The Recession-Proof Investment No One Knows They Can Access - Tony Robbins

CChris Williamson
Beginning InvestingSmall Business/StartupsBusiness NewsStocks

Transcript

00:00:00what are some of the investment opportunities, asset classes, that people don't think about?
00:00:05Everybody understands, and you guys agree. S&P, that's probably a good place to have some,
00:00:09et cetera, et cetera, right? We can tick away with that. What are the more exotic?
00:00:15Well, I'll give you one that's fun, and it's not exotic because everybody knows about it,
00:00:19but they think it's probably impossible. Sports, is it just related? Sports are an uncorrelated
00:00:23investment. They have nothing to do with the markets going up or down, what's happening with
00:00:27interest rates. In the last 10 years, they've had an 18% compounded return. But if you look at
00:00:32through history, through wars, World War I, World War II, sports have always done well,
00:00:37and they're non-correlated. So you want to find assets-
00:00:39So sports are recession-proof.
00:00:41Yep.
00:00:41They are.
00:00:41And you know why? Today, they don't just sell hot dogs, which, by the way,
00:00:44they have a unique relationship. They have a monopoly in their cities, a legal monopoly.
00:00:50No one else can go compete with them. And by the way, their fans, they're called fanatics.
00:00:55That's where the fan comes from. They're multigenerational, and they come, and when inflation
00:01:01goes up, they charge more for hot dogs, as we all know, and everything else you can imagine.
00:01:04But now, they don't just sell tickets and hot dogs. Today, these are modern media organizations.
00:01:09So we own a piece. I own a piece of stuff. It took me, what, 20 years of my life to be able
00:01:13to own a sports team and to qualify. They had a microscope to you. I helped us start the soccer
00:01:19team that we have in Los Angeles, the LA football club, and put the whole thing, invested, went
00:01:26through the whole nine yards. But then the rules changed, and they made it so certain firms
00:01:30were able to make investments directly into these firms. And now, they did it in Major League
00:01:35Baseball. They did it in the NBA. They did it in Major League Hockey. And now, the NFL has just done
00:01:39it. And the returns are unbelievable. So I'll just give you an example. We have a piece of the Dodgers,
00:01:44we own a piece of the Red Sox, we have a piece of the Lakers, excuse me, Lakers, the Golden State
00:01:49Warriors. All of these firms have grown. So Peter Gruber, one of my partners in business, we did the
00:01:54LAFC together. He was one of the guys that bought the Dodgers. In 2012, he paid $2.2 billion for the
00:02:00Dodgers. Every article said, he's insane. These people are never going to make money. This is the most
00:02:05ever paid for a sports team. Now, Peter's my partner. And I was like, Peter, I know you're no
00:02:09dummy. What are we doing the right thing here? He goes, Tony, you can trust me on this. You know me
00:02:15well enough. But he said, I'm not even going to tell you. I'm going to make an announcement in the
00:02:18next week. And then you come over and we'll have a little party together. So now, here's what you
00:02:22need to understand. When you're on a sports team, if it's like the NBA, you're 1 32nd of the league.
00:02:28You have 32 teams who are at the NFL. NFL is an even better example. All the national and
00:02:33international advertising. You get 1 32nd of. So if you own an NFL team, you get a $400 million check to
00:02:39start the season. That's your piece. But you also own your local TV advertising yourself. So Peter
00:02:45bought them for 2.2 billion and then announced he just sold the rights for local television rights for
00:02:52$7 billion and made 5 billion in a day. Right? So he's done quite well in this area. And I've done quite
00:02:58well with him in this area. Um, you know, today the, he took on a golden state warriors. They
00:03:03were the worst place team. They had paid only $4 and $50 million for it. Now they're the second
00:03:08highest valued sports franchise in the world behind the Yankees to even, excuse me, behind the Dallas
00:03:13Cowboys at this point, right? 11 billion that he's built it to. So these are enterprises today that are
00:03:19not just selling sports. They're every aspect of what you imagine, and they are an incredible return
00:03:25and they have nothing to do with what happens in the stock market. Sounds great. How do I invest?
00:03:29There's lots of different ways that somebody can do it if they have the right knowledge and the right
00:03:33information. But because of the rule changes, now there are funds that are available, literally,
00:03:38that people can get into for 2,500 bucks and own a piece of all of those funds.
00:03:43This just got to actually, we just got to prove for this to give you a sense.
00:03:45Yeah. I mean, so that was, so that was June of 25 was the first time that the rules changed
00:03:51to allow everyday investors to be able to do it. But so collectively as a firm, you know,
00:03:55we have exposure over 30 different professional sports franchises, and we have ways that every
00:03:59single investor in the world can invest with us and own a piece of all of those firms, right?
00:04:03And diversify. So it's not just one team.
00:04:05That's right.
00:04:05So you've made a index fund or an ETF of a variety of sports teams.
