Zaya Younan
Iranian-born American businessman, former General Motors executive and CEO of El Septimo cigars
Zaya Younan (Iranian-born American businessman, former General Motors executive and CEO of El Septimo cigars) has appeared as a guest on 1 episode in TMT. Topics they speak about most include 2025–2026 Iranian protests, Interest rates and the Federal Reserve, Technological unemployment.
In their words
Positions and remarks grouped by topic, each with the exact quote and where it was said.
2025–2026 Iranian protests
Younan claims most Middle Eastern terrorism is funded by the Iranian government.
“62% of all the terrorists in Middle East are funded by Iranian Islamic government and that needs to stop”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 48:36
Younan proposes the Shah's son as a transitional leader for Iran.
“Shah's son, who lives in the United States, has been living in the United States, is a perfect transition leader”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 46:40
Younan calls for the United States and Israel to overthrow the Iranian regime, criticizing Trump for backing off his promise to intervene.
“I think United States and Israel should interfere, go to Iran, overthrow this regime”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 47:31
Younan claims on-the-ground reports put the number of protesters killed in Iran above 200,000, far above media figures.
“the actual report from people on the ground says over 200,000 people have been killed”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 46:49
Interest rates and the Federal Reserve
Younan contends inflation during the Biden administration was caused by government spending rather than consumer spending.
“The government spending created inflation, not American spending. Remember, the biggest tranche of spending in the United States is government spending”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 5:48
Younan argues Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is playing politics by not cutting rates and should resign.
“But shame on Powell. Shame on Powell playing politics with American people. If you are a true American, you should resign tomorrow”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 4:32
Younan claims that 35% of U.S. home mortgages are adjustable-rate, concentrated among middle- and lower-income borrowers.
“The house, some of the house, 35% of all the home mortgages in the United States are adjustable”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:57
Technological unemployment
Younan predicts AI will eliminate jobs in accounting, law, driving and social work.
“A lot of simple computation, accounting is gonna go away. Legal is gonna go away. Drivers is gonna go away”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 31:59
Younan predicts AI will cause the largest unemployment in history, exceeding the Great Depression.
“AI right now and going forward is going to create the biggest unemployment that history has ever seen globally”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 6:26
Wealth and financial discipline
Younan recommends that parents educate and train children before giving them money.
“It's okay to give money to the kids. But before you give it to them, you have to make sure they are educated”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 28:04
Younan says people learn more from mistakes than from accomplishments.
“You learn more from mistakes than from accomplishments, right? From accomplishment, you learn to do the same thing, more of it, right?”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 14:16
Homelessness in Los Angeles
Younan accuses California of diverting homelessness funds to other pet projects.
“California took a lot of money, but they didn't spend it on homelessness. They wasted it on other pet projects that they had”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 9:03
Younan attributes rising homelessness in America largely to high interest rates.
“that's one of the reasons the homelessness has increased so much in America is because Interest rate is so high”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 4:09
California population decline
Younan says he is considering leaving California for Texas or Florida because of poor governance and infrastructure.
“I love Texas, Houston, and I love Florida. So depending which one I'm going to go to”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 21:33
Other remarks
Younan questions how Gavin Newsom could have a net worth above $200 million as governor.
“how could a governor of a state like this have over $200 million in net worth?”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 46:20
Los Angeles Measure ULA
Younan claims revenue from Los Angeles's mansion tax did not go toward homelessness as voters were promised.
“most recently, they find out that that money went completely someplace different. It did not go at all to address the homelessness”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 43:29
California billionaire tax
Younan opposes the proposed California billionaire tax, arguing state politicians would waste the revenue, though he supports taxing the wealthy for good purposes.
“the problem of California is not going to be solved by milking billionaires for more money”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 43:29
El Septimo
Younan claims natural nicotine in cigars reduces inflammation by improving blood and oxygen flow, and says he smokes seven or eight cigars a day.
“It reduce inflammation in the body because inflammation in the body is created by lack of either blood or oxygen flow”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 40:53
Mobile phone radiation and health
Younan claims the power of phone signals interferes with the brain's natural molecular frequency.
“The power is so strong, it interferes with the natural frequency of micro-molecular of your brain”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 36:58
Cyberwarfare
Younan predicts future wars will be fought through technology capable of disabling a nation overnight rather than by soldiers.
“the future wars is not going to be fought by soldiers going against each other. It will be caused by nation using technology to completely handicap another nation overnight”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 34:10
Artificial intelligence
Younan argues reliance on AI weakens the brain like an unused muscle and that people should avoid depending on it.
“If you don't work the muscle, it will deteriorate, right? And the brain is the biggest muscle in human body”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 30:25
Lottery winners' financial outcomes
Younan claims 70% of lottery winners lose everything and go bankrupt.
“You have 70% lose it all. 70% of all the lottery, lose it all. And they go to bankruptcy”
Digital Social Hour: The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004 (Jun 6, 2026) · Listen from 26:26
Appearances
The Mistake Destroying California... | Zaya Younan | DSH #2004Digital Social Hour · Jun 6, 2026 · 50 min
Sean Kelly and businessman Zaya Younan discuss interest rates, California politics, AI job losses, cyberwarfare, phone dependency, wealth and discipline, cigars, and Iran.
Often appears with
- Sean Kelly · 1 shared episode