ReportWire

Tag: billionaires

  • Jeff Bezos Commits $100M in Grants for AI Solutions to Climate Change

    Jeff Bezos Commits $100M in Grants for AI Solutions to Climate Change

    The billionaire is looking for tech-focused solutions to counter climate change. KENA BETANCUR/Afp/AFP via Getty Images

    Billionaire Jeff Bezos is looking for practitioners, researchers and innovators with ideas about combatting climate change with artificial intelligence. The Amazon (AMZN) founder’s Bezos Earth Fund will invest up to $100 million into solutions through the A.I. for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, a new initiative urging applicants to propose ways to utilize emerging technologies for environmental good.

    “Can modern A.I. help counter climate change and nature loss, and, if so, how? That’s the question we hope to answer,” said Bezos, currently the second wealthiest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $197.7 billion, in a statement. “By bringing together brilliant minds across fields, we may be able to invent new ways forward.”

    Bezos first launched his environmentally-focused philanthropic fund in 2020 with a pledge to invest $10 billion toward fighting climate change over the next decade. It has given out some $2 billion through 230 grants thus far, focusing primarily on food system transformation, decarbonization efforts and nature conservation.

    SEE ALSO: Miriam Simun On Technology in Art and Science as a Medium

    Now, the fund is asking those working at universities, NGOs, private companies and global organizations to apply for grants that could help A.I. climate solutions come to fruition. For the first round of the Grand Challenge, Bezos is seeking solutions in the focus areas of sustainable proteins, biodiversity conservation and power grid optimization, with an additional “Wild Card” category for solutions falling outside the priority areas. Projects could include using A.I. to find protein alternatives with small environmental footprints, applying the technology to integrate renewable energy into electricity grids around the globe or utilizing vision and sound recognition to find new animal species, according to the Bezos Earth Fund.

    The organization has already made notable investments in the sustainable protein arena, having committed $60 million earlier this year to establish research centers focused on increasing the quality and nutritional benefits of meat alternatives. In February, it partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute-USA to expand conservation efforts across forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo.

    Using A.I. to solve climate challenges

    “The future is unlikely to be characterized by straight lines and gentle curves, but rather by unexpected changes and tipping points, good or bad,” said Andrew Steer, president and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, in a statement, adding that the arrival of A.I. “will potentially solve very difficult challenges.” The A.I. for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge will have two phases, with the first awarding up to 30 seed grants for promising A.I. solutions. Awardees will be announced in September at a Bezos Earth Fund-TED event during Climate Week NYC and will subsequently be allowed to apply for grants up to $2 million, with the opportunity to receive support from tech leaders and access to relevant infrastructures and databases.

    Bezos has previously proclaimed his support of A.I., calling himself “optimistic” about its potential for innovation and discovery in a 2023 podcast with computer scientist Lex Fridman. “Even in the face of all this uncertainty, my own view is that these powerful tools are much more likely to help us and save us than they are to unbalance, hurt us and destroy us,” he said.

    Applications for the inaugural edition of the Bezos’ Grand Challenge will open next month, and there are plans to address alternative climate priorities in subsequent rounds.

    Jeff Bezos Commits $100M in Grants for AI Solutions to Climate Change

    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

    Source link

  • Steve Cohen Predicts Golf Industry Will Boom When AI Enables the Four-Day Workweek

    Steve Cohen Predicts Golf Industry Will Boom When AI Enables the Four-Day Workweek

    Steve Cohen at the SportiConference Invest In Sports 2023 in New York. Bryan Bedder/Sportico via Getty Images

    Billionaire Steve Cohen is betting big on golf. The hedge fund manager predicts that with the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (A.I.), the normalization of the four-day workweek will cause a boom in leisure and give workers more time to hit the greens.

    Cohen, the media-shy head of Point72 Asset Management, discussed his prediction in a rare interview with CNBC Squawk Box. “My belief is the four-day workweek is coming,” he said. “I just think it’s an eventuality.”

    Despite being known for the owner of the New York Mets, Cohen has made moves in the golf world in recent months. In September, he acquired the rights to a New York team in TGL, a high-tech golf league formed by tiger woods and Rory McIlroy. And as part of a consortium that includes Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, the hedge fund manager invested as much as $3 billion in the PGA Tour earlier this year.

    “We think it’s an interesting investment,” Cohen told CNBC of the golf industry, adding that “the way it’s been run, we can improve the operations and make it much more profitable.” Some of that profit could come from expanded leisure time. Between the rise of A.I. and the fact that “people are not as productive on Fridays,” Cohen is gearing up for four-day work weeks to become the norm in the future. With an extra day off, he believes industries around travel and experience will benefit. “I guess courses will be crowded on Fridays,” he said.

    Get ready for year-round three-day weekends

    Don’t expect Cohen’s employees at Point72 to be taking part as long as the markets remain open throughout the week. “If they’re taking off Friday and they have a portfolio, that’s a problem,” he noted. “Forgetting us, the vast majority of people will get an opportunity, I think at some point, to get a three-day weekend.”

    Cohen isn’t the only finance heavyweight to predict a move toward compressed work weeks. Fellow billionaire Ray Dalio made a similar point while speaking at the Milken Institute’s Asia Summit last year, where he claimed that A.I. will let humans work fewer hours and urged for policies to prevent a potential widening of the wealth gap. And back in 2018, business magnate Richard Branson predicted in a blog post that emerging technologies would transform the five-day workweek as we know it.

    While traditional working hours have remained largely steady across the U.S., some companies have been increasingly experimenting with work structures. The clothing reseller ThredUp, for example, has already embraced a four-day workweek, while New York City’s largest public employee union recently launched a compressed workweek pilot program that will run until May of next year.

    Beyond its effects on work structures, Cohen told CNBC that A.I. is poised to transform how companies operate. “My view is this is a very durable theme,” he said, noting that his firm could save $25 million by using large language models to improve efficiency. “Now, we’re a nice-sized firm; we’re not a huge firm. Imagine what big companies can do.”

    Cohen also discussed his plans for the New York Mets, which have recently had an unsuccessful run under his ownership despite a large injection of cash. Moving forward, he will continue overseeing strategy experts and prioritizing the development of young talent. These tactics parallel his approach towards running Point72, noted Cohen. “I’m used to operating in a very centralized way. I give people a lot of rope.”

    Steve Cohen Predicts Golf Industry Will Boom When AI Enables the Four-Day Workweek

    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

    Source link

  • 13 Newly Crowned Media Billionaires on Forbes 2024 Rich List

    13 Newly Crowned Media Billionaires on Forbes 2024 Rich List

    Taylor Swift is the first person to join the billionaire list from just music earnings. Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

    Forbes’s 2024 World’s Billionaires list is out, and it includes 13 newcomers who are from the media and entertainment industry. The most exciting name is likely Taylor Swift, who currently boasts a net worth of $1.1 billion. She is also the only person who has made the list through earnings in music and performance alone, according to Forbes. Most billionaire musicians and actors have achieved their financial status through other businesses. Rihanna, for example, became a billionaire primarily through her stakes in Fenty Cosmetics and Savage X Fenty. 

    If you find yourself reading the same last name over and over again on the Forbes list, it’s because five of the newly crowned billionaires are all children of the late former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. They were launched into billionaire status after inheriting their father’s $6.8 billion stake in the media company Fininvest after he passed away in 2023. 

    Here are the 13 media and entertainment figures who are featured on the Forbes billionaires list for the first time: (Age information about Ling Tang and Maria Frias is unavailable.)

    Marina Berlusconi, 57, media executive and heir: $2.1 billion

    Marina is the president of her late father’s company Fininvest, which she joined in 1996. 

    Pier Silvio Berlusconi, 54, media executive and heir: $2.1 billion

    Pier Silvio is the CEO of private television group MediaForEurope, which was also started by his father Silvio. He and Marina inherited most of their father’s wealth when he died. 

    Manoj Punjabi, 51, producer and media founder: $1.9 billion

    Punjabi comes from a prominent entertainment family in Indonesia, where he was the 32nd richest person in 2023. He co-founded the production house MD Media, later rebranded to MD Pictures, with his wife and parents in 2002. 

    Ling Tang, mobile games investor: $1.5 billion 

    Tang is an investor in the mobile game maker AppLovin, with an 8 percent stake. AppLovin boasts a market cap of $24.9 billion.

    Barbara Berlusconi, 39, media heir: $1.2 billion

    Barbara doesn’t currently work for any of her late father’s businesses. She was CEO of the Italian professional football club AC Milan for four years from 2013 to 2017 until her father sold the team. 

    Eleonora Berlusconi, 37, media heir: $1.2 billion

    Eleonora does not have a position in her father Silvio’s media company Fininvest. Until recently, she was the only sibling who didn’t have a seat on the company’s board. This changed in November 2023 when the company announced that she would join. 

    Luigi Berlusconi, 35, media heir: $1.2 billion

    Luigi is the youngest Berlusconi sibling. He also does not work for any of his late father’s companies. 

