Bye-bye corporate conglomerates. Hello personal conglomerates.

The article contrasts the corporate conglomerates of the past, exemplified by General Electric (GE) under Jack Welch, with the emerging model of "personal conglomerates" embodied by Elon Musk. Thirty years ago, GE was a sprawling industrial giant with diverse divisions spanning aerospace, energy, healthcare, and media. Under Welch’s leadership from 1981 to 2001, GE grew from $14 billion to over $400 billion through aggressive layoffs and acquisitions, including non-industrial businesses like NBC to expand influence. Welch’s management style was widely admired and emulated, but the conglomerate’s structure eventually revealed critical flaws, particularly during the 2008 financial crisis when GE Capital’s risky financial dealings led to a massive federal bailout. This prompted GE to begin dismantling its conglomerate structure five years ago. In contrast, Elon Musk operates a personal conglomerate encompassing Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and the social media platform X. While these companies have diverse