Plus: A Haunted Forest, Portable Potties And Other Weird Small Businesses You Can Buy Right Now |
Good morning,
Savvy finance billionaires are pouring into prediction markets. The opportunity for the budding industry could be in the trillions.Two of the major players are Kalshi and Polymarket, which have drawn investors like Wall Street legend Charles Schwab and Palantir founder Peter Thiel, respectively. Prediction markets allow users to bet on the outcome of future events by allowing individuals to buy and sell “Yes” or “No” contracts that are priced based on the market’s perceived probability of an event occurring. Betting on sports and elections isn’t new, but a court gave the industry a push last fall by granting Kalshi regulatory approval for election wagering. And its ties to the Trump family could throw more fuel on the fire.
Let’s get into the headlines, |
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| Stephen Colbert received a standing ovation at Sunday’s 2025 Emmy Awards ceremony as the Late Show—whose surprise cancellation was announced by CBS earlier this year—won the “outstanding talk series” prize, in a ceremony light on politics. Netflix drama Adolescence and Apple TV comedy The Studio emerged as the big winners of the night, picking up six and four awards respectively. President Donald Trump said Saturday he was “ready to do major sanctions” on Russia once NATO countries pull purchases of Russian oil, and requested the alliance impose up to 100% tariffs on China until Russia ends its war with Ukraine. Trump has pressured countries to halt purchases of Russian oil or face hefty levies, as peace talks have stalled in recent weeks. |
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| Buying a small business doesn’t have to mean becoming the owner of a mundane muffler shop or a Subway franchise. It can mean investing in a wild, weird, or wonderful and (hopefully) profitable niche. The website BizBuySell, owned by Washington, D.C.-based CoStar Group, is the country’s biggest marketplace for buying and selling small businesses. Most of what’s listed are the usual suspects—restaurants, gas stations, dry cleaners. But tucked in the corners you’ll find the oddballs. Think a haunted house or a combo petting zoo and wedding venue. Of course, finding a weird business you want to own is only the first step. Closing the deal is another matter. Unusual businesses typically take longer to sell and require more due diligence by buyers than a conventional one, says Emmet Apolinario, co-founder and president of Ohio Business Advisors. Among other things, it’s harder to find comparables to measure claimed results against. In addition, buyers of offbeat establishments need to consider not only whether they can run the business, but also whether they can win the trust of loyal customers who may have a strong attachment to the founder. But once the numbers check out, financing isn’t necessarily a problem. “Cash flow is king,” says Jerry Freedman, a principal at Freedom Business Financing. |
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| “A lot of people don’t realize you can buy a business instead of starting one from scratch,” says Forbes senior reporter Brandon Kochkodin. “Sites like BizBuySell show just how wide the market is. It’s not only restaurants and dry cleaners, there are also cat breeders, monster trucks and haunted houses, showing small business ownership doesn’t have to be boring or conventional. For the right buyer, even the oddest listing can be a path to independence.” |
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| President Donald Trump wants to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook ahead of the central bank’s meeting this week to decide whether to slash interest rates. After a lower court prohibited Trump from firing Cook, a federal appeals court outlined a schedule that allows for a quick ruling—and could potentially provide enough time for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue. |
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| WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP |
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| Alice Walton is the first female centibillionaire on the Forbes 400 list, as the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton has seen a boost thanks to the retail giant’s success on Wall Street. Walton, who has held the title of the wealthiest woman on the ranking for 10 of the past 11 years, is worth an estimated $106 billion—making her the 15th richest person in America. Driven by the swelling stock market, the 10 richest hedge fund managers on this year’s Forbes 400 are $20 billion richer than last year, worth a combined $174 billion, even as most hedge funds have lagged behind. By far the biggest winner is Citadel’s Ken Griffin, whose wealth grew by more than $7 billion to an estimated $50.4 billion. |
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| Presented by Chevron | | Meeting Increased Demand |  | Data centers need power now. That's why we're working to build multi-gigawatt power stations that generate reliable electricity, with fewer delays and minimal added strain on the grid.
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| In the latest redistricting effort, Missouri lawmakers approved a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map Friday, which would likely give the GOP an additional seat in the House next year. The move comes as Republicans aim to shore up their slim House majority, and it follows a similar effort in Texas, as well as a Democrat-led counterinitiative in California. |
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| Your tax return could look slightly different next year, as Bloomberg Tax & Accounting predicts tax brackets and inflation-adjusted amounts will see slight increases. The changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act also play a role—seniors are now eligible to claim a temporary deduction of $6,000, for instance. |
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30% | The stake in the business that Armani left to longtime collaborator and menswear leader Pantaleo Dell’Orco | |
| 15% | How much of the company Armani’s heirs were directed to sell, according to the will, within 18 months, followed by the sale of a second 30% to 54.9% to the same buyer within five years, or taking the firm public | |
| $5.6 billion | Forbes’ valuation for the company |
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| If you’re nervous ahead of your next job interview, try using generative AI to help prepare. You can upload your résumé and a job description, and then ask ChatGPT to play the role of an interviewer—you can even try out the chatbot’s audio feature. But don’t forget to be mindful of your privacy and ensure you’re leaving out personal data including addresses, phone numbers and other sensitive information. |
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| GAMES | | QUIZ | | One of the highest-grossing animated movies of the decade will get a sequel—and soon. Which of the following franchises has an April 3, 2026 release date on the horizon? | | A. | Kung Fu Panda | | B. | Inside Out | | C. | Super Mario Bros. | | D. | Moana |
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