    Maria Frias, journalist and newspaper heir: $1.2 billion

    Frias owns a third of the Folha de S. Paulo, one of the most popular newspapers in Brazil. She inherited the paper from her late father Octávio Frias, who owned and operated it from 1962 until his passing in 2007. Her brother Luiz Frias is also a billionaire and owns the rest of the company.   

    Dick Wolf, 77, television writer and producer: $1.2 billion

    Famous for creating the Law & Order franchise in the early 1990s, Wolf has benefited from the staying power of the original Law & Order series and its spinoffs, all produced through his company Wolf Entertainment. 

    Gyorgy Gattyan, 53, adult film site founder: $1.1 billion

    The porn mogul founded the adulting camming website LiveJasmin in 2001, which is where he made most of his fortune.  

    Benny Suherman, 76, cinema co-founder: $1.1 billion

    Suherman is the co-founder of Cinema XXI, Indonesia’s first cinema chain. He’s the 43rd richest person in Indonesia. 

    Taylor Swift, 34, singer and songwriter: $1.1 billion

    It was the Eras tour and her music catalog that propelled Swift into billionaire status in 2023. According to Forbes, her wealth breakdown is $500 million from royalties, $500 million from her music catalog and $125 million from real estate. 

    Ric Elias, 57 or 58, digital media co-founder and CEO: $1 billion

    Elias’ media company Red Ventures owns CNET and Best Colleges. He was already named a billionaire in 2021 by The New York Times, which reported that his company was worth $11 billion and he had a 20 percent stake. Elias pledged that same year to give half of his money away.   

    13 Newly Crowned Media Billionaires on Forbes 2024 Rich List

    Nhari Djan

    Source link

  • Alexandra and Steve Cohen Donate the Largest Gift In CUNY History

    Alexandra and Steve Cohen Donate the Largest Gift In CUNY History

    The couple has donated more than $1.2 billion through their family foundation since 2001. Courtesy Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

    Billionaires Steve Cohen and Alexandra Cohen are giving a staggering $116.2 million to LaGuardia Community College, a public institution in Long Island City, Queens. The donation stands as the largest in the history of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the most significant gift ever given to a community college in the U.S.

    The funds will establish a workforce training center to be known as the Cohen Career Collective. Construction of the facility, which will measure 160,000 square feet, is expected to be completed by January of 2029. “I wanted to create a place where students have access to high-quality programs and facilities and can learn the skills they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world,” said Alexandra, who leads the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, in a statement.

    Steve Cohen is the founder of hedge fund Point 72 Asset Management and has an estimated net worth of $19.8 billion. His family foundation focuses on underserved communities and the arts and has given out some $1.2 billion since its inception in 2001. In addition to supporting psychedelic-assisted therapy, local hospitals and cultural institutions like the Museum of Modern Art, the couple earlier this week gifted $10 million to expand an adolescent mental health program at Hackensack Meridian Health, a New Jersey healthcare network.

    The Cohen Career Collective will offer a range of specialized training programs

    Large white building stands on street cornerLarge white building stands on street corner
    The funds will establish a workforce training center at the community college. Courtesy Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

    Their newest philanthropic endeavor will support education and training programs that prepare students to enter high-demand sectors across New York City. Specifically, the Cohen Career Collective will offer credentials related to healthcare, construction, technology, culinary and hospitality, green jobs and entertainment. “This historic $116.2 million investment multiplies CUNY’s role as an engine of upward mobility and doubles down on our commitment to helping our students not only get a degree but a well-paying job after graduation,” said Félix Matos Rodríguez, CUNY Chancellor, in a statement.

    The facility will have specialized shops, labs and classrooms where students can take English as a Second Language (ESL) and high-school equivalency classes geared toward GED seekers. Students with disabilities, veterans and the formerly incarcerated will also be welcomed, according to LaGuardia Community College.

    The Cohens have close ties to Queens and have given more than $185 million in charitable contributions to organizations in the area. Cohen is the owner of the New York Mets, whose home ballpark Citi Field is located in Queens. The hedge fund manager is also pursuing one of three available casino licenses for the New York City area in hopes of establishing an $8 billion casino and entertainment complex in the borough.

    Alexandra and Steve Cohen Donate the Largest Gift In CUNY History

    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

    Source link

  • In Philanthropy: Julia Koch’s Eight-Figure Gift For a Florida Care Center and More

    In Philanthropy: Julia Koch’s Eight-Figure Gift For a Florida Care Center and More

    From a $1.5 million initiative supporting Detroit-based artists to Julia Koch’s eight-figure gift for an ambulatory care center in West Palm Beach, these are some of the most notable developments in the philanthropic world.

    Steve and Alexandra Cohen give $3.8 million towards a disability nonprofit’s expansion plans

    Woman and man pose in baseball stadium.
    Steve and Alexandra Cohen launched their foundation in 2001. Courtesy Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

    New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and his wife Alexandra are donating around $3.8 million to help the nonprofit Abilis open a new location in Stamford, Conn. The organization, which provides services for hundreds of individuals with disabilities, will use the funds to acquire a 26,000-square-foot building that will be named after the couple in recognition for their gift.

    “The Cohen Abilis Advancement Center will provide more than double the space we currently have for even more programs and services to enhance the quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Amy Montimurro, CEO of the nonprofit, in a statement. “It’s very exciting!”

    The new two-floor center will be the second Stamford location for Abilis, which was founded in 1951 and is currently headquartered in Greenwich. It will be renovated and retrofitted for accessibility by this fall, with plans to offer a memory unit, alternative typing program and areas for music, art, cooking, dance and fitness classes. “People of all abilities should have a place where they feel welcomed and encouraged to thrive,” Alexandra said in a statement.

    The Cohens have given out more than $1 billion in charitable donations over the past two decades through the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. Largely focused on supporting underserved communities and the arts, they notably gave a $5 million grant to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a nonprofit researching the use of psychedelic-assisted health care, in June of 2023. Cohen, who runs the hedge fund Point72 Asset Management and has an estimated net worth of $19.8 billion, also donated some $300,000 last year to support three student-managed funds.

    Dan Gilbert’s family foundation launches a $1.5 million arts initiative

    Man and woman walking down street Man and woman walking down street
    Dan and Jennifer Gilbert at Allen & Co’s Sun Valley Conference in 2015. Scott Olson/Getty Images

    Cohen isn’t the only billionaire sports owner making philanthropic contributions. The family foundation of Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and co-founder of mortgage lender Rocket Companies, is investing $1.5 million to help launch Seed and Bloom, a grant-making initiative aiding BIPOC artists based in Detroit.

    Founded by Gilbert and his wife Jennifer in 2015, the Gilbert Family Foundation primarily aids economic opportunities in Detroit and medical research initiatives—in 2023, it donated nearly $375 million to help create a rehabilitation center and research institution dedicated to the genetic disease neurofibromatosis. The couple are also signees of The Giving Pledge, committed to giving away at least half of their wealth, currently estimated at $26.2 billion, to philanthropy.

    Their newest financial contribution will provide 10 artists with $150,000 each in grants over a three-year period. Established in partnership with United States Artists, a national arts funding organization based in Chicago, Seed and Bloom will focus on deepening the community impact of each grantee’s artistic practices.

    “We are truly grateful to be seen and felt in the Detroit community by the residents and Gilbert Family Foundation,” said Asia Hamilton, founder of Detroit’s Northwest Gallery and one of the Seed and Bloom grantees, in a statement. “We are excited to use this incredible opportunity to expand this work, building a legacy for artists of the future to experience and continue for generations to come.”

    Julia Koch donates $75 million for new ambulatory care center

    Woman in black dress poses in front of white wallWoman in black dress poses in front of white wall
    Julia Koch pictured in October 2018. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

    An ambulatory care center in West Palm Beach, Fla., will be named after Julia Koch in recognition of her $75 million gift towards the new NYU Langone Health facility. Koch is the widow of David Koch, who died in 2019 and made his fortune running the conglomerate Koch Industries.

    Known as the Julia Koch Family Ambulatory Care Center, the eight-story and 77,000-square-foot facility will open by 2026 and will contain ambulatory surgery operating rooms, endoscopy suits, physical therapy bays and full-service radiology and imaging. It will also provide on-demand care for specialty areas like internal medicine, oncology and pain management.

    Koch’s contribution will help NYU Langone meet a growing demand for care in Florida. “Palm Beach Country is full of New Yorkers, many of whom now live there year-round,” said Kenneth Langone, chair of the NYU Langone board of trustees, in a statement. “For the rest of us it’s a home away from home—with one big deficit: a lack of comprehensive care from the full spectrum of NYU Langone doctors, who offer unmatched quality in every specialty.”

    Koch has an estimated net worth of $61.2 billion and was ranked by Forbes in 2023 as the second wealthiest woman in the world. The NYU Langone Health gift is one of the first grants to be made by the Julia Koch Family Foundation, which she established last year. Alongside her late husband, Koch previously donated millions to institutions like the Lincoln Center, NewYork-Presbyterian and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology via the David H. Koch Foundation.

