{"id":593527,"date":"2026-04-19T11:29:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/593527\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T11:29:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T11:29:21","slug":"wealthy-adventurer-victor-vescovo-on-why-he-cant-take-it-with-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/593527\/","title":{"rendered":"Wealthy adventurer Victor Vescovo on why he can&#8217;t take it with him"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img alt=\"Victor Vescovo beside his deep ocean submersible &quot;\u0080\u0098Limiting Factor&quot;\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:3 \/ 2\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Victor Vescovo beside his deep ocean submersible &#8220;\u0080\u0098Limiting Factor&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Tamara Stubbs\/Courtesy The Five Deeps Expedition<\/p>\n<p>Victor Vescovo soaked in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/news\/article\/nasa-already-has-next-artemis-flight-in-its-22202280.php\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Artemis II\u2019s moonshot journey<\/a> from beginning to end with vicarious exhilaration.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co\/events\/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&amp;template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl\" alt=\"\" class=\"x1px y1px vh abs\" aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The 60-year-old Dallasite\u00a0\u2014 renowned for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/business\/entrepreneurs\/2021\/04\/01\/the-most-interesting-man-in-dallas-is-ready-to-part-ways-with-the-most-capable-submarine-in-the-world\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">record-setting explorations of his own<\/a> that have earned him the title of \u201cthe most interesting man in Dallas\u201d\u00a0\u2014 watched the historic splashdown with fellow members of the prestigious Sea-Space Symposium in Cozumel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExcitement. Pride. Envy,\u201d Vescovo texted his feelings immediately afterwards. \u201cI would have been there in a heartbeat. Any chance to travel into space, and I\u2019m there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Vescovo has the brains, the gumption and the money to do just that.<\/p>\n<p>By anyone\u2019s measure, he\u2019s a highly complex dude.<\/p>\n<p>Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=dallasnews.com\" data-link=\"native\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Add Preferred Source\" class=\"td300 cp f aic jcc disabled:cd wsn px24 y40px px16 py8 buttonSm fs13 xs:fs16 xs:buttonLg bg-primaryAccessible hover:o80 c-white disabled:bg-gray300 disabled:c-gray600 border bn tac br2\"><\/p>\n<p>Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p>His life is a kaleidoscope of complementary interests. He\u2019s been an extreme explorer, inventor, U.S. Navy counterterrorism officer, cartographer, pilot, Top Gun intelligence instructor, military historian, five-language linguist, wealthy private investor\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 and devoted Zen Buddhist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>The graduate of St. Mark\u2019s School of Texas, Stanford, MIT and Harvard has conquered the Earth\u2019s highest peaks, invented and built the submersible that took him to the planet\u2019s deepest trenches, skied both the North and South Poles, and traveled on a suborbital space mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an exhilarating feeling when you survive and you succeed,\u201d Vescovo said recently in an interview from his home in North Dallas. \u201cThe five most dangerous words in the English language are, \u2018How hard could it be? \u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet, there\u2019s a good chance that people don\u2019t know he\u2019s from Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/business\/2026\/02\/08\/dan-noble-20-loading-exiting-ceo-who-reshaped-dallas-centric-hks-readies-second-act\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Exiting CEO who reshaped Dallas-centric HKS readies second act<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Nor do they know that Vescovo has amassed enough money from his personal investments to deploy more than $100 million to attempt his risky, yet highly calculated, record-setting conquests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am acutely aware of the brevity of my own existence in this world,\u201d Vescovo adds. \u201cI make money so I can use it for what I think are the most interesting and productive ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Victor Vescovo has summited the highest mountain on every continent, built a submersible that took him to the depths of all five oceans, skied both the North and South Poles and traveled on a suborbital space mission. Vescovo looks at a custom pen he made at his home on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Dallas.