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Martin Luther King Jr., who died too young, once presciently reframed his goals for his time on earth: “It does not matter how long you live, but how well you do it.” Bernard Osei, who for the past nine years dazzled at Forbes through video direction, product development and even the occasional photograph, instinctively grasped that: He did life very, very well. We lost Bern in April at age 32, as he was en route from Bali to South Korea on a vacation. Yes, even in death, he did life well. There’s immense tragedy in such a bright light dimming so early. But there’s also celebration, as Bern reached literally millions of people with his exceptional eye behind the camera, and deeply touched many hundreds who dealt with him personally. Bern was…

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Why the Fed Gets It Wrong

One of the great mysteries of our troubled times is how the Federal Reserve generally escapes the kind of searing examination such a powerful institution ought to undergo. The Fed’s economic model is profoundly flawed. It assumes that the way to fight inflation is to slow down or even depress economic activity. The real cause of monetary inflation is weakening the value of the dollar, usually by creating too many of them. Yet the Fed never talks about defending the integrity of the dollar. The Fed can’t be held responsible for nonmonetary inflation—higher prices resulting from regulation, higher taxes and, as happened during Covid, wild disruptions of supply chains. Yet the Fed’s assumption regarding this is never seriously challenged. Another related Federal Reserve mistake is its belief that manipulating interest rates is the best…

Why the Fed Gets It Wrong

The Gold Standard Will Come Back

It’s hard to believe, but the world is beginning to lurch toward a goldbased monetary system. This, despite the fact that the historical gold standard is held in almost universal contempt by economists and financial offcials. Contrary to numerous myths based on ignorance, the system worked. The U.S. was on a goldbased system for 180 years until the early 1970s. We never had inflation when the dollar’s value was tied to the yellow metal, and the U.S. experienced the greatest longterm economic growth in human history. Since the greenback’s link to gold was severed, our average historic growth rates have fallen by about a third. Median household income today would be at least $40,000 higher if our traditional pattern of growth for those 180 years had been maintained. Nonetheless, the contumely and…

THE FORBES STEAKOUT

You may not have herd—and vegans may beef about it—but there is a bull market for outstanding steakhouses in the Big Apple. Patrons are not cowed by high prices. They want to get away from it all in a convivial, oft-boisterous, reassuring atmosphere with excellent offerings washed down with an array of superb wines and other stimulative liquids. These magnificent eateries meat this demand each in its own way. Balvanera (152 Stanton St.) Corner bistro serving excellent authentic Argentinian fare. Go for the tender and deeply flavorful grilled Ancho ribeye, served with a tangy chimichurri and a classic salsa criolla. Flan topped with dulce de leche will cap your meal. Beefbar (105 Hudson St.) Imported from Monaco, Beefbar takes pride in its beef, leaf and reef offerings. You can run up quite…

THE FORBES STEAKOUT

CELEBRITY SANDBOX

Wmost famous couple hit the Coachella music festival in April, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce didn’t have to venture far to find refuge from 200,000 sets of prying eyes. “I’ve got a cheat code,” Kelce later revealed. “I know where to stay.” The pair turned to the Madison Club, an ultra-luxe sanctuary across the street from the concert grounds. A diamond in the California desert, the Madison Club, in the town of La Quinta, is a hidden oasis of rolling hills, world-class golf—and scores of vacationing celebrities, business executives and at least three billionaires. The 500-acre patch boasts some 200 custom mansions dotting 18 lush greens designed by golf course legend Tom Fazio. Admission will cost you: Homes in the very gated community run upward of $30 million, and dues are $500,000…

CELEBRITY SANDBOX

Nick Ornitz 29 COFOUNDER, TOPLINE PRO Enterprise tech for the trades: Backed by $17 million, this Brooklyn company employs AI to help electricians, plumbers, roofers and lawn-care pros advertise, process payments and retain customers. Amira Rasool 28 FOUNDER, THE FOLKLORE This B2B retail matchmaker helps Lilliputian brands land in Gulliver-sized stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus through coaching and networking software. The New York startup has raised $6.2 million. Reed Switzer 23 FOUNDER, HOPSCOTCH This fee-free small-biz Venmo lets companies and vendors pay and get paid with ease. It currently serves thousands of customers, having raised $10 million at a $31 million valuation. Josh Archer 29 Rachel Lea Fishman 29 COFOUNDERS, ARKETA Drop and give ’em … $8 million. Those funds raised by this L.A. software platform help several thousand fitness operations bulk up their class scheduling, websites and customer service.…

