, despite claims he had sold most of his AI assets.
Sacks has recommended AI policies that have sometimes run counter to national security recommendations.
Critics suggest that Sacks’ dual role as an investor and policy advisor presents an “explicit conflict of interest” that would usually be prohibited under federal.
The New York Times report on David Sacks’ conflicts of interest is a “nothing burger” and a mischaracterization (in other words, the NYT doesn’t know where they stand with Sacks)
David Sacks stated that the New York Times report was a “nothing burger” and that the outlet “willfully mischaracterized or ignored the facts to support their bogus narrative.”
Sacks asserted that he had “debunked in detail” the Times’ reporting over five months, and the article strung together anecdotes that do not support its headline.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called the NYT story “almost strategic sabotage” and argued that America needs to elevate builders like Sacks, not tear them down.
An attorney for David Sacks referred to the New York Times story as a “hit piece” and a “willful misunderstanding” of his special government employee status.
David Friedberg is the CEO, Chairman, and co-founder of Ohalo Genetics, a plant breeding company that was founded in 2019 and incubated by The Production Board (TPB) in 2019. Friedberg founded TPB, which partners with scientists, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to address challenges such as climate change. Ohalo Genetics develops breeding systems and new crop varieties intended to raise yields while using fewer natural resources. The company aims to improve agricultural productivity and the lives of farmers worldwide. Friedberg took on the role of CEO at Ohalo after operating the company in stealth for four years. He previously founded The Climate Corporation, which was sold to Monsanto in 2013 for $1.1 billion. Friedberg also co-hosts the All-In podcast. In July 2021, the Production Board announced it raised $300 million from various investors, including Alphabet and BlackRock.
Ohalo Genetics uses Boosted Breeding™ and Agile Breeding™ technologies to develop novel crop varieties. This technology allows parent plants to pass on 100% of their genomes to offspring, rather than the usual 50%, resulting in polyploid offspring with doubled genetic material. This process leads to genetically uniform, or ‘true,’ seeds, offering faster breeding cycles, higher yields, and enhanced resilience. The technology works by deploying proteins to effectively switch off the mechanism that splits genes in each parent, ensuring all beneficial traits are inherited. Ohalo’s technology has been shown in early trials to significantly increase yields, with potato trials seeing gains of 50% to 100% or more. The company is implementing this technology across various crops, including potatoes, corn, and berries. Ohalo has received approval from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for commercial cultivation of its genetically modified potato in the U.S.
