Plus: These Billionaires Have Gotten $450 Billion Richer From Striking AI Infrastructure Deals For Their Own Firms |
Good morning,
The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates last month for the first time since December—but central bank officials were divided over how many more cuts could be on the way this year, meeting minutes show.Just over half of officials on the Fed’s policymaking panel anticipated two more quarter-point rate cuts before its final meeting in December. That would potentially bring rates to between 3.5% and 3.75%, down from today’s 4% to 4.25%. A majority of the meeting’s participants noted “upside risks” to inflation, as the Fed balances a dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.
Let’s get into the headlines, |
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| The Israeli military on Thursday said it has begun preparations to adjust its deployment lines in accordance with the first phase of a peace deal with Hamas, which was announced by President Donald Trump. The deal includes the release of all living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory. Trump’s plan proposes three phases of an Israeli troop withdrawal: The final stage would leave roughly 15% of Gaza under Israeli control until “Gaza is properly secure from any resurgent terror threat.” As the government shutdown stretches into its ninth day, the IRS furloughed nearly half of its workers, a move that came after its contingency plan to use leftover Biden Administration funding to pay workers expired. Most taxpayer services will likely be delayed, including processing of refunds and amended returns, though tax filings and payments are still due. |
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 | | Oracle co-founder, CTO and Executive Chairman Larry Ellison speaks during a news conference with in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in January. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images |
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| It’s been a big year for AI infrastructure deals. In just the last month, OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, AMD and others have announced epic transactions worth hundreds of billions of dollars. The deals are complex, unconventional—and often circular: Nvidia’s up to $100 billion investment in OpenAI, announced late last month, for instance, will allow OpenAI to purchase Nvidia GPUs to build out its own data center capacity. In a similar deal that flips who gets equity, AMD and OpenAI announced their own strategic partnership on Monday in which OpenAI got a warrant for up to 160 million shares of AMD common stock, or 10% of AMD’s shares. Thanks in large part to these big deals, valuations are skyrocketing, and the billionaire founders, executives and investors tied to the massive AI data center buildout have benefited the most. By Forbes’ count, 20 of the most notable billionaires tied to the explosive growth in AI infrastructure spending have already added more than $450 billion to their fortunes since January 1. Oracle cofounder and chief technology officer Larry Ellison is the biggest winner, up $140 billion in the past year thanks to a 73% share jump, due in part to projections that revenue from cloud infrastructure, largely to power AI, would soar from $18 billion this year to $144 billion over the next four years. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang’s fortune has increased by $47 billion this year as shares of his chipmaking giant have risen by 40%, while Michael Dell has gotten $35 billion richer. |
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| As valuations climb, the companies and investors project confidence that they’re not susceptible to the substantial risk this all blows up, reports Forbes’ Phoebe Liu. Big tech firms like Oracle, Microsoft and Google that are spending big on AI infrastructure have cash cow businesses that help finance it all. Still, Oracle is carrying the most debt it’s ever had—it issued another $18 billion in debt in September, and the S&P’s credit rating bureau downgraded its outlook for the company to “negative” in July, citing concerns about free cash flow. |
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| Elon Musk and X have agreed to settle with four former Twitter executives he fired after purchasing the social media company in 2022, who claimed they were owed more than $128 million in severance pay. The employees alleged that Musk, the world’s richest man, closed the $44 billion Twitter acquisition intentionally early to stop their stock options from vesting the following day—and it’s the latest of many similar suits he and X have settled. Shares of legacy computer giant Dell closed at an all-time high Wednesday, surging 9% after almost doubling its long-term guidance on increased demand for its data center offerings. Data center infrastructure is critical to meet the operating and training needs of the AI boom. |
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| WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP |
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| JPMorgan Chase’s stock is up 28% this year—but with its shares trading at more than three times their tangible book value, even billionaire CEO Jamie Dimon has called it too high. But some analysts say the premium is worth it given its returns and technology spending. On Wednesday, AST SpaceMobile announced a deal to provide cellular service from space to fill in coverage gaps for Verizon customers, starting in 2026. The agreement sent AST stock skyrocketing 9%—making the Texas-based satellite cellular provider’s founder and CEO Abel Avellan almost $500 million richer in a single day. The recent surge is the cherry on top of a profitable 30-day span for Avellan, who has seen his net worth double from $2.9 billion to $6.2 billion since early September, Forbes estimates. |
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| Godrej Aerospace, a unit of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing, a part of the Mumbai-based Godrej Enterprises Group, has supplied components and systems for hundreds of commercial satellite launches and its mission to Mars in 2014. The Godrej name is widely recognized in India, though not for its cutting-edge spacecraft parts. Rather, it’s known for a range of everyday consumer products—and Nyrika Holkar, fourth-generation scion of the conglomerate, is overseeing a modernization push to broaden its appeal to India’s aspiring young consumers. |
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| Labubus are all the rage this year—but could that be changing? The plush dolls are more available than they’ve been in months at retailers like Target, Walmart and Amazon, where the toys were on sale for Prime Day for as little as $20. The founder of the toy maker Pop Mart International Group has seen his net worth plummet as demand has cooled, though the company’s pricier Hirono Living Wild Doll could be the next big trend. |
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| Taylor Swift’s new album The Life of a Showgirl set a record for first-week album units, though some argue that’s in part due to the number of “exclusive” versions of the album available for purchase: |
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3.5 million | The number of equivalent album units, which are made up of sales and streaming totals, that the album has earned since its Friday release | |
| 23 | How many physical and digital variants of the album were available when it was first released—a number that grew to almost 30 by Wednesday | |
| 180,000 | How many more albums Swift needs to sell by Friday to surpass Adele’s modern-era single-week record |
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| As competition for entry-level jobs heats up, Gen Z is increasingly turning to freelance work. That can be advantageous for developing skillsets like: learning how to market yourself, as well as self-direction and client communication. If you’re interested in freelancing, start by identifying your strengths and taking on smaller projects to build up a portfolio. |
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