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

There’s no bigger business than small business. Some 33 million American companies—99.9% of all firms—employ fewer than 500 people, according to the Small Business Administration. In all, 46% of the U.S. workforce is on the payroll of a mom andpop shop. Here are a few industries with the most small businesses, and three with the least. Law firms, accounting offices and other professional services 4.5 million small businesses (14% of all small businesses) Construction 3.6 million (11%) Auto shops, laundromats and other services 3.5 million (11%) Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 280,000 (1%) Mining, quarrying and oil and gas 85,000 (0.3%) Utilities 20,000 (0.06%) 30 UNDER 30 BY ALEX YORK. ILLUSTRATION BY DIEGO PATIÑO…

IT’S A SMALL WORLD

WORLD OF FORBES

CYPRUS Ten Cypriot citizens appear on Forbes’ 2024 ranking of the world’s billionaires. Forbes Cyprus writes about the bunch, who originally hail from Greece, Russia, India, Israel, Norway, Turkmenistan and the island of Cyprus itself. The three Haji-Ioannou siblings derive their fortune from shipbuilding and discount airline easyJet. CZECH REPUBLIC Shortly after the announcement in December that 230-year-old glass factory Květná would be closing its doors, Jozef Anovčín and his family acquired a majority stake. The Czech construction clan hopes to reach profitability without increasing prices by offering new products and eliminating intermediaries. FRANCE French activist Julia Faure wants to take on fast-fashion giants like Shein and others whose production methods allegedly damage the environment. She is president of En Mode Climat, a 500-member network of textile brands and factories that encourages sustainable fashion production. ARGENTINA “It’s…

WORLD OF FORBES

TEN-FIGURE TERMINATOR

There aren’t many movies as action-packed as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s actual life. Born into a poor family in the tiny Austrian village of Thal (population 2,500), where he later discovered his father had been a member of the Nazi party, the Terminator and Kindergarten Cop star used his muscles and charm to be crowned Mr. Universe four times, then conquer Hollywood and win California’s top political office. Along the way he has spun his fame into fortune. The 76-year-old star is now worth more than $1 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates. Between 1970 and 2019, Schwarzenegger, who initially struggled to secure roles because of his thick accent, churned out around 50 films, which made $5.5 billion at the box office. He was early to negotiate a cut of sales, for instance, pocketing…

TEN-FIGURE TERMINATOR

THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania PROS: Former steel town has newly fresh air; cheap housing; close(ish) to Philly and NYC. CONS: Keystone State in-heritance tax ensnares all heirs except your spouse. Your kids will be pissed. Grieving, but pissed. Fargo, North Dakota PROS: Cheap housing, low income taxes, friendly people should you ever encounter any. CONS: State income tax on pensions, retirement accounts. Frostbite in July. Las Cruces, New Mexico PROS: Dry climate; home to New Mexico State University. CONS: It’s the desert, for hell’s sake. Scorpions in your slippers. NEW BILLIONAIRE BY JEMIMA MCEVOY. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN RUSSO/CONTOUR/GETTY IMAGES…

THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE

CASH WITH FLASH

Since he formed his $70 billion holding company in 2015, Todd Boehly (net worth: $6.1 billion) has built an empire that includes the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Golden Globes and the English Premier League’s Chelsea F.C. Although Boehly, our April/May cover star, likes to populate his portfolio of more than 100 companies with glitzy sports and entertainment acquisitions, the Maryland native, 50, generates most of his capital from his more mundane annuities business, Security Benefit Life, which holds $52 billion in assets. “Love him or hate him, there’s no denying he’s a great businessman,” commented @alanvazquez on YouTube. The hate? Most of it comes from Chelsea fans, who blame the Yank interloper for the soccer club’s dreadful performance following his $3.1 billion purchase of the franchise in 2022. “He took…

