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Lior Gantz is the CEO of Wealth Research Group, self-made millionaire, and expert in implementing business and investment principles. Despite the challenges of growing up with a father who went bankrupt three times before he was 22, Lior is proof that formal education isn’t necessary for success.
Discover the motivational journey of Lior who failed, picked himself up, and persevered, dedicating years to grinding out 84-hour workweeks. Despite his challenges, he meticulously sought guidance from a trove of self-help literature and passionately shared his newfound wisdom with the world.
In this episode, Lior shares his expertise in creating prosperous businesses, combining traditional deep-value investing techniques with contemporary fields like natural resources and blockchain technology. His investment philosophy is a game-changer, and his knowledge is unparalleled.
Lior doesn’t only strategize in making sound investment decisions, he is also an advocate for crucial steps of risk management, balanced asset allocation, and appropriate position sizing. He walks through his research on keeping investors in the loop with the most unique investment perspectives.
Discover Lior’s secrets to building wealth and achieving financial freedom!
In This Episode
- Lior’s background and how he started with investing
- The current state of the world’s economy
- Best sectors for investment opportunities
- Expert advice about Federal Reserve and inflation
- His investment philosophy and strategizing his asset allocation
Welcome to another episode of Wealth Strategy Secrets. Today, we’re joined by Lior Gantz. Lior’s father went bankrupt three times by the time Lior was 22. At age 32, Lior became a self-made millionaire without any formal education.
He achieved this by implementing specific principles in businesses and investments. His story includes failing and recovering, years of working 12-hour days, seven days a week, countless books that he read to guide the way, and a relentless pursuit of sharing the ideas he uncovered. Lior has a wealth of knowledge in creating successful businesses. His investment philosophy marries the timeless strategies of deep value investing with cutting-edge sectors such as natural resources, blockchain technology, and cannabis legalization. His nickname is the “Globillionaire.”
Thanks to his nonstop traveling, visiting over 40 countries, and experiencing the most adventurous attractions of each location, he has scuba-dived with sharks, skydived, climbed to the tops of volcanoes, and rafted in white waters.
Lior, welcome to the show!
Thank you for having me.
I’m looking forward to this discussion, Lior. You have such an interesting background, especially considering how you grew up and how you got into this space.
Today, I find that, in terms of information sources available, there are so many media outlets, news sources, and talking heads, you name it, that have particular agendas and want you to think a certain way. However, I’ve discovered that you and Wealth Research Group are among the few sources of data that I allow into my filter. You provide intelligent insights, understand trends, and share perspectives on all that’s happening in the world today from a global viewpoint. I think the audience is going to enjoy this discussion.
Why don’t we start by having you tell everyone a bit about your background and how it all began for you?
First of all, I appreciate all the compliments. My journey into investing and business is rooted in my father’s business, which involved furniture and upholstery. Unfortunately, that venture didn’t go well. By the time I was 13, the business had gone under, and I found myself working because I couldn’t ask my parents for money.
I started babysitting and tutoring young kids in basketball, teaching them the fundamentals. I also managed scoreboards for basketball games, got paid for handing out flyers, and so forth. By the time I was 16, I was delivering pizzas and sushi, saving as much money as I could and depositing it into my bank account. At some point, one of the bankers called me into his cubicle. This was around the year 2000, and I was 16 then. He said, “Look, you’re saving a lot of money. Why don’t you put it to work?” It kind of prints out from a printer, summarizing why the Chinese economy is going to blow up—in a good way. This was around 2000. He suggested that I start looking into mutual funds. So I bought books, including one by Peter Lynch and several by Warren Buffett.
I was the kid in high school who had a history book, but inside it, there was an investment book. I began putting money into the stock market as a teenager. I had to get my parents into the branch to sign a waiver because, I don’t know if they still do it today, but you had to if you were under 18.
Since I’m Israeli, at 18, you finish high school and go to the military for three years. When I got discharged in late 2006, my dad’s second attempt at business had also failed, wiping out all the savings he had left. So at that point, I was 22 with no family safety net to rely on; I had to figure everything out on my own.
At the same time, the world seemed to be ending. It was 2007-2008, and things looked very grim as we were heading into a huge recession. I was trying to find my way. I went to the States and got into real estate. But the first thing I did when I arrived at the airport was head straight to a Barnes & Noble because I had heard a lot about it. It was my first time in the States as an adult, and I picked up a book about gold and silver.
