Bill Walton

Senior Fellow, Center for Wealth, Poverty, and Morality

Bill Walton is a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth, Poverty, and Morality and Managing Editor, Host of The Bill Walton Show which features in-depth conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs and thinkers who offer fresh perspectives on money, culture and politics.

Bill has an extensive background in leadership roles as an executive, investor and entrepreneur where he has been involved with starting, leading and financing established businesses, start-ups, art, music, education and theater organizations, policy and political action groups and feature films.

In 2016 and 2017, Bill worked in the Donald J. Trump Presidential Transition Team as Leader of the Agency Action and Landing Teams for all the federal economic agencies including Treasury and the IRS, Commerce, USTR, SEC, Social Security, FCC and other independent financial agencies.

Bill served as chairman of the board and CEO of Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE) from 1997 to 2009, and as chairman until 2010 when the company was successfully merged with Ares Capital. Under his leadership Allied Capital grew from $600 million in managed assets to $9 billion. Its private equity portfolio held a majority interest in over 20 companies with aggregate revenues of over $5 billion.  As CEO, he and his management team helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and management teams grow and expand their businesses.

Today, Bill also manages Rappahannock Ventures, a private equity firm and Rush River Entertainment.

Through Rush River, Bill was a producer of Max Rose, starring Jerry Lewis, which was released in August 2016 with an early cut screened at Cannes Film Festival in 2013. A second film, The Ticket, starring Dan Stevens, was selected as one of only 10 films for Tribeca Film Festival’s 2016 U.S. Narrative Competition.

Earlier in his career, Bill worked as a Managing Director of Butler Capital Corporation, a private equity firm; as the personal investment advisor to William S. Paley, founder of CBS;  Senior Vice President in Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb’s Merger and Acquisition Group and Vice President of Continental Illinois Bank.

Bill has served as a board member of the Heritage Foundation, American Conservative Union (CPAC), American Enterprise Institute, Media Research Center, Council for National Policy, Committee on the Present Danger: China, US Chamber of Commerce, National Venture Capital Association, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Financial Services Roundtable. In 2015 he served as Chairman of the Tea Party Patriots.

He has also served on the boards of Africa ASAP, The National Symphony Orchestra (President), Kelley School of Business (Chairman), Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts (Executive Committee and Chairman of the Finance Committee) and the National Gallery of Art (Collectors Committee and Trustees Council).

With his wife Sarah, Bill also founded two for-profit education service providers: Language Odyssey which taught Spanish and French to K through 6th grade elementary school students in 12 states, and SuccessLab which taught reading to inner city public school children in Chicago.

Educated in public schools in Indianapolis, Bill served in the U.S. Army as an enlisted specialist at the Pentagon.  He completed his B.S. from Indiana University and his M.B.A. (Beta Gamma Sigma) from Indiana’s Kelley School of Business.

A Life member of NRA and MENSA, he lives with his wife, Sarah and their three terriers in Washington, VA. He is President of the Washington Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company.

Archives

“Capitalism’s Promise: Essentially Infinite Resources and Human Flourishing” with George Gilder and John Tamny

Watch the episode here. I’m talking in this episode with the upbeat and visionary George Gilder, one of America’s leading economic and technological thinkers, and the author of the groundbreaking books, Wealth and Poverty, Knowledge and Power, The Scandal of Moneyand now:  Life after Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money  Co-hosting with me is the equally upbeat and contrarian thinker John Tamny, founder of Parkview Institute, editor of RealClearMarkets and author of the recently published The Money Confusion: How Illiteracy About Currencies and Inflation Sets the Stage for a Crypto Revolution“ Life after Capitalism launches a new economic theory. A key theme of the book is that wealth

“When ‘Free Trade’ Does More Harm Than Good” with Robert Lighthizer

Click here to watch the interview. For regular listeners, you know I like to take on complicated subjects, and try to make clear what’s at stake for all of us.   Thanks for reading The Bill Walton Show! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Pledge your support In this episode the Bill Walton Show we take a another deep dive into one of the most complicated and contentious areas of economic policy:  International trade.  International trade negotiations are incredibly complex multilevel games—there are negotiations not just with America’s trading partners, but with Congress, domestic constituencies, and rival factions within the executive branch.  There are sharp – almost theological – differences in how trade

Financial Regulation: Boring, or Terrifying? with Chris Iacovella and Norbert Michel

Watch the episode on YouTube. A slew of financial crises that stretch all the way back to the banking Panic of 1907 have been exploited to justify erecting a financial regulatory system that has vastly centralized and expanded federal power over our money.  The irony is that these crises were largely caused, or at least exacerbated, by poorly designed government regulations.  What we have now is an unholy alliance of regulators, mega banks and entrenched special interests who are the chief beneficiaries our system of opaque and complex financial regulation. Adding to this mix is the progressive Left who are now using our financial system to push its DEI and climate change agendas.  Joining me on this episode to explore some of what should be our main concerns and to

The Bill Walton Show: Silver Linings

As we wrap up one of the most chaotic years in modern memory, members of the BWS team gather virtually to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on our lives. What will the future hold when it comes to masks? The economy? Life in general? While 2020 is one most of us would like to forget, we manage to find several “silver linings” heading into 2021.

