Bloomberg TV's Betty Liu came up with the concept of her newest show by putting herself in an observer's shoes—she thought of the long and engaging conversations that financial industry giants might have as they met with clients and business partners, and wanted nothing more to be a fly on the wall of those restaurants.
From that, Titans at the Table was born—the newest Bloomberg TV show invites the viewer to listen in on a dinner table conversation between Liu and four big figures in the financial industry as the group dines together at The Modern, the elegant and chic restaurant next to the MoMa. The first episode will air Thursday at 9 p.m. and feature Jim Chanos of Kynikos Associates, Fortress Investment's Michael Novogratz, Jamie Zimmerman of Litespeed and Steve Kuhn of Pine River Capital Management.
The plan is to have the hour-long show air a new episode every quarter, featuring Liu and four big names in finance, said a Bloomberg spokesperson.
Liu said she was also inspired to create the show because she felt the Bloomberg TV studio as it aired the news of the day during market hours was too structured and formal. She anchors "In The Loop with Betty Liu" on Bloomberg TV every morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
"I thought... what if we got these people outside the studio and had them unplugged, had them relax a bit... and just see what sort of conversations can flow out of that," Liu told Business Insider. "I just wanted to take the conversations we had on the show than bring it to a more relaxed atmosphere."
The Titans at the Table preview clip shows the guests chatting in an intimate dining area filled with ambient noise, giving the show a reality TV feel. Conversation flowed from financial markets to the economy to politics and zigzagged between serious to lighthearted.
Liu told Business Insider that there was no shortage of friendly banter throughout dinner, especially between Chanos and Novogratz—the two exchanged differing views on hot topics like Facebook and the upcoming Presidential elections.
"I don't have a Facebook... because I have a life," Chanos said during the dinner as Liu recalled. But Novogratz defended the social networking site, saying he reconnected with old high school friends despite the fact that he first hopped on the bandwagon in order to spy on his kids.
Although the show's quarterly schedule is due to the possibly difficulties of scheduling a single open date with so many big names in finance, it's not hard to imagine many financial bigwigs may be scrambling for a spot to dine with Liu at The Modern for future episodes. For the company and the food—at the first dinner, the guests dined on Alaskan king crab, foie gras and venison loin while the wine flowed freely and copiously.
Liu added that she hopes to get bank CEOs and top newsmakers to the dining table in the future. In addition, the Bloomberg anchor told Business Insider there will always be an open invite extended to Warren Buffett.
"He might not be drinking wine though, I know he prefers cherry coke," she said.