    In Philanthropy: Julia Koch’s Eight-Figure Gift For a Florida Care Center and More

    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

    Source link

  • Mark Zuckerberg says his daughter ‘thought that I was a cattle rancher’ for a while thanks to his unusual hobby in Hawaii

    Mark Zuckerberg says his daughter ‘thought that I was a cattle rancher’ for a while thanks to his unusual hobby in Hawaii

    Mark Zuckerberg’s job can be hard to describe to a child. But one of his favorite hobbies these days—producing beef—is easier to understand.

    The Meta CEO recently revealed that his daughter misunderstood what his main job was. 

    “For a while, she just thought that I was a cattle rancher,” the Facebook cofounder told Morning Brew Daily on Friday.

    While Zuckerberg’s fascination with martial arts has been well documented, he’s also intent on producing some of the best beef on the planet—not to sell commercially, but to enjoy with friends and family.

    The tech billionaire is raising cattle on Ko’olau Ranch, a property he owns on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. In an Instagram post last month, he wrote: 

    “Started raising cattle at Ko’olau Ranch on Kauai, and my goal is to create some of the highest quality beef in the world. The cattle are wagyu and angus, and they’ll grow up eating macadamia meal and drinking beer that we grow and produce here on the ranch.”

    Zuckerberg has no shortage of land on the island. According to a Wired investigation published a few months ago, the property includes 1,400 acres. “Less than one percent of the overall land is developed with the vast majority dedicated to farming, ranching, conservation, open spaces, and wildlife preservation,” a spokesperson for Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan told the technology publication.

    “We want the whole process to be local and vertically integrated,” Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram. “Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 pounds of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees. My daughters help plant the mac trees and take care of our different animals. We’re still early in the journey and it’s fun improving on it every season.” 

    Zuckerberg jokes with his family that “if I’m ever done with Meta, I’m going to run Mark’s Meats,” he told Morning Brew.

    Such an operation would be easier for a child to understand than Meta’s offerings, which include Facebook, Instagram, and the metaverse. 

    “If you’re a kid, it’s kinda hard to wrap your head around what Meta is,” Zuckerberg noted.

    As for raising cattle, “I just think it’s super fun,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Alright, let’s brew our own beer. Let’s grow our own macadamia nuts.’” His children can be part of figuring out what it’s like run such a process, he noted, and it’s “easier for them to do that than be involved in the software business.”

    Subscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up for free.

    Steve Mollman

    Source link

  • Toyota is crushing it with hybrid vehicles as Tesla’s rough start to year hits net worth of Elon Musk, who dismissed them as a ‘phase’

    Toyota is crushing it with hybrid vehicles as Tesla’s rough start to year hits net worth of Elon Musk, who dismissed them as a ‘phase’

    Elon Musk’s Tesla is off to a difficult start in 2024, and it’s probably no surprise to Akio Toyoda. The Toyota chairman has long been skeptical of electric vehicles hype, steering his company to focus more on hybrids. That’s turned out to be a smart strategy.    

    Tesla shares are down about 24% year-to-date, knocking Musk off his perch as the world’s richest man, an honor now bestowed upon French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault.

    Investors did not react well to Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings, when the EV maker warned that this year’s sales growth might be “notably lower” than last year’s—not reassuring when it cut prices in 2023 to prop up demand. In California, a key market, registrations of Teslas actually fell in the fourth quarter, the first time that’s happened there in more than three years. 

    Toyota, by contrast, can’t make its hybrids quickly enough, and demand for them is strong without price cuts. The Japanese giant was the world’s top-selling carmaker for the fourth year in a row in 2023, selling 11.2 million vehicles globally, a respectable 7.2% increase from the previous year.

    Tesla sold 1.8 million vehicles, in comparison, jumping an impressive 38% year over year.

    Hybrids over EVs 

    Toyoda, however, does not believe that electric vehicles will take over the world. Last month, he predicted that adoption of EVs will peak at just 30%, saying they’ll share the roads with hybrid, gas-guzzling, and hydrogen-powered cars.

    Hybrids, meanwhile, have been on a tear, not just for Toyota but for other automakers as well, including Ford and Honda. From January to November in 2023, hybrids accounted for 9.3% of new light vehicle registrations, beating EVs by 1.8 percentage points, reported Reuters, citing S&P Global Mobility data, and Toyota was the biggest seller of hybrids in the U.S., with more than a third of the those registrations.

    Edmunds wrote on its website in mid-December that the hybrid market share in the U.S. increased to 9.7% in November 2023, a 99% jump from the year prior, whereas the EV share increased just 25%. “The transition to full EVs has slowed, and hybrids are the more comfortable choice for the majority of Americans seeking electrified options right now,” it added.

    For many consumers, hybrids have the feel-good factor of burning less fuel than normal cars—friendlier on the environment and the wallet—without the range anxiety and other doubts surrounding EVs. (Hybrids maximize efficiency by alternating from gas to battery power.) It also helps that hybrids are priced much closer to traditional cars than are EVs.

    Toyota, which will report earnings on Tuesday, with analysts expecting a strong quarter, does sell EVs, but despite their rapid sales growth they make up just a sliver of its shipments.

    The carmaker has taken pains to emphasize that it is not “anti-EV” but rather lets consumers choose which type of vehicle they want and offers each king. Toyoda hinted at his philosophy a few years ago when he said, “Toyota is a department store of all sorts of powertrains. It’s not right for the department store to say, ‘This is the product you should buy.’”

    To be sure, Toyota has its problems, among them recent recalls and, last month, the suspended shipments of 10 vehicle models due to testing irregularities for engine certifications. And some industry observers fear the auto giant will be caught flat-footed if consumers switch the EVs faster than it expects. 

    But it clearly called things right with regards to hybrids, if not in the long run then certainly for now.

    In 2011, Musk laughed at the electric vehicles made by Chinese rival BYD, which recently passed Tesla in global EV sales. And in 2022, Musk dismissed hybrids as a “phase,” saying it was “time to move on” from them. 

    But many car buyers, we now know, do not feel the same way.

    Subscribe to the Eye on AI newsletter to stay abreast of how AI is shaping the future of business. Sign up for free.





    Steve Mollman

    Source link

  • Miami’s Hedge Fund Week is a January Coachella for ‘Wall Street South’ as Ja Rule headlines and Peter Thiel and Jared Kushner hold court

    Miami’s Hedge Fund Week is a January Coachella for ‘Wall Street South’ as Ja Rule headlines and Peter Thiel and Jared Kushner hold court

    No one in New York or LA orders a Carlyle Fresco.

    But that’s what they were mixing the other night by the pool at the famed Fontainebleau Miami Beach – a sure sign the hedge fund set was back in town.

    The tequila and grapefruit spritz was named in honor of the Carlyle Group Inc., which was one of the sponsors of a conference in the hotel.

    And, like so many things in South Florida these days, it smacked of one oh-so-sweet ingredient: money.      

    At times Miami seemed as if half of American finance had flown in for what’s prosaically known as Hedge Fund Week, a sort of Coachella for the fast-money crowd. The rolling series of conferences and parties swaggers through this area each January, during the height of the Florida winter season.

    “Who’s going to close a deal this week? Make some noise!” the DJ at LIV, the thumping mega nightclub in the Fontainebleau, shouted into the mic late Wednesday night. The suits in the crowd went wild.

    Now more than ever, the old Wall Street of New York is sizing up what Miami promoters breathlessly refer to as Wall Street South. Even skeptics wonder whether there’s more to this than hype. The pandemic prompted wealthy financiers to flock here for the low taxes and good weather. For now, they’re staying. 

    Where money goes, politicians follow. As President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump head toward a likely rematch in November, money and influence are snaking through Miami. Even the city’s annual hedge fund confab gives off a new vibe this election season. This is no longer merely a meeting of money managers. This feels like a gathering of kingmakers.

    And this may not be a one-off: Florida has eclipsed California and Texas as the nation’s single largest source of donations to Republican presidential campaigns, racking up $30 million for GOP candidates in 2023.

    “They’re all going to be down here raising money,” Nitin Motwani, a derivatives trader-turned-condo-developer, said of presidential candidates.

    They’re here already.

    As Wall Street partied beachside at the Fontainebleau, Biden raised $6.2 million at a fundraiser a few miles away. Hedge-fund billionaire Henry Laufer, who co-founded the Medallion Fund at Renaissance Technologies with Jim Simons, co-chaired the event. Ninety miles north, in Jupiter, Florida, a group of lawyers raised another $1 million for the president, not far from Trump’s home and private club, Mar-a-Lago.

    “Miami is the place where everyone comes out,” said Chris Korge, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and attorney.

    The money is flowing in all directions. Some major Republican donors who were previously resistant to Trump have begun to turn toward him. Scott Bessent, former chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management, initially backed Wall Street’s early pick, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Late last year, Bessent switched to Trump and donated $250,000 to the former president’s super PAC, according to federal campaign filings. 

    “Over the summer, I became convinced that Donald Trump can win,” Bessent said.

    Others are holding out hope for Nikki Haley since DeSantis dropped out and backed Trump.

