Rick Caruso on California’s Collapse: Broken Leadership, LA Wildfire Failures & the Fix

Summary

Real estate developer Rick Caruso joins the All-In hosts on stage to discuss the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, arguing the Palisades fire was preventable and describing how his team saved Palisades Village with pre-positioned private firefighters, water trucks and non-combustible construction while city hydrants ran dry. He blames Mayor Karen Bass and city red tape for the slow rebuild, credits Governor Newsom's CEQA and Coastal Commission waivers, and calls for new underground power and water infrastructure plus federal funding. The conversation also covers whether he will run for California governor or LA mayor, his enrich-people's-lives business philosophy, homelessness spending, street drug enforcement and the National Guard. The episode is political and civic in focus and contains no investment or trading ideas.

• Caruso says the Palisades fire was preventable: an earlier fire in the same spot was not fully extinguished, the fire department was not pre-deployed, the largest reservoir was empty and hydrants failed.
• His team saved Palisades Village with private firefighters, water trucks and retardant staged two days early, plus non-combustible, ember-proof construction; they even loaned equipment and water to the LA Fire Department.
• Rebuilding is slow because of city and county red tape; LA plan checkers still work from home post-COVID instead of being deployed to the Palisades.
• He credits Newsom's CEQA and Coastal Commission waivers and wants undergrounded power lines, new water systems and federal funding for Altadena, Malibu and the Palisades.
• Caruso is weighing a run for California governor versus LA mayor; the live audience favored governor and Sacks worries ballot harvesting and no voter ID make it hard for outsiders.
• On homelessness he cites about $900,000 spent per person removed from the streets, wants funds redirected to organizations with proven track records and zero tolerance for street encampments and drug sales.
• He opposes federal National Guard deployment in LA or Chicago except as a last resort, distinguishing federal-territory Washington D.C., and calls instead for fully backed local police enforcement.
• No public companies, tickers or market calls are discussed; Caruso's own company is private.