00:04:11You know, I'd love to say that it's better than that, right? And I believe it is because it's not
00:04:15just beta. It's not just the market itself or the index fund, but actually really, really curated
00:04:20specific teams and specific areas that have specific opportunities for growth that we believe
00:04:25we bought at very attractive prices.
00:04:27What's the category of firm that has access to this? Someone wants to go onto the internet right
00:04:32now and say, this sounds great. I love sports. I want to get in. I need to diversify. Like what,
00:04:36what do they put into the internet?
00:04:38Just put in casinvestments.com and that's, that's what they would do.
00:04:41Okay.
00:04:41That's the easiest way. But I mean, there's very few firms that are permitted to be able to invest
00:04:46in multiple teams in the same league. And that's what the rule changes were from 2019 to 2024
00:04:53for somebody to be able to do that. It wasn't, it didn't exist before 2019. So we were very early in that,
00:05:00in that theme. And for one of the things I think would be really helpful for the audience because
00:05:04I'll be like, okay, sports teams are trophy assets and people just rich people want to own it because
00:05:08it's a cool thing to own. It is a cool thing to own, but it's about cord cutting. It's about people
00:05:14getting their content differently. Watching your podcast is not something that really existed 20 years
00:05:19ago. So in 2005, 14 of the top 100 watch programs that were live in the United States were sports,
00:05:2814 out of 100. In 2025, 96 of the top 100 watch live programs were sports. Why? Who watches a live
00:05:38program when you can go on Netflix or Amazon or any other and not have to watch commercials?
00:05:42Sports teams and Love Island fans. Oh, absolutely. That's all it's like.
00:05:45I mean, we own a, you know, along with our partners, we own a stake in Liverpool and we own a piece of Paris Saint-Germain.
00:05:50I'm sorry to hear that.
00:05:51Yeah, well, you know, I figured you might because of where you're from,
00:05:54but all the, and several others that you might be more familiar with.
00:05:57But the opportunity to be able to own those dominant franchises around the world and all different types of sports
00:06:04is something that most people didn't ever think of. And that was your question. What do people not think
00:06:08of? The other thing they don't think about is early stages of venture capital, because like,
00:06:12well, I can't get access to it. You know, Cerronic got great attention earlier this, this,
00:06:17this summer because they rescued those two pilots that were shot down in the Strait of Hormuz,
00:06:22the helicopter pilots. It was an autonomous boat made by a company in Austin,
00:06:27right? That literally went out there and saved these two people with no other people being put at risk.
00:06:33That didn't exist a couple of years ago, but that is an example of a company that actually is available
00:06:38to everybody in the world now at a $2,500 minimum if they know where to go. And obviously that's a big
00:06:44part of what we wanted to write the book for, to be able to help people understand these opportunities
00:06:48do exist and they've got to do their own homework and they've got to make sure that they're comfortable
00:06:52with it. But ultimately that's what something, that's something that people really just were never
00:06:56able to do. And now the world has changed and they have the ability to adapt with it and get exposure
00:07:02that they couldn't afford it. And at these final pieces that Sonderlink's working on,
00:07:05they're, they've had the final comment period. So shortly there'll be a final decision,
00:07:10but that means people could put it in their 401k as well. So now it's tax advantage on top of
00:07:14everything else that you're talking about here, but they're, you know, the world has changed. Think
00:07:18about what the war has happened in the Ukraine and how that's changed the world. We no longer can start
00:07:24sending these multi-million dollar missiles to take out these crappy little drones. It's just, it's,
00:07:30it's, it's, it's a system that doesn't work. And so now there's all these private companies that are
00:07:34gearing up to take on this. And now, you know, the G seven and this group has gone in, they're having to
00:07:40put 5% of their money and they're almost doubling what they're spending. So you're talking about literally
00:07:45a level of spending that's going into the military side, but it's now companies that are based on
00:07:50technology who can come in and do things at scale. : Guys like Anderil. : Yeah.
00:07:54: Exactly. Those are the ones that we've invested in, right? And so we have access to those.
00:07:58So those are all against ways to diversify. So you have different asset classes, right? Think about
00:08:03space and military. These are going to grow. Unfortunately, we're going to need them to grow
00:08:08geometrically. : I'm happy about space, space, good military, less so good. : I love space,
00:08:12the military, but we got to protect ourselves, right? So it's a combination of the two.
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00:09:15Thank you very much for tuning in. If you enjoyed that clip, you will love the full length episode
00:09:19in all of its glory right here. Come on, press it.