\" loading=\"lazy\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:3 \/ 2\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Victor Vescovo has summited the highest mountain on every continent, built a submersible that took him to the depths of all five oceans, skied both the North and South Poles and traveled on a suborbital space mission. Vescovo looks at a custom pen he made at his home on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Juan Figueroa\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n<p>He adds: \u201cI do not want to pass away as a billionaire. What else am I going to do with my money? Why not have an intense experience while advancing us as a species and doing something in exploration that is meaningful?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m from Texas, home of wildcatters and cowboys. I would rather use the money while I\u2019m alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo\u2019s never been married. Vescovo\u2019s only \u201cchildren\u201d are Ivan and Nikolai, nine-year-old Schipperke littermates that live up to the breed\u2019s nickname \u201clittle black devils.\u201d That amuses the entrepreneur. \u201cThey\u2019re like their owner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Matt Lipton, his best friend, St. Mark\u2019s classmate and now his personal attorney, says Vescovo pretty much lives up to a favorite movie line from Breaker Morant: \u201cLive every day as if it\u2019s going to be your last. One day you\u2019re sure to be right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brad Thomas, a Dallas sports marketing consultant, is in awe of his friend\u2019s breadth of diverse accomplishments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor\u2019s mastery of languages, military history, aviation, scuba diving, world affairs and technology are other aspects of who he is,\u201d said Thomas, who created Southern Methodist University\u2019s trademarked slogan, Mustang Mania.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll that said, he\u2019s built a life so full that he doesn\u2019t seek or care about attention and simply wants to experience the world and leave it better than he found it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Victor Vescovo has summited the highest mountain on every continent, built a submersible that took him to the depths of all five oceans, skied both the North and South Poles and traveled on a suborbital space mission. Vescovo poses for a photo with his Schipperke littermates Ivan and Nikolai at his home on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Dallas.\" loading=\"lazy\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:3 \/ 2\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Victor Vescovo has summited the highest mountain on every continent, built a submersible that took him to the depths of all five oceans, skied both the North and South Poles and traveled on a suborbital space mission. Vescovo poses for a photo with his Schipperke littermates Ivan and Nikolai at his home on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Juan Figueroa\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n<p>Optimistic realist<\/p>\n<p>Ken Hersh, chairman of Hersh Family Investments and former CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, calls his fellow Marksman sharp, inquisitive and humble. \u201cWe are lucky to have a person like Victor here in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Other words that friends and family use to describe Vescovo are brilliant, loyal, driven, relentless, creative, complex, strategic and kind.<\/p>\n<p>The man himself describes his personality as \u201clogical, intense and aware.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a congenital optimist, but a hard-nosed realist,\u201d Vescovo said. \u201cI hold in my brain the hopeful optimism of a liberal, but it\u2019s tempered by the hard edge experience of a conservative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The trim 167-lb, six-footer keeps an extensive workout regimen needed for the arduous physical requirements of climbing mountains and deep-sea adventures. He\u2019s currently training to do exploratory cave diving all over the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>The cost of diving and going to remote locations won\u2019t be cheap, he said. \u201cIt won\u2019t be $100,000, and it won\u2019t be a million. It\u2019ll probably be somewhere in the middle. For now, I\u2019m just learning how to do it. That\u2019s going to take a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Victor Vescovo has summited the highest mountain on every continent, built a submersible that took him to the depths of all five oceans, skied both the North and South Poles and traveled on a suborbital space mission. Vescovo works with his 3D printed model of one of his next project\u2019s \u201cOcean Mapper\u201d at his home on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Dallas.