While America was on sale, I started to understand the Federal Reserve, inflation, and everything related to that. Up until that time, between 2000 and 2008, I had been investing in a way that followed Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett’s philosophies: invest in what you love and know.
From 2009 onwards, I developed a new investment and business strategy that combined real estate, stocks, and alternative investments. Initially, my focus was just on gold and silver, but it expanded over time. I also adopted a contrarian mindset, believing it’s best to be more aggressive when everyone else is exiting the building.
Interestingly, in Hebrew, we don’t have a word for “contrarian.” So when I talk to people my age, 25 or 26, and tell them I’m trying to be a contrarian about this recession, I can’t even find the right word in Hebrew.
Throughout that period from 2009 to 2015, I expanded my businesses and opened more ventures. By the time 2015 rolled around, I was 30, but I noticed that other 30-year-olds weren’t researching or interested in the same content that I was. I found it insane that I couldn’t communicate with them on the same level.
That’s how the idea for Wealth Research Group came about—a free financial newsletter to gather my thoughts and put them into writing. It attracted not just people my age, but a wider audience. In early 2016, I officially launched Wealth Research Group, and the first articles went out. It started as a free financial newsletter.
The idea is to gather everything I see, read, and study in the financial markets and life in general three times a week. I emphasize economics, investments, and lifestyle, sharing insights from conversations with fund managers, CEOs, and others. I distill this information into articles that take about three to six minutes to read—very generic but up-to-date. If I come across anything particularly interesting or actionable, I also include it as a reference for people to learn more. For example, my entire stock market portfolio is available for anyone to download. You can find it at wealthresearchgroup.com/portfolio. So, it’s a blend of generic insights and personal experience.
Wow, that’s awesome! I find it fascinating how people’s backgrounds shape who they are. I was actually in the military as well. I traveled to Israel and spent some time working with Israeli soldiers. It’s intriguing how everyone has to serve, and that experience leaves an indelible mark. Being in the military gives you a global perspective and helps you understand concepts like freedom, which is really at the core of investing. It’s about creating more freedom in your life. Plus, the teamwork and camaraderie are invaluable. It’s interesting how those experiences shape your worldview.
But let’s dive into the specifics, Lior. Investors want to know how you make sense of everything happening today. It’s almost mind-boggling, yet we’ve been through this before, right? Throughout history, we’ve faced different wars, geopolitical events, and energy crises. How would you frame all of this, and how do you assess the various data points within the economy and where we are in the current cycle?
When you look at COVID-19 as an event, you’d expect that a global crisis would lead to a massive, unified response from organizations like the G20, G7, and the UN. But that didn’t happen. Instead, there was a lot of finger-pointing between countries and differing approaches to solving the crisis. For example, Sweden never closed down, while Australia implemented very strict measures. China adopted a zero-COVID policy for a year longer than the rest of the developed economies.
In the United States, there was an initial dismissal of the virus, followed by a major problem and a change in leadership. What we’ve seen is that the globalization period we’ve experienced since 1945 has come to an end. Globalization truly began after World War II when the United States and the Soviet Union emerged as the clear victors, each for their own reasons. The clash between these two powers, coupled with the fear of nuclear conflict, led to the Cold War.
Economically, this gave rise to the Bretton Woods Agreement, which established the idea that the United States and its allies would use the dollar as a reserve currency backed by gold. The U.S. economy would support countries wanting to adopt Western values and resist the Soviet Bloc. However, by 1971, that system fell apart. Instead of defaulting on the 35-to-1 gold-to-dollar ratio, Nixon chose to announce on national television that they were temporarily cutting ties with that gold window.
Essentially, Nixon initiated the fiat monetary system or the petrodollar system, where the U.S. dollar became the reserve currency—not because it was backed by gold, but because it serves as the international medium for transacting oil, particularly Saudi oil, which is sold cheaply to allies. This arrangement helped the United States thrive through the ’70s and ’80s. By the early ’90s, with the Cold War won, the expectation might have been that globalization would come to an end.
Instead, we entered an era of hyper-globalization, where countries with little connection to the original agendas of globalization were included. This explains why, during the early 2000s, many American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan began questioning their presence there, asking, “What are we doing here? What am I missing?” By 2011, President Obama acknowledged the need to shift priorities from the Middle East to China, stating that there was nothing left for the U.S. in that region.
Then in 2018, Trump addressed the UN, declaring that the U.S. would no longer serve as the world’s police and that other nations needed to take responsibility for their defense. COVID-19 further exposed the fragility of supply chains and the concept of globalization as an economic strategy, revealing its political vulnerabilities.