CASH WITH FLASH

The Missing Links

As Mike Keiser walks his new 19-hole par-3 course on a cloudy Oregon day, he’s ready to declare it the best in the world. Yet the 79-year-old founder of Bandon Dunes Golf Resort wonders if the soon-to-open course could be even better, particularly the fourth hole. “It seems slanted,” he says. But he doesn’t see an immediate fix, leaving him with a decision to ponder all summer. “Maybe [we’ll] do a big change in the winter—or let it go.” Over the past quarter-century, Keiser’s desire to create, improve and, ultimately, expand has defined Bandon Dunes’ ascension into an elite golf resort. When he started buying the land in 1991, even he worried that weekend golfers wouldn’t make the pilgrimage to this cold, rainy and remote slice of Oregon—nine hours by car…

The Missing Links

Golf’s popularity is on the upswing, with a record 3.4 million people playing on a course for the first time in 2023, per the National Golf Foundation. (The pre-pandemic high for new golfers was 2.4 million in 2000.) While 26.6 million people played on a course, an additional 18.4 million swung clubs offcourse on driving ranges or at one of the 89 Topgolf entertainment and dining venues across the United States. Topgolf revenue grew 14% to $1.8 billion last year, accounting for 41% of sales for parent company Topgolf Callaway Brands, which also sells golf equipment and clothing. Total revenue this year is expected to grow 5.5%, to $4.5 billion, with pretax income higher by 80%. John Dobosz is editor of Forbes Dividend Investor, Forbes Billionaire Investor and Forbes Premium Income…

Money will get you into (most of) America’s most prestigious country clubs, but in golf, cash goes only so far. It can’t make you hit that little white ball any farther or straighter. The average male American golfer has a handicap of 14 (lower is better), according to the USGA. Here’s how a few billionaire big shots compare. 20.1 Bob Parsons Founder, GoDaddy; founder, PXG golf equipment NET WORTH: $3.6 bil 15.2 Charles Schwab Founder, Charles Schwab Corp. $10.7 bil 7.8 Jerry Yang Cofounder, Yahoo $2.6 bil 3.1 Jim Davis Cofounder, Allegis Group $4.1 bil 2.7 Ryan Smith Cofounder, Qualtrics; owner, Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake $2.2 bil Source: USGA Golf Handicap Information…

The Best of Watches and Wonders 2024

This year’s edition of Watches and Wonders Geneva—the largest trade show dedicated to haute horology—was a little light on wonders, but there were still plenty of innovative and unforgettable timepieces, including several record-breakers. Piaget debuted the thinnest tourbillon, which clocks in at svelte 2 millimeters, or about the width of a nickel. Bulgari broke its own record for the world’s thinnest mechanical watch (0.3 millimeters thinner than the Piaget). And Vacheron Constantin unveiled the most complicated watch in the world. Eleven years in the making, the Berkley Grand Complication—a pocket watch that features 2,877 parts and 63 complications, including a Gregorian perpetual calendar and the first Chinese perpetual calendar—was commissioned by insurance billionaire William Berkley, who also commissioned and owns the second-most complicated timepiece, with 57 complications. Here are some of…

The Best of Watches and Wonders 2024

Inside Eva Mendes’ Bubble

There’s Cuban music playing in the background with the scent of verbena in the air and a sink stacked with dirty dishes—Eva Mendes’ idea of a dream evening. Even after decades of Hollywood premieres and glamorous walks down the red carpet, the kitchen is where she feels the most joy. “Cleaning for me and for my family, it’s not just cleaning. It’s an emotional bonding experience,” Mendes says of household chores. “When I found mindful meditation, I was like, this is my jam.” To get to this blissful place in her life—where she spends most evenings finding happiness over that kitchen sink in her Southern California home, where she lives with 43-year-old actor Ryan Gosling and their two daughters—took years of hard work, a gene she says she got from her Cuban…

Inside Eva Mendes’ Bubble

Green Gas Giant

Linde PLC puts the heavy in heavy industry. It furnishes industrial gases to the world’s smokestacks: fertilizer plants, steel mills, glassworks, oil refineries. It spews 38 million tons a year of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This is a repentant sinner. Sanjiv Lamba, who has been running the firm from a Danbury, Connecticut, office for the past two years, reels off the many things Linde is doing to save the environment. He says it’s going to get its own operations down to net zero carbon (eventually), and in the meantime, for every pound of greenhouse gas it emits, its products and its know-how enable customers to avoid more than two pounds of their own emissions. He talks about the $2 billion Linde will put into a Beaumont, Texas, hydrogen plant that…

