Porsche (with Doug DeMuro)

Nobody’s perfect — including Porsche. Despite that phrase appearing in their famous 1983 magazine advertisement, they managed to get damn-close to the perfect luxury business (even Bernard Arnault would be jealous!). Porsche is both quality AND quantity, owning the most prestigious brand in its market, while at the same time churning out almost half a million mass-market soccer mom/dad SUVs per year. And like any good luxury brand, it’s packed with enough juicy family drama and creeping takeovers to fill a Netflix series. Yet, behind it all lies perhaps the darkest origin story we’ve ever told on Acquired. Not only was Porsche was started by Nazis, Adolf Hitler himself was deeply involved in its early fortunes. And, following WWII, the Allies simply looked past these facts and essentially bestowed a license to generate wealth on Porsche and its owners — setting the stage for them to become one of the top ~15 wealthiest families in the world today. Joining us to explore it all is perhaps the very most-qualified person in the person in the world: the one & only Doug DeMuro. Not only is Doug the largest independent car reviewer on YouTube with millions of subscribers (we’re HUGE fans), he previously worked at Porsche corporate and owns a legendary Porsche Carrera GT — which served as the recording backdrop for this episode. Make sure you tune in to watch the video version! :) ACQ2 Show + LP Program: Subscribe to the shiny new ACQ2! https://pod.link/acquiredlp Become an LP and support the show. Help us pick episodes, Zoom calls and more. https://acquired.fm/lp Sponsors: Thanks to our fantastic partners, any member of the Acquired community can now get: …in touch with Tiny! (just tell them Ben & David sent you) https://bit.ly/acquiredtiny Vanta: a free trial + $1,000 off any compliance audit product https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Pilot: 20% off your company’s first six months of service https://bit.ly/acquiredpilot23 Links: Doug’s YouTube channel (which we HIGHLY recommend) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqjHFMB_JYTaEnf_vmTNqg Cars & Bids https://carsandbids.com Episode sources https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wOduOXDCcBi-o6bx3JeJ4YoVHhfzuHoailgLZvPKgg4/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs: ResortPass https://www.resortpass.com Seinfeld Cast Charlie Rose Interview Compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0TE_xXjp-0 WhistlinDiesel https://www.youtube.com/@whistlindiesel Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions. © Copyright ACQ, LLC

Ben GilberthostDoug DeMuroguestDavid Rosenthalhost

Jun 27, 20233h 22mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: June 27, 2023
Duration: 3h 22m
Channel: Acquired
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Nobody’s perfect — including Porsche. Despite that phrase appearing in their famous 1983 magazine advertisement, they managed to get damn-close to the perfect luxury business (even Bernard Arnault would be jealous!). Porsche is both quality AND quantity, owning the most prestigious brand in its market, while at the same time churning out almost half a million mass-market soccer mom/dad SUVs per year. And like any good luxury brand, it’s packed with enough juicy family drama and creeping takeovers to fill a Netflix series. Yet, behind it all lies perhaps the darkest origin story we’ve ever told on Acquired. Not only was Porsche was started by Nazis, Adolf Hitler himself was deeply involved in its early fortunes. And, following WWII, the Allies simply looked past these facts and essentially bestowed a license to generate wealth on Porsche and its owners — setting the stage for them to become one of the top ~15 wealthiest families in the world today. Joining us to explore it all is perhaps the very most-qualified person in the person in the world: the one & only Doug DeMuro. Not only is Doug the largest independent car reviewer on YouTube with millions of subscribers (we’re HUGE fans), he previously worked at Porsche corporate and owns a legendary Porsche Carrera GT — which served as the recording backdrop for this episode. Make sure you tune in to watch the video version! :) ACQ2 Show + LP Program: Subscribe to the shiny new ACQ2! https://pod.link/acquiredlp Become an LP and support the show. Help us pick episodes, Zoom calls and more. https://acquired.fm/lp Sponsors: Thanks to our fantastic partners, any member of the Acquired community can now get: …in touch with Tiny! (just tell them Ben & David sent you) https://bit.ly/acquiredtiny Vanta: a free trial + $1,000 off any compliance audit product https://bit.ly/acquiredvanta Pilot: 20% off your company’s first six months of service https://bit.ly/acquiredpilot23 Links: Doug’s YouTube channel (which we HIGHLY recommend) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsqjHFMB_JYTaEnf_vmTNqg Cars & Bids https://carsandbids.com Episode sources https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wOduOXDCcBi-o6bx3JeJ4YoVHhfzuHoailgLZvPKgg4/edit?usp=sharing Carve Outs: ResortPass https://www.resortpass.com Seinfeld Cast Charlie Rose Interview Compilation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0TE_xXjp-0 WhistlinDiesel https://www.youtube.com/@whistlindiesel Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions. © Copyright ACQ, LLC

SPEAKERS

Ben Gilbert
host
Doug DeMuro
guest
David Rosenthal
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Acquired, featuring Ben Gilbert and Doug DeMuro, Porsche (with Doug DeMuro) explores porsche’s engineered luxury: family drama, racing, SUVs, VW takeover saga The episode traces Porsche from Ferdinand Porsche’s early engineering work and Nazi-era ties through the postwar rebirth that produced the 356 and later the iconic 911.

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