Key Takeaway

Recent regulatory shifts from 2019 to 2024 allow retail investors to access high-yield, non-correlated assets like sports franchises and defense tech startups with minimum investments starting at $2,500.

Highlights

  • Sports assets generated an 18% compounded return over the last decade and remain uncorrelated to broader stock market movements.

  • Regulatory changes between 2019 and 2024 opened sports franchise equity access to retail investors with minimums as low as $2,500.

  • The 2012 acquisition of the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.2 billion yielded an immediate $5 billion profit through a $7 billion local television broadcast rights deal.

  • In 2025, live sports broadcasts claimed 96 of the top 100 most-watched programs in the United States, up from 14 in 2005.

  • Autonomous defense technology firms like Anduril are attracting direct private equity investments driven by shifting military spending requirements.

Timeline

Sports Franchises as Recession-Proof Asset Classes

  • Professional sports teams operate as recession-proof assets with zero correlation to stock market fluctuations.
  • Team revenues have expanded beyond ticket sales into multi-billion-dollar local and national media rights.
  • Local geographic monopolies give sports franchises perpetual pricing power over consumers.

Sports franchises generated an 18% compounded annual return over a ten-year period. These organizations hold legal local monopolies, granting them absolute pricing power on concessions and ticketing during inflationary periods. Beyond venue sales, modern franchises function primarily as media entities. For example, NFL teams receive roughly $400 million in baseline national media revenue annually while retaining local broadcast rights, as evidenced by the LA Dodgers securing a $7 billion local television contract shortly after selling for $2.2 billion.

Democratization of Private Sports Equity

  • Regulatory revisions between 2019 and 2024 allowed institutional funds to hold stakes in multiple teams across major leagues.
  • Retail investors can access institutional sports funds starting at a $2,500 minimum.
  • Live sports content dominance increased from 14 top-watched U.S. television broadcasts in 2005 to 96 out of 100 in 2025.

Historically restricted to ultra-high-net-worth individuals, institutional sports ownership expanded due to regulatory rule shifts between 2019 and 2024. Private equity funds now aggregate holdings across various leagues, including MLB, the NBA, the NFL, and international soccer clubs like Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain. Because broadcast viewing habits have shifted away from linear cable toward streaming, live sports represent 96 of the top 100 live television programs in the United States, driving steady content valuation growth.

Early-Stage Defense and Space Technology Access

  • Early-stage venture capital assets are becoming accessible to general investors at $2,500 entry points.
  • Global military strategy is shifting toward scalable, autonomous technology over expensive legacy missile systems.
  • Pending regulatory decisions may allow private venture assets to qualify for tax-advantaged 401(k) retirement accounts.

Modern warfare dynamics, such as the conflict in Ukraine, demonstrate that high-cost conventional missiles cannot sustainably neutralize low-cost drones. This reality drives increased defense spending toward private technology firms like Anduril, which manufacture scalable autonomous systems. Venture funds offering exposure to defense tech, space initiatives, and early-stage companies now accept $2,500 minimums, with upcoming regulatory approvals aiming to integrate these funds into standard 401(k) retirement plans.

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  • Bi-annual comprehensive biomarker profiles are available for $340 per year.

Routine medical checkups often fail to provide complete internal health visibility, screening only a minimal set of indicators. Advanced biomarker testing evaluates over 160 target areas across hormones, cardiovascular markers, kidney health, and early detection indicators for more than 50 cancer types. Performing these panels twice per year allows individuals to monitor quantitative biological trends over time through a centralized digital platform.

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