Green Gas Giant

Linde is an ancient industrial outfit that has done a nice job keeping up with the times. Alas, investors know this: shares are priced at 28 times likely 2024 earnings. Now look at Deere & Co., another venerable industrial. It’s in a very different line of business but sports a similar emphasis on technology and a profit margin almost as good. John Deere invented a slick plow in 1837; now his company sells exotic forestry equipment and $963,000 computer-guided combines. It spends $2.2 billion a year on R&D. sales will be down this year but will recover. Deere’s price/earnings ratio is half Linde’s. William Baldwin is Forbes’ Investment Strategies columnist.…

The Industrial Revolution was in full swing by 1879, when Carl von Linde, a professor in Munich researching refrigeration techniques, founded his precursor to Linde plc as gesellschaft für Linde’s eismaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (“Linde’s Ice Machine Company”). Here are a handful of big businesses around the globe that also got their start in the 1870s. Brown-Forman (MARKET CAP: $23 bil) FOUNDED: 1870 • Louisville, Kentucky INDUSTRY: Spirits and wine FAMOUS PRODUCTS: Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester Weir Group ($6.8 bil) 1871 • Liverpool, england Industrial equipment Mining and infrastructure machinery Eli Lilly ($737 bil) 1876 • Indianapolis Pharmaceuticals Trulicity, Cialis, Cymbalta Henkel ($36 bil) 1876 • Aachen, germany Adhesives, consumer goods Dial, Purex, Loctite The E.W. Scripps Company ($360 mil) 1878 • Cleveland Broadcasting, local news scripps Networks, Court TV…

The Paper Industry’s Sustainability Story Begins With The Forest

STEP INTO A FOREST, and you’ll witness a dynamic interplay of growth and survival driven by the life cycle of its trees. Rapidly growing saplings and shrubs offer cover and create a vibrant nursery for small animals and songbirds. As trees mature and soar to new heights, they offer refuge and nesting spots for a diverse mix of creatures, from foxes to Cooper’s hawks. In their mature phase, these towering trees support a dense understory, offering a home to bears and white-tailed deer, all sustained by a continuous exchange between flora and fauna. Protecting this complex ecosystem is a challenge some may assume is at odds with paper production. However, the U.S. paper and packaging industry has taken significant steps to minimize its impact on and support the growth of this…

The Paper Industry’s Sustainability Story Begins With The Forest

Raising the Stake

It’s fitting that Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani first met online, where, as enterprising teenagers, they developed a way for players of Runescape, an old-school online video game, to wager on fights between them using in-game digital gold coins. The scheme, called “staking,” was profitable, until it reportedly got them booted from the platform. “I wouldn’t say so much kicked off,” says Craven, an Australian, with a sly smile. “But it definitely wasn’t looked too highly upon by the game’s creators.” Just over a decade later, the 28-year-old Craven and 30-year-old Tehrani run Stake.com, the largest offshore crypto casino in the world. Stake generated $2.6 billion in revenue last year—despite crypto gambling being unavailable in the United States, United Kingdom and much of Europe. The pair’s instinct for marketing and willingness…

Raising the Stake

UPPING THE ANTE

The casino game is always changing. long before Stake found fortune taking wagers in crypto, las vegas kingpin Kirk Kerkorian—who died in 2015, worth some $2 billion—devised his own way to shift the odds in his favor, luring gamblers to his MgM grand with a big bet on amenities. Anyone who thought Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal was ostentatious should get a look at Kerkorian’s plans. The blueprints call for 5,000 rooms. Visitors will pass between the paws of a 109-foot-tall gold lion, up a yellow brick road, to the Emerald City, an entertainment complex at the center of the futuristic resort’s 2.5-acre gaming floor. From a 50-passenger elevator (say the plans), guests will descend three levels and watch staged scenes drawn from the uncopyrighted Oz series of books, including The Wonderful…

