Trumping Trump
The Profit’s Marcus Lemonis is the least lame entrepreneur on television
Lemonis advising a cupcake baker in New York.
Photographer: Paul Zimmerman/CNBCThis article is for subscribers only.
There’s a moment in the third season premiere of The Profit, a reality show on CNBC, when host Marcus Lemonis persuades a young man, Scott, to return to the company he founded with his brother Mike. They split acrimoniously, and the business is almost bankrupt. “I have to tell you something,” Lemonis says. “He feels like he lost his brother forever.”
“He should,” Scott says, his voice halting. “He should feel that way for what he did.” Much of the episode has focused on more mundane topics like inventory, so this drama is welcome. And when the brothers reconcile on camera, giving the business its only chance of success, the moment seems risky, painful—and true.