Disgraced former Illinois governor (and Pepperdine Law alum), Rod Blagojevich, never gets mentioned around the law school. I got the strong feeling the past couple of days that the higher-ups would prefer Rick Caruso to be what people picture when they think of Pepperdine alumni.
Caruso is a billionaire and a rockstar in the world of real estate development. His “The Grove” is a mega-hit in L.A., and he doesn’t seem to be too affected by a spiraling economy. He arrived on campus in his $150k Bentley yesterday to speak to a packed house. Word on the street is that he will be mayor of Los Angeles whenever he decides to make that happen.
Business doesn’t pique my interest, nor does exorbitant wealth. Hearing Caruso explain how to get people to spend money wasn’t that fascinating to me personally, but I did find interesting what appears to be his secret. Caruso eschewed a lot of the traditional business advice and decided to focus on giving people a shopping “experience.”
The postmodern world craves an “experience.” This is why people pay crazy money for coffee at Starbucks. This is why Rick Caruso drives a shiny black Bentley.
As a preacher, I read a book or two and heard a lecture or two on how Christianity ought to catch on to this very idea – people want an “experience.”
I don’t have a real point to make, other than saying that the world has changed dramatically. And I thought that’s worth noticing.
Minutes to Memories 
Guess I don’t know my luxury cars. Someone told me today it was a Rolls-Royce, and I heard the $500,000 figure thrown around, too.
Once you’re spending six figures on something that requires Unleaded, I guess it’s all the same to me.