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Good morning,
Like many, I have watched in horror as countless friends in my former home of North Carolina have been unable to reach their loved ones.
Hurricane Helene wiped out communities and infrastructure in the Southeast, claiming more than 160 lives as one of the 10 deadliest storms in U.S. history, according to USA Today. AccuWeather estimates the damage will range between $95 billion and $110 billion.
It will be a long recovery, and the region is in need of support. To make sure your assistance gets to those who need it, be sure to check the credentials of potential organizations and use caution when donating to individuals to avoid any potential scams.
A few charities accepting Helene-specific donations include: the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen and Airbnb.org, which helps people find a temporary place to stay.
FIRST UP
Alice Walton, America’s richest woman, just reported her largest known charitable gift to date, including $249 million to help fund a new medical school in her name in her family’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. Forbes estimates that Walton, the only daughter of Walmart cofounder Sam Walton, has now given away $1.5 billion in her lifetime, making her one of the 30 biggest lifetime givers nationwide.
Iran fired rockets at Israel Tuesday, the Israeli military said, potentially escalating the war in the Middle East as Iran took responsibility for the attack and warned it is only a “first wave.” In a statement read on state television, Iran said the attack was retaliation for the killings of multiple Hezbollah leaders, according to the Associated Press.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
Aerospace and defense stocks reached all-time highs, a grim market reaction to the latest escalation of tensions in the Middle East, as the Israeli military reported missile strikes from Iran a day after Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon. Defense stocks typically see gains during times of heightened conflict as the companies’ revenues rely heavily on U.S. government contracts.
Fred Thiel, the CEO of major bitcoin miner MARA, spoke with Forbes about how it is adapting to the wave of smaller miners gravitating towards artificial intelligence, as well as U.S. politics and the outlook for the crypto mining industry. He says that retail investors give small competitors too much credit for AI plays that will not pay off for years.
Since porn entrepreneur Leonid Radvinsky purchased OnlyFans in 2018, it has gone from being a little-known U.K.-based company to earning $485 million in profits on $1.3 billion in revenue in 2023. Its popularity unleashed a massive payday for Radvinsky, who debuted on this year’s Forbes 400 list with an estimated net worth of $3.8 billion.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has long ranked as either the richest or second-richest person on the annual Forbes 400 list, but even with his $107 billion fortune, he dropped to No. 9 this year, down from No. 6 a year ago. A major reason for his fall in the rankings is his 2021 divorce from Melinda French Gates, his wife of 27 years.
TECH + INNOVATION
Less than 2,500 people live in the small town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, but it’s also home to several rare mines for ultra-pure quartz critical to semiconductor production. Operations have been shut down for more than five days due to impacts from Hurricane Helene, according to the News & Observer, but even when mines can reopen, extensive damage to surrounding roads and rail lines is expected to disrupt global supply chains.
In his latest feud with a government official, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken issue with the Federal Aviation Administration over launch date delays and fines related to alleged SpaceX violations, escalating to direct attacks on agency administrator Michael Whitaker. The dustup could preview how Musk might tackle government efficiency while working in a possible Trump Administration, an idea the former president has floated.
MONEY + POLITICS
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, faced off in a mostly polite yet policy-heavy vice presidential debate Tuesday night. But one of the more tense moments was a heated back-and-forth related to the false claims Vance spread about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, leading CBS News to cut Vance and Walz’s mics.
MORE: Forbes recently looked at how the two candidates compare on assets like real estate, pensions, salaries and more. Vance’s earnings from his bestseller Hillbilly Elegy helped him amass an estimated $10 million compared to former public school teacher Walz’s wealth of about $1 million.
TRENDS + EXPLAINERS
A massive dockworker strike that began Tuesday comes ahead of the holiday season and as policy makers look to turn the page on inflation, but experts are split on whether it will have a major impact on the economy. The strike could cost the U.S. economy between $3 billion and $4.5 billion daily, according to estimates from Jefferies and JPMorgan, but significant fallout would only occur if the strike lasts more than the “base case” of a “few days,” Bank of America analysts led by Nathan Gee noted.
DAILY COVER STORY
How Palantir Became The S&P’s Most Expensive Stock—And Earned CEO Alex Karp A Spot On The Forbes 400
TOPLINE Palantir, which builds software to help other businesses gather, manage and analyze their data, at first with secretive government agencies like the CIA and now also with commercial customers, had a banner year.
Palantir took off, with annual revenue increasing more than 20% over the last year to $2.5 billion, and it flipped the switch on profitability—going from a net loss of $50 million in June 2023 to net income of $400 million a year later. The record year was capped by its addition to the S&P 500 in September.
The company’s growth is in part because many of its data software products meshed with the wave of AI hype.
No surprise then that shares are up 134% over the past year, making Palantir the most expensive stock in the S&P in terms of revenue multiples—more so even than chip design darling Nvidia. Palantir’s meteoric rise has earned CEO Alex Karp a spot on The Forbes 400 list of richest Americans for the first time, worth an estimated $3.6 billion, thanks to his Palantir stake and $1 billion or so in cash from stock sales as of September 1, the day we finalized net worths for our list.
But should it be that expensive, trading at a market valuation that’s 36 times its annual revenue? Analysts aren’t sure: only five of the 20 that cover Palantir give the company a “buy” rating, with the remainder split between hold and sell ratings.
D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria drew a parallel between the company and Tesla and CEO Elon Musk, when the EV company was trading at all-time highs in 2021. “Tesla for a very long period of time traded well above any valuation or comparable metric that you could point to. The reason was people were really excited about the mission and about the prospects.”
WHY IT MATTERS “The Forbes 400, the definitive ranking of America’s richest people, is important because enormous wealth comes with immense power, and the public should know who is doing what with their power,” says Forbes reporter Phoebe Liu.
“As such, Karp’s addition to The Forbes 400 and Palantir’s too-high valuation show that what he and his company stand for—Western values, American defense and artificial intelligence—are especially relevant in today’s economic, cultural and geopolitical landscape. It’s worth watching what happens with the ever-controversial, ever-secretive (despite being publicly traded!) firm in the coming months and years.”
MORE Billionaire Peter Thiel Sold $600 Million Of Palantir Stock This Week
FACTS + COMMENTS
LGBTQ+ people who undergo “conversion therapy” are more likely to experience poor mental health than those who haven’t, a new study found. While scientifically discredited, the practice is still prevalent in some states:
149: The number of participants studied who had experienced conversion therapy aimed at altering their sexual orientation
23: The number of states that ban conversion therapy for minors, including Washington D.C.
1,320: The number of conversion therapy practices across 48 states and Washington, D.C., according to 2023 research from the Trevor Project
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
A slew of new retirement rules and changes to tax law will affect almost everyone. For instance, starting in 2026, employees 50 and older who are deemed ‘high-earning’ will only be able to make catch-up contributions to an after-tax Roth account. And if you have money left over in a 529 college savings plan, a law went into effect this year allowing penalty-free rollovers from 529 plans to a Roth IRA.
VIDEO
QUIZ
The owners of five out of the 12 teams in the MLB playoffs are all on the latest Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans. Which team has the richest owner?
A. Philadelphia Phillies
B. Kansas City Royals
C. New York Mets
D. Los Angeles Dodgers
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.