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Good morning,
Private equity is betting big on an unexpected place: Big Sky, Montana.
In addition to the exclusive Yellowstone Club, which Forbes featured recently, Boston real estate investment firm CrossHarbor Capital made two acquisitions in 2013, eventually turning Big Sky Resort into one of the largest ski resorts in the country, with some 5,800 skiable acres.
Altogether, CrossHarbor has spent at least $4 billion over the past 15 years, in a town with only 3,300 full-time residents. Big Sky saw rapid growth during Covid due to Montana’s relatively lenient restrictions and easy access to the outdoors, though it’s slowing down.
FIRST UP
The S&P 500 notched another record Monday on the second anniversary of the bull market, and is just 2.3% shy of hitting 6,000. It’s a remarkable 68% gain from its low point in October 2022, as corporate earnings growth proved resilient despite high rates and inflation moderated from a four-decade high.
Shares of Nvidia increased by more than 2% Monday, ending at a record close and encroaching on Apple’s standing as the world’s most valuable company. The company’s market valuation is now around $3.4 trillion, trailing Apple’s $3.5 trillion, as the chip giant’s shares are up 19% so far in October.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of former President Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, spiked more than 18% Monday, adding more than $500 million to Trump’s net worth. Trump, who owns 57% of Trump Media shares, was worth $5.5 billion as of late Monday, according to Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires tracker.
MORE: Even after its recent surge, Trump Media’s stock has been a disaster for many investors, but it’s enriched its CEO and former Congressman Devin Nunes. Since leaving the House of Representatives to take over Trump Media in January 2022, Forbes estimates that Nunes has raked in roughly more than $2 million in salary, $600,000 in cash bonuses, plus shares worth another $3.2 million. In total, Forbes estimates that Nunes has made about 13 times as much money running Trump’s tottering social media company than he would have if he had stayed in Congress.
TECH + INNOVATION
Fertility startups have seen their ads about in-vitro fertilization and egg freezing blocked or restricted across TikTok, Google and Meta, according to leaders of multiple reproductive health companies. On the one hand, these giant platforms have valid reasons for their strict advertising rules, often stemming from the need to meet complex legal requirements of regulations in healthcare and medicine, as well as user safety and privacy laws. But some companies and brands in the space see these decisions as censorship—in a post-Roe v. Wade era, even topics like fertility care have become politicized.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working with Carahsoft, a billionaire-owned government contractor that helps tech companies provide their software to the Pentagon, giving it a path to defense contracts. But the government contractor was recently accused of price-fixing on Department of Defense contracts.
MONEY + POLITICS
A majority of economists believe Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposed economic policies would lead to lower inflation than those of former President Donald Trump, according to a new survey published by the Wall Street Journal, though voters are far more split on who would best handle inflation. Perhaps the most notable and potentially inflationary policies from Trump are his proposed tariffs of 60% on Chinese goods and 10% on other imports, while Harris’ economic proposals include $6,000 child tax credits and $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time home buyers.
TRENDS + EXPLAINERS
Both presidential candidates have rolled out a variety of tax proposals in the leadup to the election: Harris’ proposals include expanding the child tax credit, providing tax credits for first-time home buyers and developers building affordable housing, and increasing taxes on corporations. Meanwhile, Trump recently said he would end double taxation on Americans living abroad and allow interest on car loans to be tax deductible.
DAILY COVER STORY
Fintech App Trap: Enraged Customers Struggle To Cancel Their Subscriptions
TOPLINE TomoCredit, a six-year-old San Francisco startup backed by investors including Morgan Stanley and Mastercard, promises to boost consumers’ credit scores by, among other things, helping them report additional on-time payments to the credit bureaus.
But along with other startups, it’s also the target of hundreds of online complaints.
Tomo CEO Kristy Kim says the company has about 100,000 paying subscribers. And over the past year, consumers have filed 557 complaints to the Better Business Bureau about the startup. To put that level of customer dissatisfaction in perspective, PNC Bank, the sixth largest bank in America with more than 10 million customers, received 599 Better Business Bureau complaints over the same year. Most of the complaints against Tomo filed in August and September cited problems with canceling the service.
To be fair, the hard-to-cancel problem isn’t unique to fintechs. In March 2023, the FTC proposed a broad “click to cancel” rule requiring it be as easy for a consumer to cancel a subscription service as it is to sign up for it. The commission received 1,163 public comments and has yet to issue a final rule.
But it’s worth noting that many fintech startups have promoted their mission as serving consumers who are left behind (or mistreated) by traditional financial firms. That makes the cancellation issue particularly troubling.
WHY IT MATTERS The fintech industry’s reputation has taken a hit this year with a spike in regulatory enforcement actions and the failure of banking-as-a-service provider Synapse exposing the chinks in fintech “banks’” FDIC insurance claims. The subscription cancellation problem at multiple startups could become yet another black eye.
MORE Is Your Money Really Safe In An ‘FDIC-Insured’ Fintech Account?
FACTS + COMMENTS
Business owners in states that were hit hard by recent hurricanes can apply for Small Business Administration Disaster Loan funding. Such funds can help business owners recover quickly from natural disasters as insurance companies are notoriously slow:
Up to $2 million: The amount qualified businesses and most private nonprofit organizations can receive to cover disaster losses not fully covered by insurance through the SBA’s Business Physical Disaster Loans
4%: The interest rate will not exceed 4% for applicants unable to obtain credit elsewhere, or 8% for those who can
Up to 30 years: When the Physical Disaster Loans mature, depending on the ability to repay them
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
Losing your job is incredibly stressful, but there are practical steps you can take to regain control of your financial situation. Start by analyzing all of the cash and assets you have on hand, as well as your essential and non-essential expenses, and aim to reduce non-essentials as much as possible. Take a look at emergency assistance programs like unemployment and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to help with groceries. Once you do land your next job, prioritize building a financial safety net for times of crisis.
VIDEO
QUIZ
A new documentary about the life of a famous female rapper is set to be released later this month on Prime Video. Who is it about?
A. Megan Thee Stallion
B. Cardi B
C. Missy Elliott
D. Lil’ Kim
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Caroline Howard.