\" loading=\"lazy\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:2 \/ 3\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Victor Vescovo has summited the highest mountain on every continent, built a submersible that took him to the depths of all five oceans, skied both the North and South Poles and traveled on a suborbital space mission. Vescovo works with his 3D printed model of one of his next project\u2019s \u201cOcean Mapper\u201d at his home on Friday, March 20, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Juan Figueroa\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n<p>\u2018De-extincting\u2019 \u00e0 la Jurassic Park<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo\u2019s first job after graduating in three years from Stanford University in 1987 was as a management consultant for Bain &amp; Company in San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat taught me the mechanics of business, strategically and operationally,\u201d he said. Next up was \u201cboot camp for finance\u201d as an analyst at the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. \u201cThose two jobs merged to give me a solid business foundation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/business\/2026\/02\/22\/how-the-bush-centers-shilo-brooks-plans-to-avoid-turning-it-into-a-mausoleum\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How the Bush Center\u2019s Shilo Brooks plans to avoid turning it into a &#8216;mausoleum&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In 2002, he and Ted Beneski co-founded Insight Equity, a private equity firm that raised $1.5 billion before Vescovo amicably stepped away three years ago to do his own thing in venture capital.<\/p>\n<p>Caladan Capital\u00a0\u2014 as in the water-rich planet in the Dune universe\u00a0\u2014 is not a traditional venture capital firm. Rather, Vescovo\u2019s investment vehicle invests in early-stage aerospace, defense, electronics, heavy industry, high technology and life sciences. Businesses that just might change the world as we know it\u00a0\u2014 or not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo thinks it would be pretty cool to \u201cde-extinct\u201d species such as the Tasmanian tiger, Woolly Mammoth and Dodo Bird, \u00e0 la Jurassic Park; mine precious minerals from metal asteroids, and build data centers in space.<\/p>\n<p>Some of that is not as Twilight Zone-ish science fiction as it might seem.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s a minority holder and on the board of advisers of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/business\/local-companies\/2026\/02\/17\/colossals-techy-new-hq-helps-dallas-startup-be-in-your-face-with-de-extinction-mission\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Colossal Biosciences<\/a>, the Dallas-based genetic-engineering company. Last year, it announced the birth of three white \u201cfunctional copies\u201d of the extinct Dire Wolf.<\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/business\/local-companies\/2025\/04\/07\/how-colossal-bioscience-used-a-little-bit-of-magic-to-revive-extinct-dire-wolf\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The dire wolf is (sort of) back from extinction. Dallas-based startup explains the &#8216;magic&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were cuddly when they were little, but now they\u2019re beautiful, natural killing machines,\u201d he said appreciatively.<\/p>\n<p>For the past 10 years, one of Vescovo\u2019s investments has been working on genetic cures for incurable diseases. He hopes to get Federal Drug Administration approval in the next three to five years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDeep down, I always wanted to be a venture capitalist,\u201d Vescovo said. He believes he now has the experience to analyze situations objectively\u00a0\u2014 even when it comes to his most keen target of extreme technology.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very dangerous because when you\u2019re trying to break norms and do something that\u2019s never been done before, the odds of failure are high,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re successful, they can be extremely profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"Victor Vescovo atop the summit of Mount Everest displaying the Texas and U.S. flags.\" loading=\"lazy\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:3 \/ 2\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Victor Vescovo atop the summit of Mount Everest displaying the Texas and U.S. flags.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n<p>No cheap thrills<\/p>\n<p>While he enjoys adrenaline-fueled adventures, don\u2019t dare label Vescovo as a daredevil. Each attempted quest is meticulously planned, with risks weighed, much in the same way he assesses the risk\/reward of his investments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more resources you have, the more extreme places you can go safely,\u201d he said. \u201cYou do extreme things on the cheap, and you can jeopardize your life. I learned that very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>When Vescovo was in his 20s, his thrill-seeking quests were relatively inexpensive, costing several thousand dollars to climb lower mountains. Each of his Mount\u00a0Everest climbs (it took two attempts) cost about $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo added to his adventurer\u2019s booty in late 2022, when he sold his deep-submersible support vessel and his submersible technology to the marine research organization Inkfish for undisclosed tens of millions.