In this, what Ted's thinking, I asked the question, what are the implications of consolidation

in the private markets.

The leading firms, which are mostly public companies, raised an insane amount of money last

year, while the rest of the industry mostly struggled.

What would this mean for private markets going forward? Have a listen to find out.

Will Blackstone become private equities millennium? Have you ever wondered how you would spend

a massive cash windfall, like winning the lottery? In the 1985 movie Brewster's

millions, Monty Brewster accepts the challenge to spend $30 million in 30 days in order to

receive a $300 million inheritance from his great uncle. He rents a suite at the Plaza Hotel,

pays the New York Yankees to play against his minor league team, runs for mayor of New York City, and does everything he can imagine

to get rid of the money. Monty spends it all by the skin of his teeth and receives the full

inheritance. The largest alternative investment firms, the megas,

have mastered fundraising and now face a new challenge, deploying mountains of capital. They've

scaled dealmaking by building internal teams, making acquisitions, and entering joint ventures.

There's one playbook left to duplicate from the

hedge fund world. Industry consolidation. Ian Charles, on the Capital Allocators podcast, discussed

that level tens are the only firms meeting the needs of the growing private wealth, sovereign

wealth, and insurance channels. The numbers are staggering.

Level 10s comprise 0.2% of the industry's participants, yet managed 20% of its capital.

In 2024 alone, four of them, Blackstone, Apollo, KKR, and Ares raised over $500 billion combined,

and their market share is increasing. Capital deployment. This has me thinking about how

these firms will invest this new money and its implications for the industry. Level 10s need

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