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Donald Trump has been reelected as the next president of the United States. The win not only returns Trump to the White House, but also gives his loyalist supporters influential political power.
Trump has wasted little time naming folks to his cabinet: Fox News host Pete Hegseth, for instance, will take on the role of defense secretary; controversial Florida congressman Matt Gaetz will act as his attorney general and Trump’s campaign manager Susie Wiles will be the next White House chief of staff.
But while some of his picks hold years of experience in politics, others have spent more time in a boardroom. Take billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, who was named to the 30 Under 30 Finance list in 2014 for his work as a hedge fund partner-turned-biotech founder. Now one of the most influential people in politics, Ramaswamy kicked off his own presidential run in early 2023. In January 2024, Ramaswamy stepped back from the race and endorsed Trump.
The support worked in his favor: This week, Trump announced plans to develop the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which would be co-run by Ramaswamy and fellow billionaire (and the richest man, per Forbes estimates) Elon Musk. The two will be responsible for “reducing government bureaucracy, slashing excess regulations, cutting waste, and restructuring federal agencies,” according to Reuters. (Musk’s support for Trump came in the form of a newly launched political action committee called the “America PAC” to which Musk donated $75 million toward Trump’s cause.)
Ramaswamy isn’t the only youngster that Trump has elevated to a power position. On Monday, Trump picked 40-year-old New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as his U.N. Ambassador. Though she was never a member of the 30 Under 30 list, her career took off at just 30 years old when she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2014, making her the youngest woman elected to Congress at the time.
“This 2.0 contingent has curried favor with Trump through a combination of loyalty, campaign donations, endorsements and, of course, flattery,” writes Forbes. Read more about how public figures like podcast host Joe Rogan, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and UFC CEO Dana White might find a spot near the Oval Office.
See you next week,
Alex & Zoya
Inside The Wild Money Machine Fueling Crypto’s Stupidest Bubble
In May, 16-year-old Londoner Oliver Szmul and his friends had drawn up a cryptocurrency token called Jail Cat. It had no utility. Instead, like other “meme coins” like Dogecoin, it was simply meant to amuse crypto traders. The lack of purpose also means the tokens have no intrinsic value. But somehow Dogecoin’s allure sits at a market capitalization of $47 billion. And the 16-year-old’s project hit a valuation of $1.9 million, almost overnight. But just a few months later, it plummeted: Now worth a meager $87,000. Read more about the phenomenon that is “meme coins” and the $100 billion market they’re creating here.
Lister Lowdown
-Forbes 2024 Under 30 Art & Style lister Jared Ellner–best known for his work styling fellow Under 30 alums like Sabrina Carpenter and Emma Chamberlain—announced this week the launch of his own eponymous clothing brand. Chamberlain was the star of its inaugural campaign, and items include $450 sleeveless tops, $550 mini-skirts and $1,050 shoulder bags.
-Rafay Iqbal, a Marketing & Advertising lister named in 2024, announced last month the founding of Interlude, a “brand and storytelling studio” with cofounder Matthew Good. The startup offers brand identity building, website design, pitch deck creation and investor memos for fundraising support, and more. They’ve been quietly building the studio since April, they say, and have already worked with more than 17 clients like Relyion Energy and Undeterred Capital.
-Alaiko, an Under 30 Europe company that offers Amazon Prime-like software to help online consumer brands store and ship products, announced a merger with its competitor Zenfulfillment this Thursday. The deal was funded by a multi-million euro raise led by supply chain investor Mogunita Capital, although the exact euro amounts were not disclosed.
On Our Radar
-Tired of conversing with your Uber driver? Waymo, the autonomous car maker, just expanded its robotaxi services in Los Angeles. When it first started offering robotaxis in L.A.—the 2nd largest U.S. city—it limited it to 50,000 passengers as the cars learned the maps. Now anyone can book a Waymo on the app—with one catch: They only run from downtown L.A. to Santa Monica. The cars are more widely available in San Francisco and Phoenix so far. (Forbes)
-And the Grammy nominees are … several Under 30 alumni! 2021 Under 30 featured honoree Sabrina Carpenter became a first-time Grammy nominee last week, earning six nods including for Best New Artist—a category 2023 Under 30 Europe lister Raye also received a nomination for. And of course, the usual suspects like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift added even more accolades to their tally. Check out the full list in case you missed it. (Variety)
-27-year-old Forbes Top Creator Jake Paul is set to fight 58-year-old Mike Tyson in a boxing match on Friday night. Millions are expected to tune in as the fight airs for free on Netflix, the 300 million subscriber-strong streaming giant. Bizarre as it may be, the match will bring together the audience that watched Tyson reign the ring in the 80s and the more online generation that followed along with Paul’s rise to fame via social media in the 2010s. (New York Times)