This is a published version of the Forbes Daily newsletter, you can sign-up to get Forbes Daily in your inbox here.
Good morning,
Amazon is fighting a lonely battle with its efforts to bring employees back to the office—at least for now.
The e-commerce giant’s CEO Andy Jassy announced that starting in January, workers will be required to return to the office five days a week. Amazon joins just 7% of large technology firms mandating full-time office attendance, a figure that has mostly been declining—and the company operates in the industry with the smallest percentage of full-time office policies, according to Rob Sadow, founder and CEO of hybrid work management software firm Scoop Technologies.
Still, Amazon’s shift is “seismic,” Sadow says, and could cause other companies to reevaluate their policies. “You’re going to see a whole revisiting of this conversation again.”
FIRST UP
A former employee of TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance alleges that Chinese national police detained his father to interrogate and intimidate him after the former employee spoke to Western press about ByteDance’s censorship of content on the social media platform. In a sworn statement filed in U.S. federal court, the former employee wrote that his father relayed the officers’ orders to “keep your mouth shut.” If true, the allegations suggest a direct Chinese government interest in quashing public discussion of censorship on TikTok.
The S&P 500 hit a new record high Tuesday, its first record in more than two months, as investors’ concerns about the health of the economy faded. The gains came as Wall Street eagerly awaits the first interest rate cut since 2020, which the Federal Reserve is expected to announce Wednesday.
MORE: The Fed is independent from other government branches, but that hasn’t stopped politicians from voicing their opinions on monetary policy. Former President Donald Trump has said the president should have a “say” in Fed decision-making, while Vice President Kamala Harris has been mostly tight-lipped on the Fed but reaffirmed that the central bank is an “independent entity.”
BUSINESS + FINANCE
On Monday, former President Donald Trump rolled out World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture “led” by his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, but a closer look reveals recycled ideas and glaring red flags. It’s decentralized finance, or DeFi, project—a term used to define bank and exchange-like products that exist entirely on blockchains, with the promise of eventually becoming a cheaper, more private, secure and accessible replacement for traditional financial institutions.
Billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk threatened to sue the Federal Aviation Administration for “regulatory overreach” Tuesday after the agency levied proposed fines against the company. The fines, worth more than $630,000, are related to unapproved plans used during two SpaceX rocket launches last year.
TECH + INNOVATION
The Library of Congress is drawing interest from AI startups eager to access its archives to develop and train their most advanced AI models. What makes the world’s most extensive library’s data especially appealing to AI developers is that these works are in the public domain and not copyrighted or otherwise restricted.
SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will remain in federal custody after he pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three criminal counts, including racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors allege that Combs engaged in “a persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse,” and asked for him to be detained in prison until his trial—calling him a “dangerous” flight risk.
MORE: Combs was once on a path to becoming a billionaire, but his empire has crumbled. In 2019, Forbes estimated Combs’ personal wealth at $740 million, but back in June, amid a slew of sexual assault allegations and other lawsuits, Forbes conservatively estimated he was worth $400 million.
SCIENCE + HEALTHCARE
Ozempic could soon have its price cut following cost negotiations with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, according to Bloomberg, as the Novo Nordisk drug faces scrutiny for its high cost. Ozempic has a list price of $968.52 per month, and while the company says it can cost as little as $25 for up to 24 refills with insurance plans, most health insurance plans do not cover the drug for weight loss, as it has only been approved by the FDA for type 2 diabetes.
WORLD
Hundreds of wireless pagers exploded at the same time across Lebanon on Tuesday, leading to claims Israel could have hacked the devices of Hezbollah operatives. But ex-intelligence analysts tell Forbes a totally remote hack is not the most likely explanation. Instead, the attackers likely intercepted the devices, tampered with their software and turned them into explosives that could be detonated from anywhere.
TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
The Department of Transportation on Tuesday allowed Alaska Airlines to close its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, clearing the final regulatory hurdle to creating the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. Alaska said it expects the merger to be completed “in the coming days,” and shares of Hawaiian Airlines’ parent firm increased by nearly 4% after the announcement.
DAILY COVER STORY
How Donald Trump Made Billions From Politics
TOPLINE Other rich people have run for office, and many politicians—including every living ex-president—have leveraged fame and contacts into post-career riches. But no one has cashed in the way, or on the scale, that Donald Trump has.
In early 2021, Forbes estimated that Trump was worth $2.4 billion, with $1.4 billion tied up in traditional commercial property, $1 billion concentrated in New York City. Now, he returns to The Forbes 400 with an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion, the majority—$2.2 billion as of August 30, the day we locked in values for the list—stemming from his social media business, which went public in March; just $600 million is now in New York commercial real estate.
In less than four years, the former president has grown and completely transformed a fortune he built over 40 years.
From a financial standpoint, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company to Twitter knockoff Truth Social, is one of the most absurd businesses in America, generating sales of just $3.4 million in the 12 months through June and recording a net loss of $380 million. It has no clear business case now that Elon Musk owns X (formerly Twitter), seemingly eliminating the need for a right-wing alternative.
Yet Trump-loving traders still valued the business at $3.8 billion at the end of last month (and $3.1 billion when markets closed Tuesday). If someone other than Trump were behind the company, investors would probably peg it near zero.
WHY IT MATTERS Just as politics changed Trump, he changed politics, rewriting the rules for squeezing profits from the presidency. Only one person saw any of this coming. “It’s very possible,” the 45th president predicted in an interview with Fortune 24 years ago, “that I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money on it.”
MORE How Donald Trump Earned $550 Million In The White House
FACTS + COMMENTS
Instagram announced restrictive privacy settings for younger users on Tuesday, including mandatory “Teen Accounts” and parental controls. The Meta-owned social media firm has been accused of failing to protect children on the app:
Under 18: Those under the age of 18 will see their accounts made private by default and turned into “Teen Accounts” within 60 days in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia
33: The number of states that sued Meta last October, alleging the company was exploiting children on Instagram for profit
“There’s lots of risk,” Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO, told the New York Times, stating the changes will affect the app’s popularity among teens
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
Setting clear goals can help provide focus in life, but sometimes chasing a specific career goal can be limiting. Plans rarely work out the way you think they will, and if things fail, adjusting course can allow you to explore other avenues. Giving yourself the freedom to pivot can help to focus your energy on pursuits that are a better fit.
VIDEO
QUIZ
If you looked up at the sky last night, you may have witnessed a partial lunar eclipse across one of the most famous full moons of the year. What is the name of the full moon?
A. Wolf Moon
B. Pink Moon
C. Blue Moon
D. Harvest Moon
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.