Now, we are entering a phase of deglobalization, which presents a very different environment. The first consequence of deglobalization is that existing supply chains must be rethought. You can liken this to a fully furnished apartment: if one partner doesn’t like the furniture, and insists on replacing it all, that process is both inflationary and costly. If you need to discard what you just bought and acquire new items, it consumes time and resources. That’s precisely what we are doing now—we’re reconfiguring existing systems while introducing redundancies.
This need for reconstruction arises from political and geopolitical risks, as well as the closing economic arbitrage between China and the rest of the world. China is no longer the low-cost producer it once was, which is driving inflation and perpetuating it, particularly as labor shortages persist in both the Western world and China. Currently, we are likely in a 5 to 7-year period of re-engineering how this deglobalization phase will unfold. Everyone is positioning themselves, and by the time we reach 2030, we will have a clearer picture of how this new economic system will look.
That’s fascinating, and I respect your macro perspective on understanding these trends. Often, people get lost in the details, focusing on immediate concerns—like what the Fed will decide this week or recent developments from the White House that impact the market. Understanding these macro trends is crucial. It’s important to align your investing philosophy with them, as this alignment is one of the top reasons why investors fail.
Investors often lose because they don’t pay attention to global and macro trends. Generally, you have two types of investors: active and passive. Being an active investor should be a passion—it requires a lot of work and commitment. On the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with being a passive investor. The world, on aggregate, is always growing richer, so if you invest over the long term in equities, real estate, or any productive asset, you’ll likely do well.
The key question is: do you want to invest passively and achieve results that align with the economy’s growth? Or do you want to put in more effort to see if you can generate outsized returns based on your abilities and the time you dedicate to investing?
You could also consider a blended approach, which is what I do—matching a passive portfolio with an active one.
So, you’re bullish about equities, real estate, and investing in businesses for the future right now?
Absolutely. I’ve never been anything but bullish. I’m about to turn 39 in two months, and for the next 30 years, I plan to keep buying equities, real estate, stocks, businesses, and gold. I believe the world will be much richer in 30 years than it is today—more efficient, more beautiful, and better in every way.
Historically, there’s never been a time when this wasn’t true. Just look at any year, project 30 years forward, and you’ll find a bullish outlook.
However, if you’re between 55 and 65, thinking about retirement, and considering living off investments and savings, you need to manage your time and risk differently. At that stage, you aren’t just buying equities; you’re also selling or taking money out through dividends or other cash flow methods.
In that case, you need to think more about market cycles and whether we’re nearing the end of a long bull market or if prices are elevated. For me, it makes little sense to focus on timing in the long term.
Take Amazon, for example. At the peak of the dot-com bubble, its stock was about $100, and it fell to $6 during the crash. Today, adjusted for splits, it’s worth around $1,500. Even if I had bought at the peak and continued to buy through the lows, I would have made a fortune simply because I chose the right business without needing to time the market.
Ultimately, it depends on your age and whether you’re a net buyer of equities or need to consider living off them. If you’re at that point, you must shift your mindset to preservation and a more defensive strategy.
That’s a good point. If you’re a buyer right now, consider the actions of top institutions like BlackRock. Many are taking money off the table and staying liquid, especially with the VIX being quite high. People seem to be looking for opportunities to buy. Are there any particular sectors that stand out to you for investment?
Given that globalization is contracting, I think arbitrages benefiting from cheap labor in China and the consumer economy in the U.S. or any multinational operations will go through an adjustment period. Big businesses needing to change many moving parts will take time to recover. These are companies I’d want to see recover first before accumulating shares. If I already own shares, I’d focus on following their earnings calls to gauge whether management is performing well.
The ultimate risk is losing your competitive advantage. I don’t mind if companies go through a recovery period; that’s normal for every business. However, if they start losing to competitors who are executing better, that’s a concern for me.
When it comes to big tech or tech in general, they will feel the impact of these high interest rates more than they did during the zero interest rates of the last decade. What I’m always looking for are companies whose earnings calls reveal incredible CEOs—leaders with vision. When I listen to them, I want to think, “That’s exactly who I want running a business in which I own a stake.”
The sector itself is not my primary concern; you can make money in any sector and navigate through changes or crises. What truly matters is the quality of the people running the company. That’s what I focus on when considering stocks.