<\/p>\n<p>And as a minority holder in Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, Vescovo is looking at a potentially significant windfall when its June IPO fetches an estimated $1.3 trillion from investors, if it lives up to the advance hype.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, it\u2019s useless to try to come up with a realistic figure, Vescovo explains. \u201cIt would be an attractive payday by any stretch. I think it will do well in the post-market, too. I\u2019m just glad I got in a few years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u2018When I\u2019m determined, I figure it out\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo\u2019s thirst for adventure may have something to do with a traumatic childhood experience. His first brush with death happened as a 3-year-old living in Connecticut, where his father was a marketing executive for Xerox.<\/p>\n<p>The toddler somehow opened the door and climbed into the family 4-door sedan parked in their driveway on top of a hill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I\u2019m determined, I figure it out,\u201d Vescovo said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>When he shifted the car into neutral like he\u2019d seen his mother do, it rolled down the driveway into traffic on a state highway. First responders and a crane had to pull the car away from him, where he was crushed against a huge tree.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ripped me open really badly,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI had over 100 stitches. I was in the ICU for six weeks. Barely made it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His mother, who was an emergency room nurse, saved him by doing triage before the ambulance arrived.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt impressed upon me at a very early age that we all have a limited time,\u201d Vescovo said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Victor is the youngest of three siblings. His sister, Valerie, who was two years older, died 25 years ago. His sister, Victoria Webster, who lives in Coppell, describes their relationship as twins on the same wavelength separated by four years.<\/p>\n<p>So much so, that the family banned them from being on the same team when they played Pictionary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor has always been rather quiet and so unassuming,\u201d Webster said. \u201cHe never made much of how incredibly quickly he grasped things or the breadth and depth of his knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The family first realized that he quietly built computers in his bedroom when he was in the second grade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the same time, he was just a happy, fun, brilliant kid,\u201d Webster said.<\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"A view of the gunner turret on the U.S.S. Johnston \u2013 observed for the first time by Victor Vescovo and crew since sinking decades ago.\" loading=\"lazy\"   style=\"aspect-ratio:16 \/ 9\" class=\"x100 y100 opc bgpc ofcv bgscv block bg-gray200 mnh0px fill\"\/><\/p>\n<p>A view of the gunner turret on the U.S.S. Johnston \u2013 observed for the first time by Victor Vescovo and crew since sinking decades ago.<\/p>\n<p>Caladan Oceanic<\/p>\n<p>Community of welcoming nerds<\/p>\n<p>But at school, Vescovo felt like a nerdy, social outlier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>He arrived at St. Mark\u2019s as an introverted and shy 7th grader. He vividly remembers dreading where to sit at lunchtime that first day.<\/p>\n<p>But he soon found lifelong camaraderie when he came upon Lipton and two classmates discussing Dungeons &amp; Dragons in a school stairwell. Vescovo loved the role-playing game, but didn\u2019t have any friends to play with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd here in the stairwell were three fellow nerds,\u201d Vescovo recalled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor joined our crew and that started a friendship that has lasted almost 50 years at this point,\u201d Lipton said. \u201cHe\u2019s been my ride-or-die ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo found St. Mark\u2019s to be academically challenging, less cliquish, and more accepting than he\u2019d expected.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time in his life, he felt normal.<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo continued on to Stanford, earning an undergrad degree in economics and political science, then a master\u2019s degree in defense and arms control studies from MIT. He also picked up an MBA from Harvard along the way.<\/p>\n<p>Yet his St. Mark\u2019s diploma is so dear to him that its patch adorns his submarine flight suit. \u201cIt\u2019s the only high school patch that has been to the bottom of all five oceans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo also held up the flag of the all-boys school atop Mount\u00a0Everest, along with those of the Lone Star State, U.S. Stars &amp; Stripes, U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>The Stanford grad, who still holds true to the rivalry with University of California, Berkeley, also held up a \u201cBeat Cal!\u201d sign.