Acquired
Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
Every company has a story. Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them.
Recent Episodes
Home Depot
Sep 14, 2026This is an Acquired episode on Home Depot, the retail giant founded in 1981 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank after being fired from Handy Dan. Hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal trace Home Depot's unlikely origin story—a company built by retail operators with no hardware expertise—and explain how it became the highest-returning stock in the S&P 500 over 45 years, compounding at nearly 25% annually. The episode covers the key figures (Marcus, Blank, investment banker Ken Langone, and later CEO Frank Blake), the revolutionary warehouse format that transformed fragmented hardware retail, and the multiple tailwinds including aging U.S. housing stock, the DIY movement, and pro market expansion.
Disney: The Renaissance and the Empire
Aug 10, 2026Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal explore Disney's transformation from a company worth more dead than alive in 1984 to a global media empire. The episode chronicles Michael Eisner and Frank Wells' legendary turnaround, the Disney Renaissance driven by animated musicals like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, strategic acquisitions including Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm, and the company's current struggle to navigate streaming disruption and the decline of traditional media economics.
The Walt Disney Company
Jun 22, 2026Vanguard
May 18, 2026Acquired Live at Radio City Music Hall (Presented by J.P. Morgan)
Oct 1, 2025Chase Center + Summer Update
Aug 8, 2024Charlie Munger
Oct 30, 2023Short: The Death of Sega
Apr 18, 2023
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