Bennett Goodman, Executive Chairman of Hunter Point Capital and formerly of Blackstone/GSO and Host Todd S. Rich, Co-Founder and Partner of Declaration Partners

In this episode of declarations., Todd S. Rich sits down with Bennett Goodman, Executive Chairman of Hunter Point Capital and formerly of Blackstone/GSO.  Bennett shares his remarkable journey—from his formative years influenced by his uncle, the famed LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman, to his groundbreaking career in credit markets, and ultimately to building Hunter Point Capital and his family office, Hunter Creek.  The conversation explores Bennett’s guiding philosophy, the importance of humility on Wall Street, the lessons learned at Drexel and DLJ, his entrepreneurial spirit. He also reflects on family, philanthropy, and what drives him in the pursuit of happiness.

They discuss:

·         The Three H’s of Success: Hard work, Honesty, and Humility—lessons from Bennett’s uncle that shaped his career

·         The founding of GSO Capital and its eventual sale to Blackstone

·         Key insights from the 2008 financial crisis and navigating market dislocation

·         How the Goodman family is addressing the wealth gap through education, job training, and financial literacy

·         Bennett’s perspective on real estate opportunities, secular vs. cyclical risk, and today’s credit markets

·         Reflections on family, balance, and happiness beyond career success

Links:

The declarations. podcast: https://www.declarationpartners.com/podcast

Todd S. Rich on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-s-rich-6a091333/

Declaration Partners - https://www.declarationpartners.com/

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Introduction & Bennett’s career overview

(00:04:00) - The “Three H’s” of success

(00:07:00) - Drexel and early lessons in credit

(00:15:00) - Building leveraged finance at DLJ

(00:19:00) - Founding GSO Capital

(00:22:00) - The Blackstone acquisition & financial crisis lessons

(00:31:00) - Launching Hunter Point Capital

(00:40:00) - Hunter Creek family office & philanthropy

(00:48:00) - Advice, family values, and the pursuit of happiness