About
Bill Walton
Bill Walton hosts The Bill Walton Show which focuses on in-depth conversations with leaders, entrepreneurs and thinkers who offer deep insights into money, culture and politics. He also chairs the Resolute Protector Foundation, a 501(c)(3) media production company that creates and produces original, educational and entertainment content.
Bill has an extensive background in multiple leadership roles as an executive, investor and entrepreneur.
He has been involved in launching, leading and financing a wide variety of organizations. This includes established businesses, start-ups, art, music, education and theater organizations, as well as policy and political action groups and feature films.
In 2016 and 2017, Bill led the Agency Action and Landing Teams for all the Federal economic agencies - Treasury and the IRS, Commerce, USTR, SEC, Social Security, FCC and other independent financial agencies - for the Donald J. Trump Presidential Transition Team.
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.
Bill founded Rush River Entertainment which was a producer of Max Rose, starring Jerry Lewis, 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.
Bill has served as a leader and board member of leading national policy, economics and business organizations: Heritage Foundation, American Conservative Union (CPAC), American Enterprise Institute, Media Research Center, Council for National Policy (President), 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 as a leader and board member of several of America’s major cultural institutions: 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).
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.
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 schools students in 12 states, and SuccessLab which taught reading to inner city public school children in Chicago.
Bill earned his BS and MBA degrees (Beta Gamma Sigma) from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. He was educated in public schools in Indianapolis. In 1971-1972 he served in the U.S. Army at The Pentagon.
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.
OTHER
ALLIED CAPITAL
HIGHLIGHTS
- Doubled the Company’s market capitalization in 1997 by merging 5 publicly traded Allied Capital affiliates into one entity with a superior balance sheet and diversified income stream.
- Pioneered and partnered with GE Capital in a $3.6 billion SSLP Unitrache Fund (senior/mezzanine debt). The fund was wound down in 2017, earning a gross lifetime IRR of 20%.
- Started the nation’s leading CMBS B piece investor in 1998; anticipating deteriorating mortgage market conditions, exited the business in 2005 generating an IRR of 24% and a $228 million capital gain.
- Led Allied into the private equity buyout business which generated over $1 billion in realized capital gains; partnered with Goldman Sachs in 2007 in a $750 million buyout fund.
- Earned Investment Grade private and public debt ratings from all three major rating agencies.
- Increased annual dividends paid to shareholders from $68 million in 1998 to $417 million by 2007.
- After the 2008-2009 capital markets collapse and a “mark-to-market” portfolio decline, preserved significant shareholder value through the Company’s all-stock merger with Ares Capital in 2010.
Bill's episode appearances
Episode 185: A Behind The Scenes Story Meeting with The Bill Walton Show Team
Listen in to a behind the scenes story meeting as the Bill Walton Show team speculates on what’s going on in the world. Starlink satellites and all the junk flying around in space, Elon Musk vs Jeff Bezos, Ukraine, the domino theory, Biden’s open borders, Alyona’s Kazakhstan take on Russia, media’s monolithic coverage of Ukraine, inflation, cooking oil and fertilizer prices, the insane (perhaps) Shanghai covid lockdown, the fragmenting world order and the dollar’s reserve currency status, what’s going on with China and Russia, corporate profits at all time highs … and more. Send us your thoughts about what we should cover.
Episode 134: The TBWS Roundtable on “Joe Biden’s Horribles”
My friend Paul Teller keeps a running (and depressing) list of the destructive actions taken by Joe Biden’s Administration. Joe Biden has been in office for just a few months and already the list is a mile long. Paul, who was a top aide to VP Mike Pence and is now his chief of staff, calls his list “The Horribles” The TBWS Team agrees that the name is apt. In yet another free association roundtable, we kick off with how grateful we are for lunch bucket Joe’s letter – in an IRS envelope – reminding us to thank him personally for our pandemic relief checks. Then we move on to wokeness, equity and Biden’s sowing more racial divisions, cancel culture, Biden’s proposed “Section 8” tax plan, the assault on religious liberty, whether a Federal government promoting “wokeness” violates the Establishment Clause, the attempted Federal takeover of elections with the “John Lewis Voting Rights Act”, and the HR5 “Equality Act” which would do anything but bring about equality. “It’s a Five Alarm Fire,” says Brian McNicol. Who is really driving […]
Episode 133: The Future of Policing in America
The Bill Walton Show Roundtable worries about what the future of law enforcement could look like in this country. In many cities, seasoned officers are rushing to retire – causing a major deficit as those positions are becoming harder to fill. Increasingly, resisting arrest is becoming a badge of protest. And rather than punishing law breakers, police officers are being demonized for doing their jobs. What happens if big city Mayors actually do “defund the police?” What will cities look like a decade from now? Who will be keeping the peace? Who will want to live there? Much to ponder, and unless we change course, the future of cities look dystopian.
Episode 123: Trans Men in Women’s Sports
On this episode, our TBWS Roundtable discusses the push by the radical woke left to let transgendered boy/girl athletes participate in girls and women’s sports. After coming out strongly against trans men in women’s sports, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem recently vetoed a bill that would’ve banned it. Why? She says “it’s complicated” and she may be right. The very woke NCAA would ban her state from staging its competitions. But allowing trans men in women’s sports would gut Title IX. It seems that who and how you would define a boy or girl depends on your politics, not “the science.” Where are the feminists on this when all the victims are girls? Martina Navratilova has been excoriated for coming out against it. Why is this seemingly only an American issue? What are the implications for our military? And is this just the opening salvo in the race to replace the binary? Did you know there was a “race to replace the binary?” It’s a mess, and the Roundtable explores what it all means, and how […]
Episode 119: CPAC, Trump and the future of the GOP
The TBWS Roundtable discusses former President Trump’s CPAC speech, and what it means for Republicans going forward. Has he learned anything about shoring up his weaknesses? Will he attempt another run for President? Should he? And if not, where does the Republican party go from here?We also look at the future for Mike Pence. What role will the former VP play in the party? Plus, we look at the role social media will play in getting out the message of the GOP and get into the risky business of offering predictions for the mid-term elections.