If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn, YouTube, or the business section of a bookstore lately, you’ve seen the face. Square jaw, salt-and-pepper hair, and an expression that suggests he’s just seen your Q4 earnings and is deeply, deeply disappointed in you.
That’s Scott Galloway.
Most people know him as the NYU Stern professor who yells about Big Tech. Others know him as the "Prof G" podcast guy or the dude who predicted Amazon would buy Whole Foods years before it happened. Honestly, he’s become a sort of secular priest for the modern age—preaching a gospel of "hard truths" about wealth, masculinity, and why your favorite tech company is probably a monopoly that needs to be broken up.
But here’s the thing: Galloway isn’t just a talking head. He’s a multi-millionaire entrepreneur who has actually built (and lost) real companies. He’s a father, a self-described "raging moderate," and someone who is increasingly obsessed with a single, terrifying question:
Why is it getting so much harder for young people to win?
The Marketing of the "Dawg"
Scott Galloway doesn’t sound like a typical academic. He talks like a guy who just walked out of a high-stakes boardroom, probably because he has. He’s founded nine companies—most notably L2 Inc. (sold to Gartner for $155 million) and RedEnvelope (which, to be fair, was a bit of a disaster in the long run).
At NYU Stern, he teaches Brand Strategy. But if you watch his lectures, you’ll notice they aren't really about logos or color palettes. They’re about power. Specifically, how the "Magnificent 10"—the tech giants like Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia—are sucking the oxygen out of the room for everyone else.
He calls himself "The Dawg." It’s a bit cringe-y, sure, but it works. He’s built a media empire under Prof G Media that reaches millions. He’s got the Prof G Pod, the Pivot podcast with Kara Swisher (where they bicker like an old married couple), and a newsletter called No Mercy / No Malice.
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His brand is "unvarnished truth." He’ll tell you that "following your passion" is terrible advice and that you should instead follow your talent. He’ll tell you that if you aren't working 80 hours a week in your 20s, you’re basically opting out of the top 1%.
It’s harsh. It’s loud. And for a generation of people feeling adrift in a chaotic economy, it’s strangely addictive.
The 2026 Predictions: Is the AI Bubble Finally Popping?
Galloway is famous for his predictions. He’s the first to admit when he gets them wrong (like his "Netflix is doomed" phase), but he hits the mark often enough to make people nervous.
In his latest outlook for 2026, he’s sounding a massive alarm on the AI hallucination.
He’s not talking about chatbots lying to you. He’s talking about the financial hallucination. He recently pointed out that OpenAI is reportedly looking for trillions of dollars in investment—money that literally doesn’t exist for infrastructure that would require a terrifying percentage of the world’s electricity.
"The greatest AI hallucination yet is the assumption that in the next few years we're going to build anywhere near the required grid and power capacity," Galloway says.
He’s betting big on Amazon for 2026, though. Why? Because while everyone else is playing with "bits" (software and code), Amazon is using AI to move "atoms." They’re automating the physical world—robotics in warehouses, drones, logistics. He thinks they’ll double their retail value without adding a single human worker. It’s a brutal take, but from a shareholder perspective, it’s hard to argue with.
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What Most People Get Wrong About His Wealth Advice
If you pick up his book The Algebra of Wealth, you might expect a get-rich-quick scheme. You won't find one.
Galloway’s "algebra" is actually pretty boring. It’s basically: Wealth = Focus + (Stoicism x Time) x Diversification.
He’s surprisingly open about his own money. He’s worth somewhere north of $100 million, but he talks about the "ghost" of financial insecurity that follows him because he grew up with a single mom who struggled to pay the bills.
He tells people to stop trying to pick individual stocks. He thinks most people are "deluded" into thinking they’re smarter than the market. Instead, he advocates for low-cost index funds and, most importantly, increasing your "burn"—the amount of money you save every month—by living like you’re poorer than you are.
The War on Loneliness and "Notes on Being a Man"
Lately, Scott’s tone has shifted. He’s less interested in talking about P/E ratios and more interested in why young men are failing.
His latest project, Notes on Being a Man, tackles some pretty dark statistics. He points out that the percentage of young men (20–24) neither in school nor working has tripled since the 80s. He blames this on what he calls "the screen"—the tendency for young people to trade real-world risks (dating, jobs, friendships) for a "reasonable facsimile of life" on Reddit, Discord, or OnlyFans.
He’s basically become the anti-Andrew Tate. Instead of preaching dominance, he’s preaching contribution. He argues that the definition of masculinity should be the "ability to provide and protect," not just for yourself, but for your community.
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He’s a big advocate for a National Service program in the U.S. He thinks we need to force 18-year-olds to go work together in the "real world" so they stop radicalizing each other in echo chambers. It’s an old-school idea that feels radical in 2026.
The NYU Professor’s Own Limitations
Look, Galloway isn't a prophet. He’s a performer.
Critics often point out that his advice is heavily skewed toward a very specific type of person: the high-achieving, urban professional. If you’re a single mom working two jobs in a rural area, his advice to "work 80 hours a week to build equity" feels less like a blueprint and more like an insult.
He also benefits from the very systems he critiques. He rails against the "higher ed cartel" and how NYU and other elite schools have become luxury brands that exclude the middle class. Yet, he is a tenured professor at one of those very schools. He acknowledges the irony, but it doesn't stop him from cashing the checks.
How to Actually Use "Galloway-ism" in Your Life
If you want to take something away from Scott Galloway’s world without becoming a mini-version of him, here is the playbook:
- Audit your "bits vs. atoms" ratio. Are you spending too much time in digital worlds that don't pay you back? Go outside. Build something physical. Meet a person in three dimensions.
- Stop following your passion. Seriously. Find what you are good at, get really good at it, and the passion will follow the paycheck.
- Invest in "The Four" (or Ten). Even if you hate Big Tech, don't bet against them. Own the index. Let the monopolies work for your retirement fund.
- Be a "Raging Moderate." The world wants you to pick a side and stay there. Galloway’s success comes from his ability to look at data and change his mind. That's a superpower.
Scott Galloway is probably going to keep shouting into microphones for the foreseeable future. He’s going to make more wrong predictions, and he’s going to offend a lot more people. But in a world full of polished, PR-vetted corporate speak, there’s something refreshing about a guy who is willing to be loud, wrong, and honest all at the same time.
If you’re feeling stuck, maybe it’s time to listen to the Dawg. Just don't forget to think for yourself too.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your savings rate: If you aren't saving at least 15% of your income, you aren't building wealth; you're just treading water.
- Diversify your "Social Capital": Reach out to one person this week for a coffee—in person. No Zoom, no DMs.
- Read the Data: Check out Adrift: America in 100 Charts to see the actual macro trends Galloway is talking about before you make your next big career move.