8 The American businessman and billionaire recounts chapters of his extraordinary life and shares his thoughts on how the public engages with media, entertainment, and technology. A Master Class from the Cable Cowboy: John Malone Tells His Life Story By Luis Polanco American media mogul John Malone (born on March 7, 1941) was raised in the middle-class town of Milford, Connecticut. He received a pedigreed education at some of the top universities in the U.S. — Yale and Johns Hopkins. Early in his career, he landed roles at the industrial research company Bell Labs, the strategy and consulting firm McKinsey & Company, and the electronics manufacturer General Instrument. Today, Malone is best known for his industry-transforming roles as president and CEO of the cable television provider Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), his generous donations to American universities, his share in the baseball team the Atlanta Braves, and his significant land ownership (he even exceeds CNN founder Ted Turner as the largest individual private land owner in the U.S.). In his new memoir, Born to Be Wired: Lessons from a Lifetime Transforming Television, Wiring America for the Internet, and Growing Formula One, Discovery, Sirius XM, and the Atlanta Braves (432 pgs., Simon & Schuster, 2025, $31), Malone shares his insider perspective on episodes from his life and key events in American media, including the launch of cable networks such as Discovery, QVC, and TBS, as well as landmark mergers, like Warner Bros. Discovery and Live Nation Entertainment, among other recent developments. The subtitle “Lessons from a Lifetime” helps frame the memoir. Some of these lessons are straightforward and feel-good reminders to live a life of positivity and gratitude, like the importance of who you work with, whether they be collaborators or antagonists. “Now that I am a bit older and slowing down, just a little, I have realized that, all along, the most important element was who was involved, not what,” he notes. “The people whom I befriended, learned from, and fought against — rather than the deals or the payoff — gave me the most satisfaction.” Other lessons are drawn from specific challenges and trials from his career. From the early 1970s to the 1990s, Malone spearheaded efforts at TCI as the right-hand man to founder Bob Magness, who Malone characterizes in those years as “a contemplative cowboy with the wits of a business tycoon and the quiet stability of a ranch boss.” One of the earliest challenges comes from the beginning years as CEO of TCI. As Malone recalled, in 1975, the banks had come knocking to discuss the company’s debt, threatening bankruptcy. In Malone’s retelling, his putting his foot down was a decisive move in saving the company. But more importantly, the challenge brought its own learning opportunity. This event “forced [him] to quantify risk with precision, weigh every deal with a clear head, and make bold moves without putting everything on the line again.” While this business model of restraint might contradict the “betit-all mindset” of contemporary businessmen like Elon Musk, it has allowed him to build a career of longevity. “This cautious, but calculated mindset would define my dealmaking for the next thirty years or more,” Malone said of his early days at TCI. The memoir is full of in-depth stories from all parts of Malone’s life. His relationships with people are given special emphasis. For example, Malone is generous in portraying his oft-times competitor Rupert Murdoch: “The way I saw it, sometimes he was playing on my team. A lot of time he was playing for a different team but not opposing us. And in certain games he and his team were playing against us — and hard.” Elsewhere he muses on relationships he wished he was able to better develop, including the one with Netflix’s Reed Hastings. The stories behind different deals provide fodder for contemplation on business. For example, after recounting how Liberty Media (which was originally under the TCI umbrella of companies but was later spun off by AT&T as an independent company) acquired a controlling stake in Formula One, Malone muses on the advantages of tracking stocks (a special class of stock issued by a parent company that links its value to the financial performance of a specific division, rather than the entire company). “We believe the tracking stocks actually provide more transparency and diversity for the investor, while giving Liberty enormous flexibility, tax advantages, and greater access to capital.” With Born to Be Wired, Malone has offered a lengthy chronicle that details the sagas of the American media and entertainment industry. As with any memoir from an industry bigwig, there is much to be gleaned about internal politics and the fast-paced decisions that govern this media landscape. Malone’s memoir is a wealth of knowledge and insight into the American media landscape and his business philosophy. While this business model of restraint might contradict the “bet-it-all mindset” of contemporary businessmen like Elon Musk, it has allowed him to build a career of longevity. VIDEOAGE January 2026 Book Review
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