1,000 Dollars and an Idea

Self-made billionaire Sam Wyly is a natural storyteller. In this candid, engrossing memoir, he recounts the experiences that led him to establish and expand companies on the leading edge of advancements in technology, energy, retail, and investments over the last five decades. From growing up in rural Louisiana on the family cotton farm during the Depression, to founding a pioneering computing company, to parlaying his success into major national retail chains, Wyly describes the decisions and strategies with which he's created his unique path. Starting with University Computing in Dallas in the early 1960s, Wyly reveals the drive and dealings that took him from one success to another, including founding Sterling Software, taking on the mammoth AT&T monopoly, growing the small chains of Michaels Stores and Bonanza Steakhouses to over a thousand locations each nationwide, co-founding the Maverick Capital and Ranger Capital hedge funds, and founding Green Mountain Energy, the largest provider of cleaner energy in America today. But he also writes frankly about failures, what he learned from them, and the tactics that ensured his business survival through tough economic times. In new chapters written for this expanded edition, Wyly discusses the ''Great Crash of 2008'' in historical perspective, offering insights on the causes of our current financial crisis and the path to recovery - including the importance of green energy for the future.