<\/p>\n<p>Feat first<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo worked with students in St. Mark\u2019s Makerspace for months, designing a device that could withstand the enormous pressure created on a vessel traveling nearly seven miles beneath the surface. They tested it, and retested it at White Rock Lake until it worked.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>It was a feat that well-paid professional engineers in Germany failed to accomplish, Vescovo said.<\/p>\n<p>One of those students, Jacob Bell, went on to get his bachelor degree in aerospace engineering from Purdue University. He now works for Vescovo as project manager designing and developing a never-done-before, piston-driven, high-altitude aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been flying since I was 18 years old,\u201d Vescovo said. \u201cI\u2019ll be the test pilot. So I asked Jacob, \u2018You know what your No. 1 job is, don\u2019t you? \u2019 And he said, \u2018Ah, you don\u2019t die? \u2019 I said, \u2018Ah, yeah.\u2019 \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As active as Vescovo\u2019s professional and personal pursuits have been, his past romantic life is messy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>In late 2024, a 12-member jury in a District Court for Dallas County sided with him in a highly contentious dispute with his former girlfriend, Monika Allajbeu Vescovo. It ruled unanimously that the couple had never been formally or informally married.<\/p>\n<p>She changed her legal last name to Vescovo in October 2020. For his part, the investor said he was not notified about the name change, and that it occurred after the couple split up.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Vescovo filed a notice of appeal on May 22, 2025 in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas. But according to court records, she has not filed an appellate brief.<\/p>\n<p>Retracing Lawrence, Midway<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Among his favorites is Lawrence of Arabia, which he was smitten with as a teenager.<\/p>\n<p>The cinematography made the desert\u2019s vast expanse look like another planet, he said. \u201cAnd the story of a young man who was out of sorts and felt a little outside of the normal day-to-day was how I felt growing up. Given my personality, I identified with the character.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From 1991 through the summer of 1992, Vescovo lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for Lehman Brothers, helping the Saudi Ministry of Defense analyze potential investments coming into their country. As a condition of his assignment, Vescovo took up the challenge of reading and writing Arabic conversationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It took him a whole six months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI used my time off to retrace the steps of Lawrence from Yanbu to Damascus,\u201d Vescovo said. \u201cI even rode a horse in and around Petra, where Lawrence camped for some time. He is one of my historical heroes. Fascinating man. I identify with him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another favorite flick is the 1976 original Midway, starring Charlton Heston, as an intelligence officer, and Henry Fonda as Admiral Chester Nimitz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI saw it with my Dad when I was 10,\u201d Vescovo said. \u201cAnd shocker, I ended up being an intelligence officer and worked in the same building compound as the intelligence team did during the Battle of Midway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey tracked Japanese aircraft carriers. I worked with SEALs and other groups to track terrorists and hostages after 9\/11. Funny how life works out sometimes. Patterns repeat themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Butcher of Wonsan\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Enrique Alvarez, Vescovo\u2019s roommate at Stanford, steadfast friend and fellow former naval officer, said\u00a0Vescovo\u2019s superpower is his role-playing mentality. \u201cVictor often uses game theory and simulation to test out business and military strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the early 2000\u2019s, Vescovo was assigned to a Navy command group that supported U.S. forces in South Korea. Every year, it simulated a North Korea invasion of the South.<\/p>\n<p>One year, Vescovo got to play a North Korean Navy commander.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor, who was only a lieutenant at the time, jumped into this role with relish,\u201d said Alvarez, who is also a retired FBI agent specializing in cyber security, and now a private sector consultant in the Bay Area.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe absolutely made the North Korean Navy much more efficient than they probably ever will be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo aggressively deployed and sacrificed many of his small ships against South Korean and U.S. forces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe South Korean and U.S. players on the other side called him, \u2018The Butcher of Wonsan,\u2019\u00a0\u2014 the name of the main North Korean Navy base on its east coast,\u201d Alvarez said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t win, but Victor\u2019s crazy strategy caused a lot of angst.