    The same day Biden was heading to Miami, real estate billionaire Barry Sternlicht insisted America needs a third alternative come November. “We’re people who don’t like the path that the country is on and don’t like our two choices at the moment,” he said on the sidelines of the Fontainebleau conference. 

    A few miles south, Citadel founder and Miami transplant Ken Griffin said he’d supported Haley’s campaign — later disclosing a $5 million gift — but stopped short of saying he would contribute more to her long-shot challenge. (Other business figures who’ve supported Haley include Henry Kravis, Stanley Druckenmiller and Kenneth Langone). 

    A familiar line at the parties and conference sidelines is that financial professionals tend to be “socially liberal but fiscally conservative.” Of course, they said the same in 2016, which led to Trump’s presidency and a hard-right shift in the Supreme Court.

    A big question for the 2024 election, which both Democrats and Republicans say could determine the future of American democracy, is how the financial donor class will strike that balance now.

    No one wanted to talk politics aboard the SeaFair, a $40 million swanky yacht cruising the azure waters of Biscayne Bay.  

    The occasion: another hedge fund cocktail party. This time, the host was Universa Investments, where Nassim Taleb, of “Fooled by Randomness” fame, is an adviser. Universa founder Mark Spitznagel moved his firm to Miami from Santa Monica, California, years before all the talk of Wall Street South.  

    Sitting near the open bar, Brandon Yarckin, the chief operating officer, insisted that politics never figures into Universa’s strategy of trying to profit from out-of-the-blue Black Swan events. “We don’t talk about politics,” Yarckin said as the Miami skyline shimmered in the distance.

    Taleb avoided the topic altogether. “No, no, I’m not going to talk about that,” he concluded. 

    One of the 200-or-so guests, Francesca Federico, co-founder and president of Twelve Points Wealth Management in Boston, repeated the socially liberal/fiscally conservative line. As for who wins in November, she said: “A bond is still going to be a bond, a stock will still be a stock.”

    Joining them aboard the 222-foot SeaFair was Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who’s shot to national attention since 2020 by relentlessly selling the idea that Miami might one day rival New York as the US financial center. 

    It landed him a job at a prestigious law firm and other lucrative side gigs, he launched a failed presidential bid and is facing multiple investigations. On Wednesday, the Florida Democratic Party called on him to resign.

    Wall Street South isn’t a dream, Suarez told the crowd. It’s a reality. 

    Motwani, the developer and another major Miami booster, said that to him, Wall Street South is a state of mind. “We’re running on all cylinders,” Motwani said over the salsa dun of Buena Vista Social Club.

    Back at the Fontainebleau, one of the week’s gatherings, Global Alts 2024, was wrapping inside the thronging LIV nightclub.

    For two days, conference-goers had sat quietly as the likes of Michael Novogratz, Peter Thiel, Jared Kushner and Shaquille O’Neal went on about how and where to make money. Now, hundreds of them flooded onto the dance floor.

    Quaffing gin and tonics, Johnnie Walker Black Label and mediocre white wine, the revelers moved to the beat laid down by the DJ and the evening’s headliner, the early 2000s hit rapper Ja Rule. Later, as Ja Rule (real name: Jeffrey Atkins) lamented his age (he’s closing in on 50), he pulled off his T-shirt to reveal a sculpted six pack.

    “Let’s hear it for Global Alts 2024!” he yelled.

    Smoke machines pumped. Confetti rained down. Wall Street South danced on.



    Michael Smith, Bloomberg

    Source link

  • Let's Send All Billionaires to Mars! – Jim Hightower, Humor Times

    Let's Send All Billionaires to Mars! – Jim Hightower, Humor Times

    Why not just send our “genius” billionaires to Mars, and let them report back?

    Unfortunately, in the short time we homo sapiens have existed on this 4.5-billion-year-old Planet Earth, we have trashed the place. Climate change, deforestation, desertification, plastics in everything, etc.

    Fortunately, though, we large-brained hominids have evolved an almost-magical resource that promises to be our salvation: Billionaires!

    One of the priceless benefits of amassing a multibillion-dollar, self-regenerating pile of wealth is that it automatically establishes you as “a Genius.” Never mind that you’ve most likely acquired your stash through some combination of inheritance, grift, rank exploitation, tax dodging and such; you’re suddenly treated as a savant whose most fanciful nonsense is now taken seriously by the establishment.

    Thus, we presently have two overstuffed money hogs, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, preaching that Earth is a lost cause. But, no problem, for they are designing space technologies that will let a cadre of select humans escape doom by colonizing the Moon and Mars. Using untold billions of our tax dollars, the two are in a PR race to land their spaceships first. But — hey, bozos! — what then? You think our blue-green planet is hell, try living with no air, water, soil, little gravity and zero protection from the incessant bombardment of cosmic radiation.

    Well, postulate the billionaire space cadets, “we” (actually meaning us taxpayers) will just geoengineer Mars and the Moon, terraforming them into an Earthlike oasis. But, wait — as astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson pointed out a decade ago — “If you had the power to terraform Mars into Earth, then you have the power to turn Earth back to Earth.”

    Tyson later said he’d only go to Mars if the designer of the colony “had sent their mother first.” Nice… but I have no doubt Musk and Bezos would gladly sacrifice their moms to advance their egos.

    Forget Millionaires. A Few Billionaires Are Now Stealing Our Country

    In the serious business of politics, a little humor can be your best friend.

    I saw its impact 30 years ago in Austin when a group of young, irreverent democracy activists decided to try limiting corporations that were drowning our local elections in their special-interest campaign cash. The upstart group named their grassroots effort a name that was a bit whimsical, yet pointed: “Austinites for a Little Less Corruption.”

    It caught on. Even though the entire corporate, political and media establishment united in furious opposition to the reform, 70% of voters rather joyously shouted, “YES!”

    Now more than ever, we need to rally grassroots Americans in a high-spirited, openly rebellious campaign to save our people’s historic democratic values. An autocratic coterie of plutocratic supremists with unlimited corporate funding already dominates our elections, public policy, agenda and our highest courts. It’s not a secret conspiracy; they’re quite open about it!

    But forget the days of million-dollar donors; the arsenal of the systemic corruptors has now been nuclearized. For example, Charles Koch has just injected $5 billion in his 2024 political operation. Tim Dunn, an ultra-right-wing Texas oil baron and extremist GOP sugar daddy, has just sold his fracking empire for $12 billion, gaining a new gusher of cash to weaponize his intention to impose laissez-faire rule over America.

    It’s hard to visualize how much more anti-democratic firepower one gets by spending billions instead of mere millions. Think of the difference not in terms of dollars, but time. If you have a million seconds, that’s 11 days. But a billion seconds — that’s more than 31 years!

    We can have no progress — no democracy — without getting corporate money out of America’s political system. For info and action, go to citizen.org.

    Jim HightowerJim Hightower
    Latest posts by Jim Hightower (see all)
    ShareShare

    Jim Hightower

    Source link

  • What Reaction Was Mark Zuckerberg Expecting With This Post About His Fancy Cows?

    What Reaction Was Mark Zuckerberg Expecting With This Post About His Fancy Cows?

    Mark Zuckerberg

    Billionaires’ hobbies are not like regular people’s hobbies. Where some of us might get really into plants or rock climbing or whatever, billionaires are out there sending themselves into space, paying $44 billion to ruin a social media platform, and, in the case of Mark Zuckerberg, pampering cows with beer and fancy nuts.

    The Facebook creator shared a photo online featuring an enormous steak, along with a caption describing a bit of the process that went into getting that meat on the plate.

    The cattle, which Zuckerberg raised on his 1,400-acre Kauai ranch that is rumored to house an enormous self-sustaining underground bunker, “are wagyu and angus, and they’ll grow up eating macadamia meal and drinking beer that we grow and produce here on the ranch,” writes Zuckerberg, adding that he wants “the whole process to be local and vertically integrated.”

    “Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 pounds of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees,” he continues. “My daughters help plant the mac trees and take care of our different animals. We’re still early in the journey and it’s fun improving on it every season. Of all my projects, this is the most delicious.

    Obviously, there’s a lot of eye-rolling to be had, as well as some potential jealousy over how well those cows eat and drink. I’m just amazed that Zuckerberg thought this was something people would find interesting or amusing. In this economy??

    I don’t know what he thought the general reaction to that post would be but if he didn’t expect this response, he’s even more out of touch than he seemed. Maybe someone needs to spend a little less time in their billionaire doomsday prepper bunker moving forward.

    (featured image: Jacqueline Nix/Drew Angerer/Getty Images/TMS)

    Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

    Vivian Kane

    Source link

  • In billionaires’ brawl over DEI, Bill Ackman knocks Mark Cuban’s rebuttal to Elon Musk: ‘I fell for the same trap’ 

    In billionaires’ brawl over DEI, Bill Ackman knocks Mark Cuban’s rebuttal to Elon Musk: ‘I fell for the same trap’ 

    Billionaires are duking it out on X over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

    On Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, wrote: “DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it.”

