Business school’s namesake speaks on campus

It's a rare occasion that one of the benefactors of Roger Williams University makes an on-campus appearance. Wednesday, April 27, Mario Gabelli, one of Wall Street's most revered money managers, and the namesake of RWU's Gabelli School of Business, spoke to the campus community, giving a presentation called "Creating Alpha Through Research: Plain Old Stock Picking – Does It Work?"

Mario Gabelli is the brain behind Gabelli Asset Management Company (GAMCO), a very well-respected investment fund. Gabelli has built his reputation through strong fundamental research and solid business values.

The line for the event, held in the RWU School of Law appellate courtroom, stretched from the second floor, down the stairs into the lobby. The room quickly filled, leaving only standing room. In fact, many eager students were forced to turn around due to the potential fire hazard the over-crowded room would have posed.

Gabelli began his talk looking toward the future.

"Where is the world going to be two or three years from now?" he said. He talked about having forward-thinking vision in business, using Wayne Gretzky as an example: "…it's not where the puck is, but where it's going."

Much of what Gabelli said revolved around the future, about seeing trends before they happen. Gabelli emphasized the potential future in energy.

"What's going to happen in thirty years?" he said. "One of you will have to come up with an idea …. Oil saved the whales, how are we going to save the planet?"

Gabelli also touched on the political climate that exists in the world today, referring to the "three B's." Berlin was his first "B."

"Will the Germans be willing to keep the E.U. together? Are they going to be willing to forgive [Greece's] debt?" Gabelli said, referencing the economic turmoil and instability that exists abroad.

The next "B" was Beijing.

"Are the Chinese going to be able to cool off the economy? Are they going to be able to tighten up their financial system?" Gabelli said.

He warned of the financial risk China poses. "What does it mean when [China] stares us down over some issue when they hold $1.4 trillion of our debt?"

The final "B" was two fold: Barack and Bernanke. Talking about taxes and government spending, Gabelli said that "…on November 2, 2010, after [the] election, [Obama] decided to become a republican.

"We have to reduce our debt as a country. What does that mean for us? What does it mean in terms of home ownership? What does it mean growth and competitiveness," Gabelli said.

Speaking about the Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Gabelli asked: "Will he continue to keep [the] money coming?"

Gabelli gave a powerful talk to the students, faculty, and guests in attendance. He spoke with a great amount of charisma and a sharp and witty sense of humor. However, Gabelli asked a lot of serious questions of those in the room. He presented many issues that business students will have to keep in mind as they move toward the future.

He placed a great deal of faith in the graduating class.

"One of you will be running this law school, one of you will be running this university, one of you will run a lot of money, maybe a lot more. Some of you are going to create great opportunities and great jobs. I don't know who you are. And you don't know who you are."