Deadline was provided with a transcript in advance.
Then Im going to Tokyo.
And I enjoy it, Emanuel said.
Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor,Amy Sussman/Getty Images
And when Im not in it, I will not be in it.
And Mark Shapiro will be running the company.
And it will be an incredible company,and that will be fine.
We still represent a lot of clients, Emanuel said.
Anytime they need us, were there.
The UFC, which Endeavor acquired in full in 2021, proved a talking point in the interview.
Emanuel said he still loves agenting.
Remember, they were the biggest agents [CAA co-founder] Mike Ovitz gave them everything.
They had, for lack of a better metaphor, Tiffany.
And you know what they did with it?
And I think Walmarts a great company.
But lets just say they made it Walmart.
Emanuel continued, I would pay the salaries of Bryan Lourd, Kevin Huvane to stay in the job.
I would pay their salaries.
Its the greatest competition of all time.
Dubner noted that CAA declined comment.
Sports has been a major arena for Endeavor and the firm has many ties to golf.
Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman had been a major investor in Endeavor.
Endeavor returned the $400 million investment from M.B.S.
with interest after the state-sanctioned murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
You know, we got a call.
We got a call, like, from [Bryson] DeChambeau and Phil [Mickelson].
Hey, do you want to finance this?'
instead of the Saudis, Emanuel recalled.
I said to Egon, Yeah.
I said we would put up meaning Endeavor would put up $1 billion.
Egon then called somebody at the PGA.
And, you know, were all connected in golf.
And they said, hey dont do it.
So we pulled out.
I said to Jay, Jay, were pulling out.
But you have got to figure out an economic solution here because its going to force you.
I have enough on my plate.
Theyre doing what theyre doing.
I mean, he is as charming as could be.
He had this whole vision, bringing entertainment and movies back.
And he wanted to spend $30 billion in entertainment.
Well, I can do math.
$30 billion in entertainment, I mean, its money.
And I thought his vision was incredible.
So we we negotiated.
It took about nine months of negotiation for them to invest.
I think it was $400 million.
And then, you know, I think a bad thing happened.
But lets be very clear about something.
Im not defending what they did.
You know, Ive had a brother thats been in two White Houses.
Every country does bad things.
They just dont do it in an embassy.
He didnt rule out doing business with the Kingdom in the future.
Asked why then he paid the investment back, Emanuel said: I dont know.
I just, you know I dont really.
I dont really know.