    That was in support of a long post by hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman on the reasons he pressured Harvard president Claudine Gay to resign, as she announced she would earlier this week. Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, is a Harvard alum and prominent donor to the university. 

    Gay received intense criticism last month for her answers to lawmakers over anti-Semitism on campus following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. Specifically, she failed to condemn calls for genocide against Jews as a violation of university policy. That was followed by allegations by conservative activists that she had committed plagiarism in her academic work, and suggestions that she had been unqualified for the role of president, which she assumed last July, in the first place.

    “It was a thinly veiled exercise in race & gender when they selected Claudine Gay,” entrepreneur and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a Harvard alum, posted to X on Tuesday. “Here’s a radical idea for the future: select leadership based on *merit.*”

    When an X user responded to Musk by questioning whether DEI qualifies as racism, Musk countered: “Discrimination on the basis of race, which DEI does, is literally the definition of racism.” 

    At this point, another billionaire weighed in: Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank star and Dallas Mavericks owner (last month he sold his majority stake in the NBA team to families linked to Sheldon Adelson, the late Las Vegas casino magnate). 

    “Let me help you out and give you my thoughts on DEI,” he responded to Musk. 

    “Good businesses look where others don’t, to find the employees that will put your business in the best possible position to succeed,” he continued. “You may not agree, but I take it as a given that there are people of various races, ethnicities, orientation, etc., that are regularly excluded from hiring consideration. By extending our hiring search to include them, we can find people that are more qualified. The loss of DEI-phobic companies is my gain.”

    Ackman responded to Cuban, writing: 

    “That’s exactly what I thought until I did the work. I encourage you to do the same and revert. DEI is not about diversity, equity, or inclusion. Trust me. I fell for the same trap you did.”

    Musk replied to Ackman with “Yup.” 

    Musk, who owns X, has been a frequent critic of DEI in recent weeks. In mid-December, he wrote: “‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ are propaganda words for racism, sexism and other -isms. This is just as morally wrong as any other racism and sexism. Changing the target class doesn’t make it right!”

    (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Tesla in September alleging it failed to probe complaints of racist conduct and has fired or retaliated against employees who reported harassment. In other such cases, Tesla has said that it doesn’t tolerate discrimination and takes such complaints seriously.)

    Ackman, in a similar vein, wrote on Wednesday: “DEI is racist because reverse racism is racism, even if it is against white people (and it is remarkable that I even need to point this out).”

    In her resignation note, Gay wrote, “It has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor—two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am—and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.”

    Subscribe to CHRO Daily, our newsletter focusing on helping HR executive navigate the changing needs of the workplace. Sign up for free.

    Steve Mollman

    Source link

  • Meet the First $100 Billion Woman in the World | Entrepreneur

    Meet the First $100 Billion Woman in the World | Entrepreneur

    Françoise Bettencourt Meyers was already the richest woman in the world, but on Thursday, she hit a new milestone—the first female to accumulate a staggering fortune of over $100 billion ($100.2 billion, to be exact), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Bettencourt Meyers, the granddaughter of L’Oreal founder Eugène Schueller, is the vice-chair of L’Oréal’s board and, alongside her family, is the prime stakeholder with approximately 35% of its shares.

    Her spike in wealth came as L’Oréal SA stocks reached unparalleled heights, positioning the company to have one of its most successful years in over two decades.

    Although Bettencourt Meyers has surpassed other female billionaires, she still isn’t one of the top 10 richest people in the world. She isn’t even the wealthiest woman in France. At number 12, she trails behind her compatriot Bernard Arnault. The iconic figure behind LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is second on the Billionaire’s Index with a fortune of $179.4 billion. Elon Musk holds a comfortable lead at $238 billion.

    Related: Meet the World’s Secretive Billionaires Who Give Stealth Wealth a Whole New Meaning, from Ike Perlmutter to Philip Anschutz

    Not your typical $100 billionheiress

    Unlike other billionaires who are known for their oversized personalities and opulent lifestyles, Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is much more private and introverted—some may even consider her a recluse. She has written two books, one on the Bible and the other on Greek mythology. She is also a passionate pianist, known to practice for hours a day.

    But despite trying to stay out of the spotlight, Bettencourt Meyers made headlines for almost a decade fighting in court over some of her inheritance. As recounted in the 2017 Netflix documentary ‘L’Affaire Bettencourt,’ her mother, Lilian, plagued by Alzheimer’s disease, wanted to give a billion dollars in cash, real estate, and art to François-Marie Banier, an artist, photographer, and friend. But Bettencourt Meyers sued him after her mom’s death. He was ultimately convicted of abuse.

    Related: An Hermès Heir Wants to Give Half His $12 Billion Fortune to His Gardener—and Lawyers Are Going Nuts

    Continuing a French tradition

    Founded in 1909 by chemist Schueller, L’Oreal is now a $268 billion company. The company is part of a French tradition of hugely successful luxury goods behemoths. Aside from L’Oréal and LVMH, the European nation has also given rise to other wealthy families, such as the proprietors of Hermès International SCA and the Wertheimers, who own Chanel.

    Jonathan Small

    Source link

  • Hermès' Heir Wants to Give Half His $12 Billion Fortune to His Gardener | Entrepreneur

    Hermès' Heir Wants to Give Half His $12 Billion Fortune to His Gardener | Entrepreneur

    It’s Succession meets Knives Out—only this Hollywood-like plot is real.

    Nicolas Puech, 80, the estranged Hermès heir, announced a bold plan to adopt his 51-year-old former gardener and handyman to bequeath him his $11 billion fortune. Puech is the grandson of the founder of the fashion giant and owns 5.7% of the company.

    According to the Swiss publication Tribune de Genève, the reclusive Peuch has little contact with his family. Single and childless, he considers the gardener (whose name has not been released) to be like kin. Not much else is known publicly about the gardener besides that he comes “from a modest Moroccan family” and has a Spanish wife and two children.

    Related: ‘Wolf in Cashmere’ Bernard Arnault Has a Cutthroat Reputation. In a ‘Succession’-Like Drama, He’s Eyeing His Replacement — and It Might Not Be Family.

    Reversal of fortune

    Previously, Peuch promised to hand over his money to his foundation. But earlier this year, he had a change of heart, sending a “handwritten note” to the foundation expressing his wishes for a new succession. Shockwaves ensued.

    With no direct heirs to his name, the billionaire may get away with his plan. But not without major legal hurdles. According to Tribune de Genève, adopting an adult child in Switzerland is complicated—add that the adoptee stands to earn billions, and it becomes a high-stakes battle.

    Bad blood

    This is not the first time Puech has clashed with his family. In 2014, he left Hermès board of directors after a hostile takeover bid by fashion rival LVMH. But he retained his shares, making him among the wealthiest individuals in Switzerland. He now lives in a mansion with 66 other inhabitants in La Fouly, according to El Pais.

    Hermès, now the third-largest publicly listed company in France worth an estimated $200 billion, is no stranger to the spotlight. Still, this latest development has taken center stage, evoking questions and curiosity about the future of this storied empire.

    Jonathan Small

    Source link

  • Billionaire Ray Dalio on the most important vote of our lifetime: ‘I pray that we do not have another Trump-Biden election’

    Billionaire Ray Dalio on the most important vote of our lifetime: ‘I pray that we do not have another Trump-Biden election’

    Bridgewater Associates founder and legendary investor Ray Dalio sounded the alarm on the perilous state of American politics, admitting he’s dreading a rerun of the fractious 2020 Trump-Biden election which scarred the country.

    That deeply divisive contest for the White House, which resulted in a Biden win, eventually led to an insurrection on January 6, 2021, where Trump engaged in a “multi-part conspiracy” to overturn the lawful election results and failed to act to stop Republican supporters from attacking the Capitol.

    Dalio has already called the 2024 election the most important one of our lifetimes, as Fortune CEO Alan Murray reminded him in conversation at Fortune’s Global Forum in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Dalio responded that he was praying.

    “I pray that we do not have another Trump-Biden election because that will produce a lot of problems,” Dalio said.

    “What we need is a very strong middle,” Dalio urged, advocating for a return to a more centrist approach that could bridge the divide between ideological extremes. Then he laid out how he sees that playing out—or not.

    ‘Irreconcilable differences’

    “We have irreconcilable differences by sides that will not accept losing,” Dalio declared, pointing to the festering extremism that threatened to tear the fabric of the nation apart in 2021, while also framing the polarization issue as a far-left versus a far-right in America, with a shrinking middle, or moderate, political center.

    The outspoken investor minced no words, asserting that “no good government, no good society exists with this kind of fighting.” Dalio expressed deep concern over the dire implications of such political skirmishes, emphasizing their potential economic and tax ramifications.

    “This is not good governance; it has big implications and can have a big economic and tax impact,” he warned. The big question, he continued, is whether an alternative candidate will emerge on the Republican side, and he sees two scenarios for how that will play out.

    “Nikki Haley is the leading candidate from my point of view. She’s smart, can work across party lines, has the quality of the character and she’s been through the system.”

    “If Haley did get the nomination (from Republicans), she would be the probable winner in a presidential election,” Dalio said. “Almost everybody would say that.”

