American businessman and pundit
Branded ‘The King of Vegas’ and ‘America’s Oddsmaker’ by the national media for his unerring calls on football games, Wayne Allyn Root has seen a career which began in TV handicapping culminating with an 180-pound granite star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars and a nomination as presidential candidate for the Libertarian party in 2008. Root also possesses a personal history with the American edition of Robb Report, having served for two years as its contributing sports editor. He arrives in Malaysia this month to deliver a series of insights into the Trump phenomenon and proffers his views on how global businesses may capitalise on their fortunes in this period.
On being honoured
When I became one of 70 legends ever honoured by the Walk of Stars in Las Vegas, the state governor gave me my award and designated it ‘Wayne Allyn Root Day’ in Nevada. How cool is that? That was the moment I knew I’d reached the pinnacle in my profession.
On success
Success is about passion for what you do and enthusiasm. I love NFL football, loved playing football and understood the game like a coach. I wanted to stay close to the game and chose to become a professional football prognosticator. Before long, I was the NFL Analyst, network oddsmaker and hosting five shows at CNBC – the number one financial TV network in America.
On running a business
I’ve understood that to be a great business leader, you must be a risk-taker; a combination of riverboat gambler and Wild West gunslinger. You can never give up or give in. Donald Trump is a great example – at one point he was worth negative US$2billion. But he kept playing, dreaming and fighting.
I started a business with over 100 employees and raised millions of dollars. But it wasn’t enough and the stock market crashed. We were out of money and couldn’t make the next payroll. An expert said my company was dead. I didn’t accept it and wrote a US$100,000 cheque to make the payroll. We signed a big deal the following week and the rest in history. We stayed in business almost a decade after the expert called us dead and pumped another US$60 million into the US economy. You have to be relentless, fight like a cornered wolverine and never give up or give in.
On Donald Trump
As the first national political commentator to endorse Donald Trump and predict his victory, I received a letter from him to thank me and we began an e-mail correspondence. I was honoured to represent President Trump in over 1,500 media interviews –TV, radio, newspapers and web sites and was chosen to open for his rallies in Las Vegas.
His presidency is great news for America and the world. Our economy will turnaround with lower taxes, less regulation and more ‘power to the people’. Trump understands ‘the little guy’ and this helps to produce economic miracles. Reagan produced the greatest turnaround and economic expansion in world history but we have two tough years. He produced 20 million new jobs and dramatic GDP explosion. Trump will produce similar results.