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnrique can call it whatever he wants, but it wasn\u2019t crazy.\u201d Vescovo joked. \u201cIt was highly rational. It was just brutal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Creating good Karma<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo was raised as Episcopalian, but was drawn to unstructured Zen Buddhism when he was in his 20s.<\/p>\n<p>He regularly \u201ccurates\u201d his belongings and discards what is no longer useful. \u201cBeing a Zenist, I never want to have too much attachment to anything except for very special items.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Those include the contents of his seriously organized \u201cREI closet\u201d with his mountain climbing gear ready for easy access.<\/p>\n<p>He still has all seven white cars he\u2019s ever owned, and his white 1991 BMW K100 motorcycle.<\/p>\n<p>His favorite vehicle is his pristine 1984 stick-shift Pontiac Trans Am, which he took to college when it still had that new car smell.<\/p>\n<p>His daily ride is a decade-old Model S Tesla. His most expensive are his high-performance exotics, including a 1989 mint-condition Lamborghini collector\u2019s car, and a 1997 Lotus Esprit V8.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI drive my exotic cars every few weeks to keep them running well,\u201d Vescovo said. \u201cCars need to be driven, just like dogs need to be walked. And I love piloting high-performance machines. Makes me supremely happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pencil, eraser calendar<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo\u2019s white hair is pulled back into a coiffed ponytail, an accidental legacy of his final days in the Navy, when he grew out his military cropped hair to keep his head warm while on a mission to the South Pole.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I came back, my sister said, \u2018That\u2019s a good look.\u2019 So when I got out of the military, I just let it grow out. And I\u2019ve kept it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo doesn\u2019t have an assistant and keeps his jam-packed paper calendar using a pencil and eraser.<\/p>\n<p>He dispenses with emails and text messages as fast as possible. He splits his time 50\/50 between business and adventure, with an office at Old Parkland when he\u2019s in town.<\/p>\n<p>Most of the time he makes his own travel arrangements. He books coach on American Airlines and usually gets upgraded as a Concierge Key member. Vescovo has 4.6 million banked American frequent flier points, and more than a million on Delta.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent 10-day period, Vescovo traveled to Monaco, London and Paris, before meeting with the leadership of the Nippon Foundation in Japan. Their Seabed 2030 project aims to map the world\u2019s entire seafloors, 75% of which remain uncharted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are interested in possibly funding my forthcoming ultra-efficient deep, deep ocean mapping vessel that\u2019s a couple of years away from completion,\u201d Vescovo said.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after that he was off to Cozumel to speak to the Sea-Space Symposium, and then back to Dallas where he addressed a capacity audience at SMU\u2019s Tate Lecture Series on a recent Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>A ship named Vescovo<\/p>\n<p>Vescovo\u2019s military career is his third parallel universe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>In 1993, Vescovo began his 20-year career with the U.S. Navy Reserves for what was supposed to be a commitment of a weekend a month and two weeks a year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut there was an incredibly high demand for intelligence officers who were trained and knew what they were doing,\u201d Vescovo said.<\/p>\n<p>He was mobilized in the 1999 Kosovo conflict and deployed to the Pacific Theater after 9\/11 doing counter-terrorism. \u201cI probably served the equivalent of more than three years on active duty at sea or on bases around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s the No. 1 military rule Vescovo has applied in business?<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou must make a decision,\u201d he said. \u201cYou cannot delay. You cannot equivocate. If it\u2019s wrong, you\u2019re going to find out and you\u2019re going to do something else. What is not tolerated is indecision, because then nothing happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last year, Vescovo was pulling into a parking spot at the Tom Thumb at Preston and Royal when he got a call from the Secretary of the Navy, telling him that the second ship of its new class of Naval surveillance ships was going to be named