Improving Alpha: Russ Carson on the ‘lucky accident’ of a career in Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Philanthropy
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Be careful what you wish for, is a critical statement for those entering the field of private equity, and venture capital today. As the industry accelerates, increased government scrutiny, regulation, and a greater need to prove that your business is providing a productive service to society will come into play.
In our latest episode of the Improving Alpha podcast, our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg, sits down with Russell L. Carson, Founder & General Partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, and Chairman of The Carson Family Charitable Trust.
Russ explores his own journey in both venture capital and private equity, what led him to create the Carson Family Charitable Trust, succession planning for his business, and why he’s become a student of improving the human condition.
Further highlights include:
- how his career evolved from managing $5 million in Citibank’s Venture Capital arm to leading his own firm managing over $31 billion in AUM through investments in healthcare and information technology sectors.
- the objectives and structure of the Carson Family Charitable Trust, and how Russ balances the investments that he’s making today and the returns he can expect to get to zero out the trust by the end of 2050.
- his involvement in the unique institution, Rockefeller University, and how he’s helping the university with funding solutions to mankind’s largest healthcare mysteries.
- how he helped to create the New York Genome Center and how the cost to sequence a human genome has declined from $10,000 to $500 in the course of 10 years due to things like Nvidia GPUs, cloud computing, and machine learning.
- his strategic view of making smaller acquisitions that create a much larger business out of a series of smaller parts and how it has been successfully applied to both healthcare and the information technology space.
- differences between a public market investor and being a venture capital or private equity investor, and how Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe combine the two disciplines at times.
- the creative tension between LPs and GPs across the Private Equity industry.
- the “red flag” of a manager being unfocused in his approach to investing, and how having focus gave Russ a competitive advantage in the sectors that he serves.
- thoughts on whether we’re getting too far when it comes to AI venture capital investments. Is it overvalued and overhyped?
- his thoughts on Elon Musk and the impact on our world.
- And more!
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About Russ Carson:
Russell L. Carson is Chairman of The Carson Family Charitable Trust, a private foundation that he started, along with his immediate family members, in 1991. The foundation is focused on New York City and supports non-profit organizations in the fields of education, poverty, healthcare, medical science, and culture. Mr. Carson is currently Chairman of The Rockefeller University, Chairman of the Partnership for Inner-City Education, co-Chairman of the New York Genome Center, Vice Chairman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Trustee of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a Director of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum and a Director of the Coalition for Opportunity in Education. He is also Chairman Emeritus of Columbia Business School and a Trustee Emeritus of Dartmouth College.
Since 1978 Mr. Carson has been a Founding Partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), one of the country’s largest private equity firms. Over the past 38 years, WCAS has raised sixteen institutionally funded limited partnerships with a total capital of approximately $20 billion and has invested in over 250 companies. He led the firm’s healthcare investment practice for many years and is currently the Lead Director of Select Medical Corporation, a NYSE listed owner of long-term acute care hospitals, physical rehabilitation hospitals, and outpatient rehabilitation clinics which was founded by WCAS and the company’s management in 1987.
Mr. Carson attended public high school in Toledo, Ohio prior to receiving a BA degree in Economics from Dartmouth College in 1965 and an MBA from Columbia Business School in 1967. He received an honorary degree from Dartmouth College in 2015. He resides in New York City with his wife Judy and their two children, Cecily and Edward; all family members are Trustees of the foundation and active in its affairs.
The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.
The release date may not correspond to the recording date.