    Dalio added that if Haley gets the nomination, he strongly believes the Democrats would have to reconsider running Biden against her. “The question is whether Biden runs. The combination of his age issue, his popularity and so on is a problem.”

    This all means that the real race has not yet begun, the billionaire said. “The interesting election” will be the South Carolina primary between whatever alternative candidate emerges and Trump.

    Regardless of who wins, Dalio concluded, “We’re also going to need reforms” to ensure the system is working for most people.

    He highlighted that his family office has three branches: in the U.S., in Singapore and in Abu Dhabi, and as he told Murray, “In the world today there are bright spots.” These places “have a culture in which there’s excellent education for most people, in which there’s civility,” and in which the economy is thriving.

    And he is praying—but he isn’t exactly hopeful—that the U.S. will remain one of these places.

    Get the business news that matters most to you with our customizable digest, Fortune Daily. Register to get it delivered free to your inbox.

    Massimo Marioni

    Source link

  • Hawai’i’s Crisis as a Playground for the Ultrawealthy

    Hawai’i’s Crisis as a Playground for the Ultrawealthy

    At the turn from the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway into the Mauna Kea Resort on the Kona coast of Hawai’i Island, I pulled over to the side of the road and told my wife to take over driving.

    We were supposed to meet our former landlords from California for lunch at the resort’s beachside restaurant, but I couldn’t do what had been a generally accepted practice here in Hawai’i: stop at a guardhouse for permission to enter.

    As an Indigenous person, I felt enervated, that it was wrong. I hate pulling up to a gated community in Hawai’i, but the islands are full of these artificial barriers intended to create paradise for visitors.

    What’s extra galling is that all of Hawai’i’s beaches and coastlines are open to the public. There is no such thing as a private beach in Hawai’i, so access to the shoreline is a right, but it’s not always easy.

    It’s not just the hotels. As I paddle along the coast in outrigger canoes, the coastlines of Hawai’i are full of homes and large lots of land that are gated and continually surveilled. Aloha, indeed.

    Now the uneasy relationship between the ultrawealthy and those with generational ties to Hawai’i is being reexamined in the aftermath of the horrific fires on Maui in August.

    Dwayne Johnson now understands this. He acknowledged on Instagram last month that he may have been insensitive in his appeal for donations to the People’s Fund of Maui he established with Oprah Winfrey in the wake of the fires two months ago.

    Johnson said he had been paying attention to social media, and his statement was quickly accepted by prominent social media accounts in Hawai’i.

    The question is whether Johnson’s fellow ultrawealthy individuals will follow his stated lead of trying to be better toward the people of Hawai’i.

    The profound hurt on display in the aftermath of the Maui wildfires goes beyond the loss of life and property. It extends to the fear that this is the last straw for Native Hawaiians and those with generational ties to Hawai’i.

    The story of how so much of Hawai’i ended up in the hands of outsiders is not pretty. The marketing of Hawai’i for real estate and tourism has back-burnered the plight of Native Hawaiians in favor of images of paradise. There’s no space in glossy publications selling luxury residences for the story of the overthrow of Hawai’i’s sovereign government by Americans.

    Hawai’i is part of the American tradition of taking lands from Indigenous peoples and then pushing them to the brink of extinction.

    But that was then—and that was them—not us today. What’s wrong with legally buying large amounts of land on an island (or buying 98% of Lana’i in the case of Oracle’s Larry Ellison), you may ask?

    The answer is that it limits opportunity for Native Hawaiians by blocking off an already small amount of land, making Hawaii less affordable, less livable, and hastening the exodus of Hawaiians from their homelands. More Native Hawaiians now live outside of Hawai’i than live in Hawai’i.

    Naka Nathaniel

    Source link

  • Jeff Bezos Moving to Miami, Bids Seattle Goodbye on Instagram | Entrepreneur

    Jeff Bezos Moving to Miami, Bids Seattle Goodbye on Instagram | Entrepreneur

    Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is relocating from his longtime home in Seattle to the beachside city of Miami.

    In an Instagram post on Thursday, Bezos shared the news alongside a video from the Seattle garage where he established Amazon almost 30 years ago.

    “As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me,” Bezos wrote. “Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart.”

    The tech billionaire says he’s moving to be closer to his parents and the Cape Canaveral operations of Blue Origin LLC, Bezo’s space exploration company.

    Last month, Bezos purchased a seven-bedroom mansion in Miami for $79 million located next door to his other Miami mansion, a 2.8-acre home, which Bezos purchased in August for $68 million. Both homes sit in Indian Creek, a man-made barrier island in the Miami area known as the “Billionaire Bunker.”

    Along with his new Miami home — or homes? — Bezos has properties in Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and Maui, along with a 300,000-acre ranch in Texas, which serves as the base for Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launch site.

    Indian Creek in Miami, Florida. Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group | Getty Images.

    As the world’s third richest person, Bezos boasts a net worth of $161 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Bezos’ announcement came on the same day that the FTC released a new, less-redacted lawsuit against Amazon, revealing new details about the accusations against the tech giant, including claims that Bezos “directly ordered” the advertising team to intentionally inundate its search results with irrelevant “defect” ads as a means to “drive up Amazon’s advertising profits.”

    However, Amazon has refuted the accusations.

    “The claim that Amazon leadership directed employees to accept more advertising defects that would degrade the customer experience is grossly misleading and taken out of context,” Tim Doyle, an Amazon spokesman, told Entrepreneur.

    Related: Jeff Bezos Lost $5 Billion in 1 Day After Amazon FTC Lawsuit News

    Madeline Garfinkle

    Source link

  • Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire thanks to her record-breaking tour and re-recording project, according to Bloomberg

    Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire thanks to her record-breaking tour and re-recording project, according to Bloomberg

    Pop music supernova Taylor Swift has officially joined the three-comma club, Bloomberg News reports. On the eve of the release of 1989 TV—and amid a record-breaking tour and box office bonanza—the singer-songwriter’s net worth sits at an estimated $1.1 billion.

    Bloomberg’s analysis takes into account the estimated value of Swift’s music catalog and her five homes, as well as earnings from streaming, music sales, and her concerts. The news outlet says the calculation is likely conservative and is based “only on assets and earnings that could be confirmed or traced from publicly disclosed figures.” Swift did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.

    The bulk of her wealth is tied to her impressive catalog, which Bloomberg values at $400 million. (And that’s the music she’s released since 2019—the music she made before that is now held by Shamrock Holdings. If all of her music is included, the value reaches $1 billion on its own, per Bloomberg.) Another $370 million is tied to ticket sales and merchandise, while Spotify and YouTube earnings account for $120 million, and her five homes are valued at $110 million. It is possible she has other sources of wealth that are not public.

    “She’s one of the few entertainers to reach that status based on music and performing alone, the result of work and talent, but also canny marketing and timing,” Bloomberg notes.

    The world’s ‘most charismatic CEO’

    Speculation on when, not if, Swift would officially crossover into billionaire-dom has abounded since the Eras Tour kicked off with unprecedented demand for tickets. The tour itself, which is currently slated to run through the end of 2024, is set to rack in well over $1 billion in ticket sales, much of which makes its way to Swift.

    The Eras Tour has worked as something of a marketing machine for her other projects. While many artists make most of their money off of touring, Swift is the rare musician who also makes a significant amount from digital and physical music sales. Her devoted fan base makes sure of that (her most recent release, Speak Now TV, debuted in the midst of the tour and sold 716,000 copies, including nearly 270,000 on vinyl LP).

    And with the fourth re-record of her first six studio albums set to release Friday, the 33-year-old is bringing in even more money. Analysts expect 1989 TV to be one of the biggest albums of the year in terms of sales.

    But Swift, never one to settle for just one or two projects at a time, is also benefitting from movie ticket sales. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has brought in around $165 million at the worldwide box office in the past two weeks, thanks to support from fans and other movie-goers curious to get a taste of the Eras Tour for themselves. That makes it the highest-grossing concert tour movie of all time.

    Bloomberg also credits Swift’s billionaire status, partly, to her shrewd negotiations around streaming. The pop star took her music off of Spotify in 2014—when the original 1989 was released—demanding the company better compensate artists for their work. She took on Apple to task a few years later, resulting in changes at both streamers.

    Swift’s Eras Tour was a boon not just to the singer, but to the cities she performed in. The Eras Tour added $4.3 billion to the U.S.’s gross domestic product throughout the first 53 shows, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics. She even got a shoutout from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

    “Taken together, Swift Inc. is essentially a multinational conglomerate with the world’s most devoted customer base, its most charismatic CEO and significant economic power,” Bloomberg writes.

    Alicia Adamczyk

    Source link

  • Vivek Ramaswamy and Entrepreneurs Who Have Run for President | Entrepreneur

    Vivek Ramaswamy and Entrepreneurs Who Have Run for President | Entrepreneur

    Vivek Ramaswamy is the latest entrepreneur pivoting to politics. The 2024 Republican presidential candidate is one of a long list of business leaders who have run for President of the United States.

