Opportunities are made first in pop culture
From Johnny Depp to Scott Adams
All my great ideas start as shower thoughts because I don’t use my phone that much. I let my head wander around on tangents.
It helps having a demanding wife, lots of active kids, subpar effort from the staff, and subscribing to way too much content, because it means I’m always squeezing every ounce out of the day just to get five different flocks moving in the same direction.
I call thinking “glue” it’s the thing that connects everything together. Many would say I’m frying my brain, but who knows the limits of what the brain can hold?
(A possible reason why reading Perez Hilton, TMZ, Us Weekly, National Enquirer hasn’t affected me at all… but the cookbooks? Those depress me. So many amazing recipes and only one kitchen, “I’m not cleaning that mess up Eric”)
Anyway, this shower-thought stream started when I saw a meme yesterday about Elon Musk “winning Trump’s presidency” even though it’s 11 months into it. I wasn’t sure why it was popping up, but my first reaction was “it wasn’t Musk”; it was a cultural shift, and he read and invested accordingly, just like you should.
I remembered something bigger that happened in 2022 and no, it was not the midterm elections but
When Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard, and the entire world watched on any portable media device available.
(Wait… does every celebrity salute like this? )
Depp won against all odds and Karens. And the entire nation was glued to the screen. EVERYONE had an opinion. There was a popular meme going around “Man finally wins argument against wife.” But for the nation, it was a seismic earthquake no one felt but it was the end of ASSUMption of guilt, and who is right and who is wrong: the reemergence of ASSUME makes an ass out of you and me.
What’s interesting is that Depp had already sued Amber Heard in 2020 in the UK—and lost. Another period in time where common sense was hungover.
In 2020, the current president also lost.
Again and again, the 1980 icons strike back. And they do not take losses calmly especially when their pride and dignity and career and legacy are on the line.
Mark my Substack:
In 50 years, historians will reference that case as a pivotal cultural moment
Something far more consequential than whatever Prince Harry and Meghan are whining about this week.
Trends tend to go from pop culture, to politics, to business (working thesis). It’s not always linear and immediate, but it was a moment to start preparing for a cultural shift in business and markets. When Trump took office in 2025, the markets took one dip and didn’t look back.
I’m sensing another cultural tremor now from cartoonist Scott Adams.
The famous cartoonist behind Dilbert, who also built a fantastic daily livestream for a decade, is now showing up to work visibly sick from cancer. He’s in a lot of pain. He still tries to deliver humor and affection. But he needs proper treatment.
Recently, he posted on X that he needs some help from the President, and the President responded:
That moment, not the government shutdown or the media theatrics, tells me something:
The government, with hopefully competent leaders, is taking this seriously and will address it.
Which leads me to the investment point:
👉 Drugs and Biotech are going to be big. Very big.
Even WSJ had something to say:
Everything that is making headlines: AI, energy, left and right politics, is going to turn its attention to healthcare in my humble view. The math makes sense: it’s the nation’s largest expense.
Larry Ellison, always amongst the wealthiest individuals on the planet, literally stood in front of the President and told the country that AI + biotech will find cures for YOUR specific needs at a fraction of the cost.
Of course the media mocked him:
“Talk is cheap.”
“He took Trump’s bait.”
“Ellison indulged him.”
Lets see if that held up. Never forget: money talks, buddy.
Larry Ellison, who owns about 20% of Oracle, is racking up, I think, with debt of around $20 to $30 billion for AI buildout. I use the word “think” because honestly, who can comprehend that size of debt-to-opportunity in the billions? We pretend to, but Larry actually does. My company has never been valued at a trillion dollars, and neither has yours. His has.
The same media that questioned his intention is now questioning his financial acumen.
Nowhere once have I seen the media mention Oracle’s largest acquisition in its history, right before this AI push, was Cerner, a major healthcare data company.
The high-tech crew innovated the economy, kept costs low, broke monopolies and I feel they owe us. Washington handed these jackasses tax breaks, cheap labor, stock options out the wazoo, political influence, all our data, and a free kill shot on retail while boosting imports from China. The least they can do now is help fix our health.
May it be so.
May Scott get his health back.
And may all of you have a Healthy, Wealthy Sunday.
Oh, and did I mention Johnny Depp likes his alcohol (as if you didn’t know)? Unlike some of his peers, the man has fathered children. Something symbolic there too.
Following up to my article on beer I found this article from Hollywood Reporter about Depp and his love of his life Vanessa Paradis in 2011. Boy was this article wrong. You mean to tell me that Johnny Depp went 100% family man?
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/johnny-depp-met-vanessa-paradis-my-life-as-a-single-man-was-done-254737/
And their love is still going strong. ‘She and I have been together for nearly 14 years, and, well, I can hardly believe it. It only seems like yesterday that we met.’
[He had one foot out the door, think about articles about companies and ceos that are this glowing]
Meeting her also changed his wild lifestyle. He cut down on drinking and smoking, started exercising and healthy eating. Depp’s idea of a perfect moment now is a far cry from his youthful partying days.
[Depp went from one extreme to another. Corporations cutting back moving into new “lines”]
‘A glass or two of wine before dinner is my favorite thing, watching the sunset and the kiddies playing nearby. It’s perfection.’”
[For the wife, but not for the Bohemian actor. The competitors “heard” and swooped in]
For subscribers—today is a great day to chat with me about market setups. Since this whole thing is still new, you’ve got more access to me now than you ever will later.