The character arc of Patrick Bet-David

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 18 October 1978 in Tehran, to an Assyrian father and an Armenian mother. Between then and now sit the family's departure from Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, arrival in the United States at about ten, a first job at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 2001, nearly eight years at Transamerica, PHP Agency in 2009, Valuetainment in 2012 and the sale of PHP in 2022. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Patrick Bet-David?

He arrived with nothing and built the agency.

He was born in Tehran in 1978, to an Assyrian father and an Armenian mother. The family left Iran as refugees during the Iran-Iraq war and reached the United States when he was about ten. He attended Santa Monica College and Glendale Community College briefly and left both, going into finance instead.

In September 2001 he was hired as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. He then spent nearly eight years at Transamerica. In 2009 he founded PHP Agency, an insurance sales organisation, which is the company the rest of the line is built on. In July 2022 Integrity Marketing Group acquired it in a deal reported at around two hundred and fifty million dollars.

On 9 November 2012 he launched Valuetainment, a YouTube channel about entrepreneurship, and in 2015 a video of his called The Life of an Entrepreneur in 90 Seconds went round the world. The PBD Podcast followed from 2020. He has written Doing the Impossible, Your Next Five Moves in 2020, Choose Your Enemies Wisely in 2023 and The Academy in 2024. In 2023 he became a minority owner of the New York Yankees, holding less than one percent, which is a small number attached to a very large fact for a boy who arrived in the country at ten.

The moments

Patrick Bet-David's timeline.

The 1980s

Jun 1988

The family left Iran

Setback, and it changed everything. Out of one country and into another, at ten years old.

The 1990s

Jun 1997

He left college

Setback, and it changed his direction. Two colleges, neither finished, and no fallback qualification.

The 2000s

Sep 2001

A first finance job

Milestone, and it changed everything. A seat on a desk, at twenty two, with no degree behind him.

~2002

Eight years at Transamerica

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The long apprenticeship that most versions of this story skip over.

1 Sep 2008

Stay salaried, or build it

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: found the agency, taken, or stay at Transamerica. Integrity Marketing Group acquired PHP Agency in July 2022, in a deal reported at around two hundred and fifty million dollars.

~2009

PHP Agency

Milestone, and it changed everything. Founded in the worst year for financial services in a generation.

The 2010s

9 Nov 2012

Valuetainment begins

Milestone, and it changed everything. A camera, a channel, and a subject nobody was covering that way.

Jun 2015

Ninety seconds, worldwide

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Ninety seconds that reached further than three years of everything else.

The 2020s

11 Aug 2020

Your Next Five Moves

Milestone, and it changed his direction. A book and a podcast in the same year, both about thinking further ahead.

Jul 2022

PHP is acquired

Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirteen years from founding to a quarter of a billion dollars.

Apr 2023

A stake in the Yankees

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Less than one percent of the Yankees, which is a small number attached to a very large fact.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is a demonstration, in public and at length, that where a line starts does not fix where it can get to.

What he wrote

Books by Patrick Bet-David

2011
Doing the Impossible
His first book, on the twenty five laws he says carried him from a refugee childhood into business.
2020
Your Next Five Moves
Master the business of strategy. Thinking several moves ahead, taken from chess and applied to a company.
2023
Choose Your Enemies Wisely
Business planning for the audacious few, built around what you are actually working against.
2024
The Academy
Written for younger readers, on the habits he argues decide a life early.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

His began in a country he had to leave and reached a stake in the New York Yankees. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

Draw my own line Explore Character Arc

Patrick Bet-David: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Patrick Bet-David's character arc?

Born in Tehran, out of the country as a refugee during a war, in the United States by about ten, out of two colleges without finishing, into finance at twenty two, and the founder of a company sold for around a quarter of a billion dollars.

Where was Patrick Bet-David born?

In Tehran, Iran, on 18 October 1978, to an Assyrian father and an Armenian mother. The family left Iran as refugees during the Iran-Iraq war and reached the United States when he was about ten years old.

What is Patrick Bet-David's PHP Agency?

The insurance sales organisation he founded in 2009, in the worst year for financial services in a generation. Integrity Marketing Group acquired it in July 2022 in a deal reported at approximately two hundred and fifty million dollars.

What is Valuetainment by Patrick Bet-David?

The YouTube channel he launched on 9 November 2012, covering entrepreneurship. A video of his called The Life of an Entrepreneur in 90 Seconds went round the world in 2015, and the PBD Podcast followed from 2020.

Did Patrick Bet-David go to university?

He briefly attended Santa Monica College and Glendale Community College and left both without finishing, going into finance instead. He was hired as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in September 2001.

Does Patrick Bet-David own part of the Yankees?

Yes, a minority stake of less than one percent, acquired in 2023. It is a small percentage attached to a very large fact for somebody who arrived in the country as a child refugee.

What books has Patrick Bet-David written?

Doing the Impossible, Your Next Five Moves in 2020, Choose Your Enemies Wisely in 2023 and The Academy in 2024. The best known of them is Your Next Five Moves, on thinking several moves ahead.

Where does this timeline of Patrick Bet-David's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Patrick Bet-David isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

More character arcs

Lives that rhyme with his.

Every Character, A to Z

Sources

Patrick Bet-David, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Integrity Marketing Group, acquisition of PHP Agency, July 2022.
Publisher records for Your Next Five Moves, Choose Your Enemies Wisely and The Academy.