The obituary pages rarely feature a balance sheet. But for Les Mills, who died this week at 91, the ledger of his life was built on compound interest. A four-time Olympic athlete turned fitness empire founder, Mills took the spreadsheets of health and turned them into a global leveraged buyout of human potential.
The man who made us sweat to 'The Haka' understood something the City of London forgets: the only asset that never depreciates is a healthy body. His BODYPUMP classes were a form of capital accumulation, with barbells as the currency. Gilt yields may rise and fall, but the return on investment in a 30-minute squat track?
That was Mills' unhedged bet on human nature. His passing leaves a vacuum in the fitness sector that no amount of quantitative easing can fill. The market of mortality has called in his margin.
Rest in peace, Mr. Mills. Your legacy is a diversified portfolio of biceps and balance sheets.