the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=USNS+Victor+Vescovo+%28T-AGOS+26%29&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS862US862&amp;sca_esv=0c0ded2c55dfde36&amp;biw=1227&amp;bih=586&amp;sxsrf=ANbL-n5pCmB6eHbb25KcZD7yT1nd8D9w0A%3A1772648410552&amp;ei=2neoacywIfWmmtkP97HXcQ&amp;oq=victor+vescovo+and+naval+ship&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHXZpY3RvciB2ZXNjb3ZvIGFuZCBuYXZhbCBzaGlwKgIIAzIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRirAkjvjAJQ6TlYzPIBcAh4ApABAJgBhAGgAZYRqgEFMTIuMTC4AQHIAQD4AQGYAh-gAtQUwgIEEAAYR8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAgoQIxiABBgnGIoFwgIEECMYJ8ICBRAAGIAEwgIFEC4YgATCAgsQABiABBiRAhiKBcICBhAAGBYYHsICCBAAGIAEGKIEwgIIEAAYogQYiQXCAgcQIRigARgKwgIFEAAY7wXCAgUQIRifBZgDAIgGAZAGB5IHBTEwLjIxoAekf7IHBDEuMjG4B94TwgcIMi05LjIxLjHIB8MCgAgA&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp&amp;mstk=AUtExfBmRFjlmE6Ir5Bg21gfl6BYb4gUg4okI8NNk_ajB5MYvJOUwFm10mKC6rjaW7nEB7dmR6l-Kb0GZP54m8h9GRNhBWWIqXoyeAH9FtlqQFjXFh6pXHlaOjQn1nAMBV9fuM4VuCQJ1eeRqWHiC27YgY1XRAiMKnUodj_QZYiplt9C4QYfxoYL4dC7_EyKZeue-qkqV2TBdsaoe67JswvJsXYAAD7n2-tbN0SpYKEptRwJKuAupXF3FUo86eSohoNok24CzY3ucS8XBVWhd70RyfDI8dDwUILgry2eVUmUU249dA&amp;csui=3&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjb14SI7oaTAxUZk2oFHYXCKmEQgK4QegQIARAE\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> USNS Victor Vescovo (T-AGOS 26)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When commissioned in a couple of years, the Vescovo will be able to do both exploration and track and identify enemy submarines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was stunned, and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, \u2018But I\u2019m not dead yet,\u2019 \u201d Vescovo recalled. \u201cHe laughed and said, \u2018No, we\u2019re making an exception. Congratulations.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Meet Victor L. Vescovo<\/p>\n<p>Title: Principal, <a href=\"https:\/\/caladancapital.com\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Caladan Capital<\/a> LLC<\/p>\n<p>Born: Methodist Hospital Dallas in Oak Cliff<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p>Education: St. Mark\u2019s School of Texas,1984; bachelor of economics and political science, Stanford University, 1987; master\u2019s degree in defense and arms control studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1992; MBA, Baker Scholar, Harvard Business School, 1994.<\/p>\n<p>Personal: Never married, no children, faithful companions, Ivan and Nikolai, nine-year-old Schipperkes\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Adventure feats: Explorers Grand Slam, reaching the North and South Poles and climbing the Seven Summits; reached the deepest points of all five oceans during the Five Deeps Expedition in 2018-2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall f aic jcc\">Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775059158_807_rawImage.jpg\" alt=\"image\" title=\"#\" class=\"x100\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"uiTextSmall c-gray600\">By signing up, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/terms\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"underlinedButton fw500 tuo1px tdu tuo2px tdc-secondary tdt-px hover:o70 td300\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/privacy\/\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"underlinedButton fw500 tuo1px tdu tuo2px tdc-secondary tdt-px hover:o70 td300\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Military: 20 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve as an intelligence and targeting officer, retiring in 2013 as a Commander. The second Explorer-class ocean surveillance ship under development will be named the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=USNS+Victor+Vescovo+%28T-AGOS+26%29&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS862US862&amp;sca_esv=0c0ded2c55dfde36&amp;biw=1227&amp;bih=586&amp;sxsrf=ANbL-n5pCmB6eHbb25KcZD7yT1nd8D9w0A%3A1772648410552&amp;ei=2neoacywIfWmmtkP97HXcQ&amp;oq=victor+vescovo+and+naval+ship&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiHXZpY3RvciB2ZXNjb3ZvIGFuZCBuYXZhbCBzaGlwKgIIAzIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRirAkjvjAJQ6TlYzPIBcAh4ApABAJgBhAGgAZYRqgEFMTIuMTC4AQHIAQD4AQGYAh-gAtQUwgIEEAAYR8ICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAgoQIxiABBgnGIoFwgIEECMYJ8ICBRAAGIAEwgIFEC4YgATCAgsQABiABBiRAhiKBcICBhAAGBYYHsICCBAAGIAEGKIEwgIIEAAYogQYiQXCAgcQIRigARgKwgIFEAAY7wXCAgUQIRifBZgDAIgGAZAGB5IHBTEwLjIxoAekf7IHBDEuMjG4B94TwgcIMi05LjIxLjHIB8MCgAgA&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp&amp;mstk=AUtExfBmRFjlmE6Ir5Bg21gfl6BYb4gUg4okI8NNk_ajB5MYvJOUwFm10mKC6rjaW7nEB7dmR6l-Kb0GZP54m8h9GRNhBWWIqXoyeAH9FtlqQFjXFh6pXHlaOjQn1nAMBV9fuM4VuCQJ1eeRqWHiC27YgY1XRAiMKnUodj_QZYiplt9C4QYfxoYL4dC7_EyKZeue-qkqV2TBdsaoe67JswvJsXYAAD7n2-tbN0SpYKEptRwJKuAupXF3FUo86eSohoNok24CzY3ucS8XBVWhd70RyfDI8dDwUILgry2eVUmUU249dA&amp;csui=3&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjb14SI7oaTAxUZk2oFHYXCKmEQgK4QegQIARAE\" data-link=\"native\" class=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">USNS Victor Vescovo (T-AGOS 26)<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Business: co-founder with Ted Beneski, Insight Equity Holdings; founder and sole principal of Caladan Capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victor Vescovo beside his deep ocean submersible &#8220;\u0080\u0098Limiting Factor&#8221; Tamara Stubbs\/Courtesy The Five Deeps Expedition Victor Vescovo soaked&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[79,193],"class_list":["post-593527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}