UPPING THE ANTE

Gambling culture has moved from the fringe to the mainstream. The best way to play this trend is DraftKings, a fast-growing online daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting platform. executives at the Boston-based company reported May 2 that first-quarter revenue increased to $1.2 billion, up 53% year-over-year. execs now expect 2024 sales to be in the range of $4.8 billion to $5 billion, with adjusted earnings of at least $460 million before interest, taxes and depreciation. Based on strong business momentum, shares could trade to $62 within the next 18 months, a gain of more than 40% from their recent price of $43. Jon D. Markman is CEO of Markman Capital Insight and editor of Fast Forward Investing.…

Thomas Gayner gets a kick out of telling the story. It was 1983. He had just graduated from the University of Virginia with a plan to return home to Salem, New Jersey, to run an accounting business with his father, Jack. But Jack died suddenly, and instead of heading north, Tom wound up at Davenport & Co., a Rich-mond stock brokerage. He hadn’t been there long when he read an article about an investor from Omaha who was such an inspiration that Gayner wanted to share his excitement with his boss. “Hey, Joe,” Gayner said, “have you heard of this guy, Warren Buf-fay?” “It’s Buffett, you idiot,” Joe replied, and tossed Gayner out of his office. Forty years later, Gayner, 62, has built an impressive career by worshiping at the altar…

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

A jewel of the South founded in 1737, Richmond, Virginia (metro population 1.3 million), is a bustling midsize city with dining, shopping and museums highlighting its role in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Here are a few of longtime resident Tom Gayner’s must-see spots in the capital of the Old Dominion. Angela’s Ristorante Dine on shrimp parmigiana or stuffed veal chops at this Italian joint. “My wife and I have been going for more than 40 years,” Gayner says. “[Owners] Michael and Denise make you feel like you’re part of the family.” The Jefferson Hotel Sleep like a king at this five-star whose guests have included John D. Rockefeller and James Brown. Thirteen U.S. presidents have stayed there since it opened in 1895. “It’s Richmond’s landmark hotel.” Carytown Stroll this colorful nine-block stretch of bookshops, boutiques…

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

THE SPIRIT OF 1856

In southern Tennessee, where whiskey falls somewhere between a religion and Disneyland, Fawn Weaver looks across the 458-acre distillery–cum–amusement park that she has built in Shelbyville to support her seven-year-old brand, Uncle Nearest. There’s a history walk, four tasting areas, the world’s longest bar (518 feet), an outdoor music venue, an aging barn that was once a horse stable, a barbecue restaurant and a snack shack featuring Tennessee treats such as Mountain Dew and Goo-Goo Clusters. It’s all to compete with nearby Jack Daniel’s, which welcomes 300,000 people a year to experience whiskey in a dry county. There’s some historical elegance going on here. Weaver, the founder and CEO, launched Uncle Nearest in honor of Nearest Green, the former slave and first master distiller of Jack Daniel’s, whose story was erased…

THE SPIRIT OF 1856

How 3 Companies Put Health At The Heart Of The Workplace

How do you prioritize health and find community while juggling deadlines, meetings and commutes? It’s a tricky balancing act, which is why many organizations are embracing creative initiatives to make it easier for people to take care of themselves. A 2023 survey found that 82% of employees experience burnout in their jobs. The American Heart Association—which conducted the research as part of its commitment to workforce health—adds crucial context: The struggles workers face are often more pronounced for certain groups, including people who are Black, Latino, Asian and Native American, LGBTQ+ employees, essential workers and parents. The American Heart Association aims to help employers close these gaps with its Well-being Works Better™ Scorecard—a free, comprehensive benchmarking tool for leaders to assess their benefits and approach employee well-being with intention and ingenuity. Explore stories from…

