I just read about a guy making $4.6B/yr selling steak, shrimp, and fried calamari. And it all started with

I just read about a guy making $4.6B/yr selling steak, shrimp, and fried calamari.
And it all started with a single restaurant.
His name is Tilman Fertitta. And here's how he does it.
1/ Start with one restaurant
Rewind to 1980. Tilman's a young hustler with big dreams. After some fumbles, he buys into a small restaurant in Katy, Texas.
It's called Landry's Seafood Inn & Oyster Bar.
He rolls up his sleeves and gets the place cranking. Then he opens a few more.
Next, Tilman buys out his partners. Now he's in full control. And he's about to get a gut punch.
2/ Stay alive
To pay for growth, Tilman's taken a lot of debt. About $2M. Then a financial crisis hits.
This could easily drown him.
Banks are calling back their loans. And if they call on Tilman, he's done.
But his phone never rings. The bank that gave him money is out of business. So no one is around to bug him for the cash. For a while anyhow.
He uses the free time to grow. Fast. Then he pays back all the money.
And he's about to make a lot more.
3/ Restaurant roll-up
Fast forward to 1993. Landry's is at $30M in sales. Tilman takes it public and snags a pile of cash. Time to start gobbling up restaurants.
Our lobster king becomes the culinary conqueror.
He's looking for strong concepts with crummy execution. If it's broke, he can fix it.
He buys Mastro's, Rainforest Cafe, Del Frisco's, and more. Then he centralizes operations, revitalizes each one, and juices up the profit.
Tilman does this 30 times over two decades. And his next deal is going to be legendary.
4/ Buy back the business
Tilman's done running Landry's as a public company. He wants it back.
The whole thing. Every single share.
So he buys it.
He pays $1.7B. Almost all borrowed money. Banks are happy to lend it to him.
Our restaurant raider keeps scooping up assets. He also buys the Golden Nugget, Houston Rockets, and a yacht.
Nah, I'm kidding. He bought two yachts. Obviously.
5/ My take
Tilman could have easily been wiped out. So many times. But he's got serious staying power.
That's the key ingredient to so many strong businesses. They just refuse to die.
Take a beating, wipe yourself off, and get back to work.
And that's how you make $4.6B selling steak, shrimp, and fried calamari.
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