*EDITED with video* Where's Tico???
MY FAVORITE BON JOVI SONG EVER!!!
Oct. 22 2010 - 6:25 pm
Thousands of Baron Capital investors crowded into the Metropolitan Opera House this afternoon. They sat through a panel discussion among Baron’s fund managers and listened to its billionaire founder Ron Baron tell some of his personal stories of his success. But most of them were likely waiting to find out who today’s secret performer was going to be. Already Diana Ross and John Cougar Mellencamp had performed during lunch.
The guy sitting next to me whispered, “I bet it’s Bono,” after a slide featuring the U2 front man flashed on the screen with a quote about America being a state of mind, not a country.
Suspense built when Baron, who grew up in Asbury Park, NJ, and spent summers working odd jobs on the Jersey Shore, said he had picked a fellow Jersey man.
Could it truly be? Could we be lucky enough to see Bruce Springsteen in concert while covering an investment conference? Sensing our excitement, Baron quickly quashed our hopes explaining it would not be the Boss.
Instead the 4,000 guests crowded into the opera house were serenaded by “the more handsome guy from New Jersey” as Jon Bon Jovi introduced himself. He performed such favorites as “You Give Love a Bad Name” and also gave his rendition of “Hallelujah.”
Baron always keeps the identity of his performers secret from even his closest confidantes. Over the years, celebrities like Neil Diamond, Elton John, Bette Midler, Paul Simon, Billy Crystal and Rod Stewart have all headlined his events. Jerry Seinfeld performed twice, supposedly the second time as a replacement for someone who got sick just a few days before the event. One news report said Baron’s and Seinfeld’s moms are friends; the comedian is also an East Hampton neighbor of his, according to Baron, who spent more than $100 million on his 40-acre estate in 2007.
Baron, whose parents wanted him to be a doctor, got his start as a biochemistry teaching fellow and then as a patent examiner in the U.S. patent office while attending George Washington law school. He became a securities analyst in 1970 and started his own firm in 1982. He has been throwing these investment conferences for 19 years. He pays for the entire day, inviting all of his investors as his guests to hear from portfolio companies and enjoy the free entertainment. He plans the event for months. He was already giddy about it this summer when I went to visit him at his mid-town office, as a few employees sat tasting deserts for the event in the conference room.
He certainly seemed to be having fun up on stage. One highlight was when an audience member asked him to elaborate on his college experience. Baron squinted to see who had asked the question and realized it was his frat buddy. Bet his parties these days blow those old ones away. As one person said, “Ron is probably the most optimistic person I’ve met. If you had his life you would be too.”
I don’t but for a few hours I could imagine.
You'd think that as someone who writes for Forbes she would know that Dessert is spelt with 2 SS's cause you want more Dessert and less time in the Desert.
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