How 3 Companies Put Health At The Heart Of The Workplace

The American Heart Association’s 2023 Workforce Well-Being Standouts

PLATINUM Advocate Health, NC American Heart Association, TX Amgen, Inc., CA Apex Benefits, IN Baird, WI Bank of America, NC Bean Automotive Group, FL BP, TX Broward County Government, FL CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, MD Chevron, CA City of Highland Village, TX CME Group, IL CNO Financial Group, IN County of Chester, PA County of Jefferson, CO Crum & Forster, NJ Crystal Clean Green Cleaning, FL Deloitte, NY Donor Network of Arizona, AZ Erie Insurance, PA Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc., NJ Grinnell Mutual, IA Harris Health System, TX Humana Inc., KY Johnson & Johnson, NJ Kaiser Permanente, CA Merck & Co., Inc., NJ Nestlé USA, VA Northwell Health, NY Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, FL PSECU, PA Texas Health Resources, TX The Cigna Group, CT The Starr Group, WI UCLA Health, CA UJAMAA Construction, IL VF, CO Zoetis, NE GOLD AC Transit, CA Acushnet Company, MA Akin, DC Alexander & Baldwin, HI Amarin Pharma Inc., NJ American Savings Bank, HI Associated Bank, WI Atlantic General Hospital, MD Aultman Health Foundation, OH Availity, L.L.C., FL Banyan Air Services, Inc., FL Baptist Health, FL BD, NJ Blue Cross and…

AMERICA’S RICHEST SELF-MADE WOMEN

Pizza. Packaging. Pop music. The country’s most successful women have found dozens of ways to prosper. Nearly three-fourths started a company, while 22 are chief executives. There are now a record 31 self-made female billionaires, up from 24 a year ago, including Taylor Swift and BET Networks cofounder Sheila Johnson. Among the list’s ten newcomers: singer Katy Perry; Daniela Amodei, cofounder of AI firm Anthropic; and BuzzBallz cocktails creator Merrilee Kick. The minimum to qualify rose to $300 million from $225 million last year, the highest since Forbes started tracking the top 100 in 2020. 1. DIANE HENDRICKS $20.9 billion SOURCE: Building supplies RESIDENCE: Afton, WI • AGE: 77 SELF-MADE SCORE: Hendricks owns ABC Supply, the nation’s largest wholesale distributor of roofing supplies. She cofounded it with her husband, Kenneth (d. 2007), in 1982. Revenue has…

AMERICA’S RICHEST SELF-MADE WOMEN

Scanning the first floor of the four-level parking garage outside Enterprise’s suburban St. Louis headquarters, CEO Chrissy Taylor points out an all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E and the black Rivian R1T she’s been test driving. “All our officers are driving EVs,” she says. “We put chargers in at corporate, but there aren’t enough for everyone. That’s my ploy to get them to come in early.” Taylor is mostly joking, though she gets to the office at her family’s rent-a-car outfit—recently renamed Enterprise Mobility—most mornings before 8. But she’s dead serious about testing out new technology and not forcing it on her customers too soon. Especially electric vehicles. After hearing from renters that concerns about charging times, battery life and infrastructure would make them hesitant to drive EVs, Enterprise slowed its rollout strategy. “We…

DRESSED AUSTERELY IN A BLACK TURTLENECK AND BLAZER despite the warm early May day, Vinod Khosla surveys the packed auditorium in the bowels of the U.S. Capitol complex before setting the stakes of the debate at hand. “Winning the race for AI means economic power, which then lets you influence social policy or ideology.” Khosla’s next point—that China’s developing AI prowess could prove a threat to upcoming U.S. elections—resonates with the hawkish mix of congressional staffers and policy wonks in the room for the Hill & Valley Forum’s daylong AI and defense confab. AI’s national security implications, particularly in the hands of America’s adversaries, loom large here. But Khosla’s words come with a call to action to lock down our leading AI models from broader use that places him in the…

THE MIDAS LIST: TECH’S TOP INVESTORS

1. Alfred Lin FIRM: SEQUOIA NOTABLE DEAL: OPENAI LOCATION: San Francisco 2. Micky Malka RIBBIT CAPITAL COINBASE Palo Alto, California 3. Neil Shen HONGSHAN BYTEDANCE Hong Kong 4. Navin Chaddha MAYFIELD FUND POSHMARK Saratoga, California 5. Satish Dharmaraj REDPOINT VENTURES SNOWFLAKE Saratoga, California 6. Chris Dixon ANDREESSEN HOROWITZ COINBASE Menlo Park, California 7. Fred Wilson UNION SQUARE VENTURES COINBASE New York, New York 8. Reid Hoffman GREYLOCK AIRBNB Palo Alto, California 9. Vinod Khosla KHOSLA VENTURES OPENAI Portola Valley, California 10. Hemant Taneja GENERAL CATALYST APPLIED INTUITION Palo Alto, California 11. Roelof Botha SEQUOIA MONGODB Menlo Park, California 12. Peter Thiel FOUNDERS FUND PALANTIR Los Angeles 13. Richard Liu 5Y CAPITAL XPENG Beijing 14. Randy Glein DFJ GROWTH SPACEX Los Altos, California 15. David Frankel FOUNDER COLLECTIVE SEATGEEK Brookline, Massachusetts 16. Eric Vishria BENCHMARK CEREBRAS Atherton, California 17. Michael Speiser SUTTER HILL VENTURES SNOWFLAKE San Francisco 18. Luciana Lixandru SEQUOIA UIPATH London 19. Peter Fenton BENCHMARK AIRTABLE San Francisco 20. Ben Sun PRIMARY VENTURE PARTNERS COUPANG New York, New York…