    And some have even won. Entrepreneurs are no strangers to the Oval Office—at least eight former U.S. presidents have taken their business backgrounds to the highest office in the land—from Donald Trump’s real estate business to Jimmy Carter’s peanut farm.

    Ramaswamy, 38, is also garnering attention because he is one of the wealthiest people ever to enter the race.

    Here’s more about Ramaswamy’s business history, plus other entrepreneurs who have tried to take on the presidency.

    Photo by Win McNamee | Getty Images — Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, participates in the first debate of the GOP primary season on August 23, 2023, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

    Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

    Vivek Ramaswamy was born on August 9, 1985, and raised by Indian immigrant parents in Cincinnati, Ohio. He excelled in tennis and was nationally ranked in his youth. He was also valedictorian of his high school senior class, per Business Insider.

    He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in biology before earning a J.D. from Yale University.

    RELATED: 10 Quotes By Entrepreneur And Fiery Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy

    During his studies, he worked at QVT Financial LP as a hedge fund investor specializing in pharmaceutical investments, making $7 million in his first seven years in the workforce, according to Forbes. He was made partner by age 28 while studying at Yale.

    Around the same time, he met his wife, Apoorva, a throat surgeon and assistant professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. The couple wed in 2015 and live in Ohio, raising their two sons.

    What are Vivek Ramaswamy’s businesses?

    Ramaswamy left the hedge fund in 2014 and founded Roivant Sciences, a biotech company, at age 29. Roivant received backing from Ramaswamy’s former employer. It operated by purchasing patents from pharmaceutical companies that had not been fully developed to then develop and market the products.

    The company and its subsidiaries made billions under this business model, per The Wall Street Journal.

    However, the business hit rough waters when it purchased an experimental Alzheimer’s drug in 2014 for $5 million, per The New York Times. The drug failed clinical trials, and Roivant discontinued development in 2017, according to Insider.

    Today, Roiviant is focused on developing drugs for psoriasis and dermatitis, according to its website.

    RELATED: Top 5 Richest Presidents in US History, #3 Will Surprise You

    Roivant went public in 2021, and Ramaswamy stepped down as CEO shortly after. That same year, he also published a book, “Woke Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam” with Center Street, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It was a New York Times Bestseller.

    In 2022, he founded Strive, an asset management firm with big-name backers (Peter Thiel, Bill Ackman). In September, the company hit $1 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg.

    What has the reception been to Ramaswamy entering the race?

    Heading into the second Republican debate Wednesday evening, Ramaswamy is in second place, polling around (13%) in the latest survey of likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, per CNN.

    Former President Trump is the first choice, polling at 39%.

    Ramaswamy’s numbers have skyrocketed since the first debate, but his run so far hasn’t been without some controversy. He was booed at the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate for stating: “The climate change agenda is a hoax.”

    Last month, Eminem had his team at BMI send a cease-and-desist letter to Ramaswamy’s campaign after the candidate used the rapper’s hit 2002 song “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair in August.

    This year, two former Stive employees sued Ramaswamy for allegedly making staffers violate securities law and mistreat their fellow coworkers, according to Bloomberg. One suit filed in June alleges that Ramaswamy exaggerated the company’s finances to employees and investors. The other suit filed in August claimed the plaintiff was fired for raising concerns about sexual harassment and age discrimination.

    What is Vivek Ramaswamy’s net worth?

    Ramaswamy’s net worth is just under $1 billion, making him one of the youngest almost-billionaires in the country and one of the wealthiest Republican nominees, per Forbes.

    His fortune is comprised of a 10% stake in Riovant, valued at $600 million. Additionally, the company has paid him $260 million from his salary and other bonuses. His stake in Strive is reportedly worth $100 million. He also has an investment portfolio with various crypto investments.

    Meet some other entrepreneurs who have run for President of the United States:

    Michael Bloomberg

    Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images | Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on September 13, 2023 in New York.

    • Founder of Bloomberg LP.
    • He was elected mayor of New York City in 2001 and held office for three consecutive terms.
    • Ran for Democratic presidential nominee in 2020.
    • Net worth is $96.3 billion, per Forbes.

    Ross Perot

    Photo by Ed Lallo/Bloomberg via Getty Images | H. Ross Perot, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Perot Systems Corp., stands for a photo in his office in this file photo taken on Sept. 28, 2008.

    • A Dallas computer billionaire, Perot founded Electronic Data Systems.
    • Ran as an Independent in 1992 — won 19% of the popular vote, the most ever for an independent candidate.
    • Had a net worth of $4.1 billion at his time of death in 2019, per Forbes.

    Steve Forbes

    Photo by Patrick McMullan/PMC via Getty Images | Steve Forbes on April 7, 2022, in New York City.

    • Editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine.
    • Ran for Republican presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000.
    • Net worth is $430 million, per Investopedia.

    Herman Cain

    Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images | Former presidential candidate Herman Cain on November 11, 2019 in Hollywood, California.

    Carly Fiorina

    Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images | Carly Fiorina on the TODAY show on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

    Tom Steyer

    Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIME | Tom Steyer in New York on April 25, 2023 in New York City.

    • Ran hedge fund Farallon Capital for 26 years.
    • Ran for Democratic presidential nominee in 2020.
    • Net Worth: $2.1 billion, per Forbes.

    Andrew Yang

    Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images – Andrew Yang May 05, 2023, in New York City.

    • Manhattan Prep CEO
    • Ran as a Democrat in 2020 – left the party in 2021 and founded the Forward Party, a centrist political action committee and political party.
    • Had a net worth of $1 million when he ran for president in 2020, according to Forbes.

    Mitt Romney

    Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images | Sen. Mitt Romney on Wednesday, Sept 13, 2023, in Washington, DC.

    • CEO of management consultant company Bain & Company and founder of spin-off private equity investment firm Bain Capital.
    • Was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018.
    • Ran for Republican presidential nominee in 2008. Ran again in 2012 and won the nomination, but lost the presidential race to President Obama.
    • Net worth is $85 million, per Insider Business

    Entrepreneur Staff

    Source link

  • Who Is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, World’s Richest Woman? | Entrepreneur

    Who Is Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, World’s Richest Woman? | Entrepreneur

    This article originally appeared on Business Insider.

    Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, the 70-year-old granddaughter of L’Oreal founder Eugène Schueller, is the richest woman in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

    Bettencourt Meyers is worth almost $88 billion, mostly due to her stake in L’Oreal. She’s in 13th position on the Bloomberg list and has become $16 billion better off this year.

    Here’s a look at her life and wealth.

    Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, 70, is the granddaughter of L’Oreal founder Eugène Schueller.

    Pierre Vauthey/Getty Images via BI

    Schueller, a pharmacist, founded the company that was to become L’Oreal in 1909.

    His daughter and Bettencourt Meyers’ mother, Liliane, inherited Schueller’s fortune and control of the company upon his death in 1957.

    Along with her husband, André Bettencourt, a French politician, the Bettencourts were well known in France for their glamorous parties.

    But Bettencourt Meyers was less interested in the socialite lifestyle of her parents, preferring to stay in and play the piano or read, Vanity Fair reported.

    Bettencourt Meyers had a fraught relationship with her mother.

    Liliane Bettencourt and her daughter Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images via BI

    The mother-daughter relationship was strained since Bettencourt Meyers was a teenager.

    “Françoise was heavy and slow,” Bettencourt once said, per Vanity Fair. “Always one lap behind me.”

    Bettencourt also called Françoise “a cold child” in an interview with a French newspaper, per The New York Times.

    As an adult, Bettencourt Meyers chose to focus on her career as an author.

    Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images via BI

    The heiress has written books on topics ranging from Greek mythology to Judaism and Catholicism.

    Her most recent book, a Biblical commentary entitled “Regard sur la Bible,” was published in 2008, according to its Amazon page.

    Bettencourt Meyers also sits on L’Oreal’s board and chairs the family’s holding company.

    L'oreal

    Getty Images via BI

    Bettencourt Meyers has a 33% stake in L’Oreal and is a board member.

    Her relationship with her mother came to a tipping point when Bettencourt Meyers initiated a decade-long family feud over her inheritance.

    Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    Getty Images via BI

    In the lawsuit, Bettencourt Meyers alleged that photographer François-Marie Banier used his friendship with Liliane Bettencourt to manipulate the elderly heiress into giving him some 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) of cash, art, and life insurance policies, The New York Times reported.

    Bettencourt, who was diagnosed with dementia, disputed her daughter’s assertion, said she freely shared her assets with Banier.

    In a 2008 letter to Banier, Bettencourt described their relationship to him writing: “With you, I am like a mother, a lover, all the feelings pass through me. It makes me tremble,” according to Vanity Fair.

    Bettencourt Meyers told a French news magazine in 2009 that Mr. Banier’s “objective is clear: break away my mother from our family to profit from her. I will not let it happen.”

    The case went to trial in 2015. Bainer was convicted of “abus de faiblesse,” or “abuse of weakness.”

    He was sentenced to two and half years in prison and told to pay Bettencourt 158 million euros million in damages.

    The jail sentence and payment were later reversed in an appeal.