Overall, I’m very bullish on stocks and actively buying them—today, next week, and so on. The only defensive measure I take is setting a price limit. Just because I love a company and have enjoyed their earnings call doesn’t mean I’ll rush to accumulate more shares. I establish a price that I believe reflects the company’s worth.
Sometimes, I’ll listen to seven, eight, or even ten quarterly reports, and it might take a year and a half or two before I decide to buy shares in a company I like.
Regarding real estate, we have a significant shortage of homes in America, and that issue isn’t going away. Millennials are delaying marriage due to financial concerns and are living with their parents longer than previous generations. They are also pursuing higher education, often needing both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.
The COVID-19 pandemic further postponed marriages and dating for about two years. Now we have an entire generation ready to marry, alongside a larger baby boomer generation entering retirement. As millennials move up the corporate ladder, they are earning more and starting families, creating increased demand for homes. Unfortunately, builders haven’t constructed enough homes to meet this demand.
Combining these factors, I don’t believe we are entering a 2008-like environment in real estate, regardless of how high interest rates go. Instead, it seems we are entering a period where buyers will be more selective and will think carefully before purchasing a home. We won’t see a hundred offers above the listing price for every single-family home that comes to market. Right now, I’d describe the market for single-family homes as normal.
As we approach larger transactions in commercial real estate, particularly with institutions buying and selling significant multifamily units—think 300, 400, or even 500 doors—we’re witnessing a real freeze in the market. Buyers are starting to think that sellers won’t be able to refinance, while sellers believe they can find a way to refinance and don’t need to liquidate their portfolios just because interest rates are higher. This stalemate is leading to a major slowdown in the housing sector, which is critical because housing is the largest sector of the U.S. economy. It has historically created about 70% of America’s millionaires, including former presidents, so it’s a big deal.
Construction also plays a crucial role in the American economy. Until the Federal Reserve provides more clarity—indicating that they’ve either stopped raising interest rates or paused them—these interest rate-sensitive industries will continue to face stagnation.
You had a great analogy a couple of months ago, Lior, comparing the Fed’s actions to an F1 simulation. If you’ve ever taken a track car into a corner, you know it’s all about braking before entering the turn and then accelerating through it. You pointed out that the Fed seems to be doing the opposite of what it should be doing to manage inflation.
So, what are your thoughts on the Fed’s current stance and the inflation situation?
By definition, we are in an inflationary decade. The Fed’s role, like any central bank, is to stabilize prices. However, this doesn’t mean they should replicate Paul Volcker’s approach of drastically raising interest rates overnight and plunging the economy into recession to lower prices through reduced demand. While that strategy was appropriate in the 1970s when inflation spiraled out of control after several reassurances from the Fed, we’re now in a more gradual situation.
The Fed has already made significant moves, and at this point, they need to consider whether further increases in interest rates will have any real benefit. For instance, will raising rates to 6% actually make a difference? If not, perhaps they can maintain the current rates for a while and establish a new normal.
They’ve effectively managed to halt hyperinflation, which was almost a reality in 2021. We witnessed skyrocketing prices in commodities, including lumber, driven by various factors like supply chain disruptions and reopening the economy after closures. When things began to stabilize, the Fed had to intervene rather than leave the market to self-correct at its own pace.
The situation with Russia and Ukraine further pressured energy prices, requiring the Fed to take more action than usual. They’ve done quite a bit already, and now it seems likely that they will keep interest rates at around 5% for an extended period while continuing to reduce their balance sheet.
Any effort to decrease their balance sheet now will help if they need to combat a future recession. I believe the Fed’s role is to mitigate the impacts of inflation and make it as manageable as possible. However, they cannot change the fundamental demographic and geopolitical trends that have led to this global inflation. Their goal is to help us navigate these challenges in a way that avoids crisis or panic. When they fail to do this, it resembles the situations we saw in 2008 or 2020.
When they don’t fail, it just looks like a long, drawn-out cycle that has to play out. That’s what we’re seeing right now—people are adjusting to these higher interest rates and this new employment environment. I think what we’ll observe in the second half of the year is whether we’ll enter some form of GDP recession. If we do, then I believe they will start to gradually cut rates.
However, I don’t think they’ll treat this as a crisis, regardless of whether we enter a recession. I don’t foresee a severe downturn like what we experienced in 2008 or any kind of extreme environment. When I listen to earnings calls from CEOs—I’ve listened to 17 so far this earnings season, totaling over 17 hours of Q&A sessions—I can tell you that every company is doing everything it can to adapt to this new reality of higher interest rates. They are cutting margins, letting go of redundant employees, and working to please shareholders with improved profit margins and net income.