The Bill Walton Show: Reality Economics 101 with Don Boudreaux and John Tamny

On this week’s episode of The Bill Walton Show, Discovery Senior Fellow Bill Walton has a wide ranging conversation about all things economic with Donald Boudreaux, best-selling author, professor of economics at George Mason University who writes the popular blog Cafe Hayek and John Tamny, editor of Real Clear Markets, an editor for Forbes Magazine and the author of “The End of Work” and “They’re Both Wrong.” Even if, or maybe especially, you think economics is too abstract or arcane or harsh, this is a fresh and engaging take that everyone can learn from.

Masks and Scarves and Overdraft Protection with Arnold Kling

This week I sought out Arnold Kling to learn more about some of his innovative ideas to deal with the health, economic and social fallout from the Covid-19 crisis. Arnold, who blogs at arnoldkling.com/blog, author of “Specialization and Trade” and “The Three Languages of Politics” and with a PhD in Economics from MIT is one of America’s more original and penetrating thinkers.

The Bill Walton Show: “Is War with China Inevitable?” with Adm. James Stark and Dr. Stefan Halper

In China, the U.S. confronts an adversary that saw itself as the Middle Kingdom –the center of the universe –for 3,000 years, then endured a century of humiliation and now seeks to return to what it sees as its rightful place in the world. Join Bill Walton as he and veteran Washington foreign policy experts Dr. Stefan Halper and Adm. James Stark discuss China’s comprehensive program to dominate its region and to challenge the U.S for cultural, economic and military superiority.

The Bill Walton Show: “Burn the Business Plan” with Carl Schramm

An entire industry – mostly government-funded – has sprung up around the idea of creating entrepreneurs. Don’t buy any of it. Don’t buy college. Don’t buy business incubators. Don’t buy mentors – you probably know more about what it takes to succeed in your business than they do. Start the business.

The Bill Walton Show: “What is Venture Capital and How Does It Help Drive Cutting Edge Innovation” with Dan Mindus and Brett Gibson.

Technology is creating unprecedented wealth the world over, and venture capitalists find themselves in the midst of the best opportunities. It’s an exciting time. There are about $60 billion invested per year in US firms by venture capitalists, and my guests Dan Mindus and Brett Gibson, founders of NextGen, say another $100 billion or more is sitting on the sidelines ready to jump in. At the same time, there is so much progress going on, so few barriers to entry, that opportunities are exploding as well. Professional venture capital investors are on the cutting edge of bold new innovations – like the hyper loop trains, drone delivery services, and more. Or, we all hate waiting to see a doctor. Soon, you might not have to. Telehealth would allow you to take routine tests at home and consult with your doctor from your sofa. And it will make doctors and hospitals more financially stable. On “The Bill Walton Show,” we discuss many of these exciting ideas and the power of venture capital to help make them a reality. In the old days, venture capitalists sought to identify winners. These days, they seek to help create them

The Bill Walton Show: How American Medical Insurance has Failed to Keep Pace with Modern Medicine with John Steele Gordon

Did you know there was no health insurance until 1930 and that 90 percent of today’s medical care did not even exist in 1950? Yet, health insurance has not evolved to match the innovation or the demand. On this week’s edition of “The Bill Walton Show,” economic author John Steele Gordon and I discuss how our antiquated health insurance system has utterly failed to keep pace with modern medicine, how our healthcare system became such a tangled, costly mess and where we can find simple, free market solutions.

“One Nation Ungovernable” with Wayne Crews

By some estimates, the cost of government regulation in the U.S. exceeds $2 trillion. An amazing number. And while we’re paying a fortune for existing regulations, major new ones are coming out at the rate of 3,000 per year, so fast that the White House can only do a cost-benefit analysis on less than one half of one percent of them. But there’s hope. This week on "The Bill Walton Show," Wayne Crews of CEI joins me to explain how to return the U.S. to the path of greater freedom and why “walling off the future” is critical to preserving as much liberty as possible.

“China’s Three Warfares” with Dr. Stefan Halper and Admiral James Stark

China is a mass of contradictions. Intellectual property thief. America’s largest trading partner. Home to 476 billionaires. Choked with air and water pollution. A rapidly aging population. And leadership eager to project its national will. China is plowing ahead with what one of my guests, Dr. Stefan Halper, call its “three warfares.” What are these and what can the U.S. do about them? Effective confrontation of this threat begins with an understanding that China views itself as the “middle kingdom” and why Beijing will only honor an agreement as long as it’s gaining an advantage. Admiral James Stark and Dr. Halper join me to break it all down on “The Bill Walton Show.”

Trumponomics with Steve Moore

Ronald Reagan was a winner who believed in the boundless potential of America. Sound familiar? It's one of the reasons Donald Trump is succeeding despite the relentless criticism. He "has a finger on the pulse of millions and millions and millions of Americans." He beat 17 other candidates to get elected and then outsmarted Congress and his own advisers to get a much better tax bill. Learn how Trump gets what he wants on "The Bill Walton Show" with guest Steve Moore.

“What Both the Left and Right Miss About Work in America” with Oren Cass

I believe that growth can benefit all Americans, yet while our GDP has tripled in size from 1975 to 2015, average wages have barely risen. The response from both political parties has been to double down on policies that have failed to address this reality Maybe they're missing something crucial in their economic calculations. A focus on work. Author and scholar Oren Cass explains on my new podcast.

Why Talent Trumps Taxes

Lower taxes and less regulation are great for business, but some are thriving in high-tax states like New York and California. On my new podcast, Ralph Benko explains the “Tamny Axiom”. Hint: there’s something more valuable in those states than low taxes.