John Malone, the cable pioneer, iconic investor, David Zaslav mentor and major shareholder of Warner Bros.
Discovery, said crippling debt plagued the conglom post-merger but it slowly is starting to see some light.
They appeared virtually from Denver and London, respectively.
John Malone (inset) Elon MuskGetty Images
The two have an easy relationship, and questions veered to the personal.
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How Elon Musks brain works, Malone answered.
That could take some time, Fries responded.
Discovery has large global footprint, and Max is in the midst of an aggressive global expansion.
In a lightning round, Malone was asked rapid-fire what stocks he likes.
Hes a buyer of Comcast, Charter, AT&T and all the big tech companies.
David Ellisons Skydance is acquiring Paramount a deal expected to close in 2025.
Malone is neutral on Disney, which still has problems to solve.
Turning to a new Trump presidency, he said: There are really three things Donald Trump campaigned on.
One was protect the border.
I would love to see that expanded to fixing the immigration system.
3, probably the most important, is to try and get peace in the world, Malone added.
Whether its through intimidation, talking it down, whatever you might do to settle disputes internationally.
Theyre global in scale.
They have enormous breadth … and they have been the principal beneficiaries in recent years of the equity rise.
And so this concentration of economic value and power, in the hands of relatively few global industries.
I think thats quite a phenomenon, and an enormous challenge for regulators.
The industry needs it, he said.
Defensive capital spend is the way I would define it.
I believe that that Dish and DirecTV should have been allowed to merge five years ago.
I think consolidation is really the right direction, Malone added.