    The pair weren’t on speaking terms after Bettencourt Meyers filed the criminal complaint in 2009.

    Liliane Bettencourt and Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    Liliane Bettencourt and Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers. Thibault Camus/AP via BI

    “I don’t see my daughter anymore and I don’t wish to,” Bettencourt said in a 2008 interview, according to Vanity Fair. “For me, my daughter has become something inert.”

    A lawyer involved in the case told Vanity Fair: “The mother massacred the daughter, then the daughter massacred the mother.”

    In 2011, Bettencourt was placed under the guardianship of her family due to concerns over her declining mental health.

    The lawsuit also drudged up long-forgotten family secrets, including speculation that Bettencourt Meyer’s father Andre and her grandfather were Nazi sympathizers.

    Andre Bettencourt Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    Andre Bettencourt and Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers in 1988. James Andanson/Getty Images via BI

    Bettencourt Meyers’ grandfather, Eugene Schueller, had publicly commended Adolf Hitler’s “dynamism” in the early years of Nazi Germany and was investigated as a Nazi collaborator after World War II ended, Insider’s Áine Cain reported.

    Schueller was also a member of a secret society that plotted to overthrow France’s republican government in the 1930s, Insider reported. The group, which was linked to multiple murders and bombings, was bankrolled by Schueller who hosted its meetings at L’Oréal’s headquarters.

    André Bettencourt, Bettencourt Meyers’ father, wrote anti-Semitic diatribes for the pro-German press during the war, according to Time, though he switched his allegiances and joined the Resistance. He was later decorated for his military service during World War II and went on to serve in the French government.

    Even though she was on the winning side of the lawsuit, Bettencourt Meyers was later investigated for allegations of bribing a witness.

    Françoise Bettencourt Meyers L'Oreal billionaire

    Antoine Gyori/Getty Images via BI

    The investigation stemmed from a criminal complaint filed by Bainer in 2015, according to Vanity Fair. At the time, Bettencourt Meyers said the payment she made to the witness was part severance payment, part personal loan, and not a bribe for the testimony.

    That suit and Bettencourt Meyers’ countersuit against Bainer were resolved in a secret plea deal in 2016, Vanity Fair reported.

    Bettencourt Meyers inherited tens of billions of dollars when her mother died in 2017, and valuable assets like this mansion in the suburbs of Paris …

    Francoise Bettencourt Meyers house Neuilly-sur-Seine

    Samir Tolba/AFP/Getty Images via BI

    The house is located in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a wealthy suburb west of Paris. Neuilly-sur-Seine is known in France as “power suburb, a place not only of wealth but influence,” according to The Independent. It’s also home to actors Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, Gerard Jugnot, and politician Marine Le Pen.

    The Art deco mansion and is where Bettencourt spent her final days, Time reported.

    … and this mansion overlooking France’s Brittany coast.

    Bettencourt meyers brittany coast home

    Getty Images via BI

    The mansion was one of Bettencourt’s childhood homes, The New York Times reported.

    Bettencourt Meyers lived in this nearby home.

    Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers house Neuilly-sur-Seine 2

    Boris Horvat/AFP/Getty Images

    French police searched this home in 2010 as a part of the investigations surrounding the Bettencourt affair, Bloomberg reported at the time.

    Bettencourt Meyers lived there with her husband Jean-Pierre Meyers.

    Francoise Bettencourt Meyers family

    Jean-Victor Meyers, Nicolas Meyers, Francoise Bettencourt Meyers and her husband Jean-Pierre Meyers in 2019. Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images for Foundation L’Oreal via BI

    Jean-Pierre Meyers is CEO of French spirits producer Tethys SAS, and is also on the board of Nestle.

    The couple has two adult sons, Jean-Victor and Nicolas. Jean-Victor is on L’Oreal’s board of directors along with Bettencourt Meyers.

    In the years since the controversy involving her family, Bettencourt Meyers’ fortune has grown exponentially.

    Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images via BI

    Bettencourt Meyers is worth $87.8 billion, Bloomberg estimates, making her the world’s wealthiest woman and the 13th richest person.

    She and her family control 33% of L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics maker. L’Oréal shares were up 29% in the first half of 2023, according to Forbes.

    The company owns mass-market brands like Maybelline, Essie, Garnier, and, of course, L’Oréal, as well as high-end beauty companies like Urban Decay, Lancôme, and Kiehl’s. L’Oréal also licenses the beauty divisions of luxury fashion houses including Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino.

    Bettencourt Meyers isn’t the only French billionaire on the rich list. LVMH chief Bernard Arnault became the world’s wealthiest person in December 2022 but relinquished the crown to Elon Musk in June. Arnault is worth $175 billion, per Bloomberg, while Musk is worth $249 billion.

    The overall wealth of French company founders and heirs has jumped by $93 billion in 2023 alone, reports Bloomberg.

    Bettencourt Meyers has dedicated some of her billions to philanthropy.

    Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers

    Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers. Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images via BI

    Bettencourt Meyers hasn’t kept all her money to herself. In April 2019 she was among French billionaires who pledged millions after Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire, Insider reported.

    Bettencourt Meyers is also the president of the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, the charity she cofounded in the 1980s. It issues grants to support research in the life sciences and arts projects, according to its website.

    Polly Thompson and Taylor Nicole Rogers

    Source link

  • Who Is Howard Schultz? Former Starbucks CEO Bids Farewell | Entrepreneur

    Who Is Howard Schultz? Former Starbucks CEO Bids Farewell | Entrepreneur

    Starbucks is bidding farewell to former CEO Howard Schultz after he stepped down from the company’s board on Wednesday, September 13, after over 40 years on the job and three stints at the top of the coffee giant.

    Schultz, who first served as CEO from 1987 to 2000 and then again from 2008 to 2017, has been executive chairman and a member of the board since 2018. He returned to the position as interim CEO after Kevin Johnson stepped down from the role in April 2022. This time around, he only held the job for 11 months before announcing Laxman Narasimhan as the company’s new CEO in October.

    Starbucks is now honoring Schultz with the title of “lifelong Chairman Emeritus” in the wake of his exit from the board.

    “I look forward to supporting this next generation of leaders to steward Starbucks into the future as a customer, supporter, and advocate in my role as chairman emeritus,” Schultz said in a press release.

    Stephen Brashear/Getty Images | Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz speaks during Starbucks annual shareholders meeting March 18, 2015 in Seattle, Washington.

    Wei Zhang, who formerly served as president of Alibaba Pictures Group and senior advisor to Alibaba, will be assuming Schultz’s seat on the board. She is set to step into the role on October 1.

    Keep scrolling for more details about Howard Schultz and Wei Zhang.

    RELATED: Entrepreneurial Lessons From Howard Schultz and Starbucks: How To Tide Over Recession With Reinvigoration

    Who Is Howard Schultz?

    Howard Schultz was born on July 19, 1953, and was raised in Brooklyn, New York. He studied at Northern Michigan University before going on to work in sales and marketing for the Xerox Corporation and a Swedish houseware company.

    He was first introduced to Starbucks as a consumer in 1981 before moving to Seattle to be the company’s director of operations and marketing just one year later, his company biography states. He was made CEO in 1987.

    When he first started, Starbucks only had four locations, but he grew the brand to over 3,000 stores by the time he stepped down from CEO the first time in 2000. He worked as the company’s global chief strategist until returning to the role of CEO in 2008. At that point, Starbucks had 15,000 stores, but he expanded the brand again to 30,000 stores by the time he retired in 2018.

    RELATED: ‘The Most Vile Coffee Drink I Have Ever Had’: Starbucks’ Olive Oil-Infused Beverages Are Coming to More Cities

    He has continued to be a member of the board since his retirement but briefly came back as interim CEO in April 2022 until Laxman Narasimhan took on the job.

    Schultz has been married to his wife Sherri Kersch Shultz since 1982. Together they share two children, Eliahu Jordan Schultz and Addison Schultz.

    What Is Howard Schultz’s Net Worth?

    Howard Schultz has an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, per Forbes. Schultz is also the founder of the venture capital firm Maveron, where he has invested in several major companies including Groupon and Allbirds. He also started the Schultz Family Foundation which focuses on training and hiring veterans.

    RELATED: Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte Is Celebrating a 20-Year Reign Nobody Expected, Especially Its Co-Creator

    Who Is Wei Zhang?

    Wei Zhang’s election to Starbucks’ board of directors makes her the third woman on the nine-seat board.

    In addition to her decade at Alibaba, where she led the brand’s corporate development and strategy, she also held roles at News Corp China, CNBC China, Bain & Company, and General Electric, per CNBC.

    She’s currently a Ralph Lauren Corporation board member. Zhang has a long history as a board member and formerly sat on the boards of the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission, Amblin Partner, the Jack Ma Foundation, and more.

    “I’ve been a Starbucks customer across the globe for decades,” Zhang said in a press release announcing her new role. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with the board and talented leadership team to contribute to the power, relevance, and resilience of the Starbucks business and brand – creating significant value for all stakeholders.”

    Sam Silverman

    Source link