Episode summary
Rick Caruso on California’s Collapse: Broken Leadership, LA Wildfire Failures & the Fix
All-In Podcast
· · Hosts: David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Friedberg · Guests: Rick Caruso
Summary
Rick Caruso argued that the Palisades wildfire exposed a basic failure of leadership, not an unavoidable catastrophe. He said his team prepared early with private firefighters, water trucks, retardant, and non-combustible building materials, and that they were able to save the Palisades Village and nearby properties while city systems failed. He blamed Los Angeles and California officials for red tape, slow recovery, and a lack of urgency, saying plan checkers were still working from home months after 7,000 homes burned.
He framed the broader problem as a culture of apathy, weak accountability, and leaders who are more concerned about reelection than execution. Caruso said California should lead the nation on housing, schools, crime, and quality of life, but instead tolerates homelessness, open-air drug dealing, and broken public safety systems. He called for zero tolerance on encampments, stronger policing, more treatment capacity, and faster rebuilding.
On politics, Caruso said he thinks he could be effective as either mayor or governor, and he left open whether he will run. He said Governor Gavin Newsom has done some useful things, but argued that state power should be used more aggressively to speed rebuilding and modernize infrastructure in places like the Palisades, Altadena, and Malibu.
Key takeaways
- Caruso said the Palisades fire was "completely preventable" or at least could have been significantly mitigated with competent leadership.
- He said Los Angeles is still moving too slowly on rebuilding because city bureaucracy, including plan checkers working from home, is blocking progress.
- Caruso argued California should have zero tolerance for street encampments and should redirect spending toward housing and treatment providers with proven records.
- He said the state should lead on housing, schools, crime, and quality of life if it is truly the world's fourth-largest economy.
- On a possible run, Caruso said he could be effective as either mayor or governor and has not ruled out either path.
Notable quotes
“What's predictable is preventable”
“I was convinced nine months ago. I'm more convinced today that fire was completely preventable”
“I think the state of California should lead the nation in everything that we do”
“We are spending in the city of Los Angeles $900,000 per person that they're removing from the streets”
“I don't support it. But I do support a fully engaged leadership system that require that the laws be enforced”
How the episode opens
For people don't know who Rick Caruso is, he's a great developer. You walk into one of Caruso's places and it's safe, it's clean, you want to bring your kids. Ideology did not save the palisades.
Competency would have running this city is running a business for the benefit of the residents. You've got to make good business decisions. It was predictable, Bill.
What's predictable is preventable. Rick Caruso now has a golden road in the governor's race if he wants it. What's happened to LA over the last decade is just tragic.
It's sad to watch. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Rick Caruso. Great to see you, brother.
Thank you for coming. Thank you very much. All right.
Make my rounds. Thank you. Good to see you.
Good seeing you. Hello everybody. All right, Rick.
Um, we're nine months out from the tragic fires. So much has happened. So much has happened.
Karen Bass, so incompetent. Such a disgracad my my Italian brethren in here. But when you when you look at it in all seriousness, you know, you had some properties there and you've always been an innovator.
Everybody knows the Grove. I spent so much time there with my beautiful daughter Lotus and and my my beautiful wife, um, Jade. Just what a gift you've given so many times over to this amazing city.
And then you watched this horrible incompetence. And yet you innovated and you had these incred this incredible insight that when the fires were coming, you would get water in trucks and bring it to the Pacific Palisades. And then you found this unique group of innovators called firefighters and you also brought some of them.
What did you see in this incredible moment of clarity that when the fires were coming that Karen Bass didn't see?
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- la wildfires
- california governance
- homelessness
- national guard
- policing
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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