He turned a small Hollywood talent agency into a massive sports-and-entertainment empire. In a freewheeling conversation, he explains how he did it and why it nearly killed him.
You know, the funny thing, just before.
I answer that question, Ariel Emmanuel is telling a story about his family.
They lived in Chicago.
His mother grew up there.
His father had immigrated from Israel.
They were not a boring family.
There was always change in our lives.
When Ari and his brothers were kids, they spent summers in Israel.
They would always do things that they would shave our heads in the summer, so we would walk around when we come back from Israel.
Why did they shave up your heads?
I still shave my head on the same day that they shaved my head.
I'm 62, so in two weeks, my hair will be gone, because that's when they shaved my head, and I still do it.
It's insane.
His mother was a civil rights activist who took the kids with her on protests and was arrested several times.
His father was a pediatrician who sued the city of Chicago for allowing the use of lead paint.
He also quit the American Medical association because they didn't support national health care.
You know, newly to the country, stood up for what he thought was right.
And even if it was going against the organization that he was just starting his practice, he didn't care.
When you look at how you approach the world, how you deal with people in business, especially, do you think you got more from your mom or your dad?
Well, here's what I get from my dad.