In my view, we are already deep into a recovery phase; it just takes time to transition the entire economy into that recovery. You can think of it like a sleeve: companies are moving through the sleeve and many are already coming out on the other side, but more still need to enter. It’s just a lengthy process.
That’s a really interesting perspective. I also find it fascinating that there’s so much discussion in mainstream media about the devaluation of the dollar, particularly with the activities of the BRICS nations, which have been ongoing for years, along with the move away from the petrodollar. What are your thoughts on that?
The BRICS is more of an association than a formal treaty between these countries, so I don’t see them rolling out a joint currency or disrupting the dollar anytime soon. I do think we’ve entered a bear market for the dollar that may last a few years, leading to a depreciation in its value compared to other fiat currencies. You can track this on the DXY index.
However, I don’t feel threatened by Brazil and Russia creating a currency with South Africa, India, and China to compete with the dollar at this moment. The relationship between the dollar and the world resembles a broken marriage; going through a divorce would only make things worse. There’s no reason to pursue that divorce unless a viable alternative is already in place, and right now, there isn’t one.
That’s why central banks are buying gold in record amounts, and gold is trading at all-time highs against virtually every fiat currency in the world—except for the dollar. By the time this is posted, it might also reach an all-time high against the dollar.
In summary, while the dollar has its issues and isn’t likely to maintain its status as the reserve currency for another hundred years, it’s certainly not under immediate threat from other fiat currencies. At some point, I believe it will face competition, possibly sharing reserve status with another currency engineered by the Chinese. However, keep in mind that the yuan is not a true currency; it’s essentially pegged to the dollar.
We’ve never seen a free-floating yuan. Until China declares, “We want to be a currency just like the US dollar. We want to uphold the rule of law. We want to be an open economy. We’re not going to manipulate our currency,” only then will we truly understand what that currency looks like. I believe only then will other countries be willing to buy into the idea of purchasing yuan. For now, they are investing in dollars, euros, some Swiss francs, yen, and gold.
Interesting. Do you have any hedging strategies in place right now? I know you’re a buyer of precious metals. What does your portfolio look like, or do you have some type of hedging strategy in this current market?
Hedging against what? The devaluation of the dollar? Are you asking if I’m using foreign currencies, or if I have precious metals or life insurance as part of my strategy?
Yes, anything that’s valued in US dollar terms—everything in the world, really—serves as a hedge against dollar devaluation to some extent. But what truly matters are the ratios between assets. For example, if I choose to buy more gold today than real estate, that ratio is what interests me.
I typically avoid saving in pure fiat. I keep just enough to maintain a cash position for deployment, but the rest isn’t going to be solely in fiat. I prefer alternatives like gold or silver, as well as short-term lending. If I can get involved in debt at 10% or 12% for a year or two, I will pursue that, while mostly sticking to stocks and real estate.
Great. Lior, if you could give our listeners just one piece of advice about how they could accelerate their wealth trajectories, what would it be?
Partner up. If you can find at least one, preferably two, people who are as excited about investments as you are, form a brainstorming alliance or business endeavor. Live your life in a way that you don’t have to do all the thinking yourself. That would be my main piece of advice.
If you look at Warren Buffett, he has Charlie Munger. Bill Gates has often acknowledged the significant help he received at Microsoft. And we all know that Steve Jobs had Tim Cook by his side during those years. Even Beyoncé has a vocal coach. Michelangelo had his mentors as well.
No matter what your field is, you need at least one other person, preferably two, to form a supportive alliance. I believe that will help you in life more than anything else I could share on a podcast.
Form some sort of a brainstorming alliance, a business endeavor and live your life in a way that you don’t have to do all the thinking.
Love it. It’s about increasing that relationship capital in various aspects of life—business, family, coaching, health, and investments. Constantly evaluating whether those around you elevate you is key. It reminds me of Jim Rohn’s quote about being a product of the five people you spend the most time with.
Exactly.
Awesome. Lior, I appreciate you coming on the show today and sharing such valuable insights with the audience. If they want to learn more about Wealth Research Group or connect with you, where’s the best place for them to go?
They can subscribe on the homepage.
We’ll provide a link in the show notes to wealthresearchgroup.com, right?
Sure.
Awesome. Lior, thanks again for your time today. I appreciate it.
Thanks for having me.
Take care.