Shardul Shah FIRM: INDEX VENTURES • NOTABLE DEAL: WIZ LOCATION: New York, New York While many VCs are former founders or operators, Shah took another route: He went from intern to general partner at Index Ventures in a little over a decade. There he specializes in cybersecurity deals—Coalition, Datadog and Wiz, with which he inked a seed deal on his birthday. Wiz eventually gave him a stunning gift: a $12 billion valuation. He calls himself an idealist, and says backing founders allows him to tackle lofty issues. “The most talented people in the world will always gravitate toward solving problems,” he says. Trae Stephens FOUNDERS FUND • ANDURIL San Francisco In 2013, Palantir cofounder and chairman Peter Thiel called Stephens, one of his early employees, to recruit him for Founders Fund, Thiel’s contrarian-minded investment firm. “He was kind…

HOW TO TANK A UNICORN

UNPAID BILLS, BUNGLED CONTRACTS AND A DISASTROUS MEETING WITH JENSEN HUANG: HOW STABILITY FOUNDER EMAD MOSTAQUE TORPEDOED HIS BILLION-DOLLAR AI STARTUP. IN MARCH, STABILITY AI FOUNDER EMAD MOSTAQUE TOOK THE STAGE AT THE TERRANEA RESORT IN PALOS VERDES, CALIFORNIA, TO ROARING APPLAUSE AND AN INTRODUCTION FROM AN AI-GENERATED ARISTOTLE WHO ANNOUNCED HIM AS “A MODERN PROMETHEUS” WITH “THE ASTUTENESS OF ATHENA AND THE VISION OF DAEDALUS.” “Under his stewardship, AI becomes the Herculean force poised to vanquish the twin serpents of illness and ailment and extend the olive branch of longevity,” the faux Aristotle proclaimed. Behind Mostaque’s hagiographic introduction, though, lay a grim and fast-metastasizing truth. Stability, once one of AI’s buzziest startups, was floundering. It had been running out of money for months, and Mostaque had been unable to secure enough additional…

HOW TO TANK A UNICORN

STABLE DELUSION

IN his own telling, Emad Mostaque is the modern-day Renaissance man who kicked off the AI gold rush. The Oxford master’s degree holder is an award-winning manager of the London hedge fund Capricorn, a trusted confidant to the U.N. and the technical genius behind Stable Diffusion, the groundbreaking AI image generator which he said pressured OpenAI to launch ChatGPT in November 2022. He proclaimed that Stability would use AI to transform Hollywood, democratize education and vanquish Microsoft PowerPoint. To investors, he claimed Stability had partnerships with the OECD, World Health Organization and World Bank, as well as a bespoke deal with Amazon that gave the company an 80% discount. He claimed Stability “co-created” Midjourney, another popular AI image generator, and “organized” its user community. He said Stability owned the intellectual property…

In the early 1980s, Disney was fighting off multiple hostile takeover bids, and Forbes had a ringside seat for our June 4, 1984, cover story. The murderers’ row of potential buyers included the litigious Anglo-French financier James Goldsmith, a 53-year-old Rupert Murdoch and the fearsome corporate raider Saul Steinberg, who had acquired enough Disney stock, 12.2%, to become the company’s largest shareholder. “On the book Disney is a mediocre earner,” Forbes wrote. “In the real world it is a pool of ever-growing wealth.” The mouse managed to escape, but it paid handsomely for its freedom: Shortly after the article ran, Disney bought back Steinberg’s stake for $325 million (just under $1 billion in today’s terms). The 43% premium paid to him over the market price sparked media outrage and shareholder…

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