📝 usncan Note: The U.S. Takes Unusual $10 Billion Tech Stake In Intel
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As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled long-awaited rate cuts could be coming, the world’s wealthiest became even richer.
Powell’s comments at the central bank’s symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming spurred a broader stock market rally, as lower rates are expected to jolt the economy. The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, gained $9.3 billion in net worth, bringing his total to around $417 billion on Friday, while the second-wealthiest, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, got a $4.4 billion boost.
President Donald Trump has demanded a rate cut, but Powell warned that despite U.S. economic resilience, tariffs could “spur a more lasting inflation dynamic.”
FIRST UP
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In an unusual move for the federal government, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will take a 10% stake in Intel worth roughly $10 billion, making it the third-largest shareholder in the struggling chipmaker. It’s one of the largest government interventions in an American company in more than a decade, when the U.S. injected billions of funds into automakers during the 2008 financial crisis.
Judges in two courts have now found that the president of the United States took part in a yearslong fraud that deceived financial institutions about his net worth, but they differed on how much Trump should pay as a penalty. Last week, appellate justice Peter Moulton reduced Trump’s roughly $500 million penalty imposed by a judge in February to zero. Neither did much math to arrive at those numbers.
MORE: The wiping out of Trump’s fine was also a win for billionaire Don Hankey, whose specialty insurance firm put up a $175 million bond for Trump last year while he was appealing the ruling. While Trump and Hankey had never met or directly done deals, Hankey, worth $7.8 billion, confirmed to Forbes last year that he supported Trump’s political campaigns and was the largest individual owner of the lender that refinanced mortgages for some of Trump’s properties.
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BUSINESS + FINANCE
Illustration by Samantha Lee for Forbes; Image by Edin/Getty Images
Most people invest in an index fund to diversify their portfolio—but when it comes to the benchmark S&P 500 these days, 28% of the value of the index is in just five stocks: Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Meta, all of which have high price tags. To take a step back from the S&P 500, investors can instead purchase a total market fund, blend U.S. and foreign stocks, purchase bonds or consider ETFs that hold small- and mid-cap stocks.
President Donald Trump said he would fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook if she doesn’t resign, as a Trump Administration official has accused her of mortgage fraud. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alleges Cook claimed two properties as her primary residence, but Cook has denied wrongdoing and said the mortgage application was from before she joined the Fed.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The billionaire owner of OnlyFans is now worth $7.8 billion, double Forbes’ estimate from a year ago, as he earned more than $1.9 million a day from the site in 2024. And Leonid Radvinsky may be in for his biggest payout yet, as he is reportedly in talks to sell OnlyFans in a deal that would value the company at about $8 billion.
TECH + INNOVATION
President Donald Trump suggested he could again delay the deadline for TikTok to secure a U.S. buyer or face a ban. Trump called the national security concerns over the app owned by Chinese company ByteDance “highly overrated,” and suggested there are buyers lined up for TikTok.
MORE: Even as TikTok continues to face the threat of a ban in the U.S., its business is growing elsewhere in the world. Outside the U.S., TikTok saw its revenues surge 38% to $6.3 billion last year, though it’s facing a litany of lawsuits and investigations from regulators globally.
TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
The theme park industry, like the broader travel sector, is on a bit of a roller coaster ride this year: Data shows that overall spending at U.S. theme parks was down 5% this summer compared to last year, mostly driven by a pullback from low- and middle-income parkgoers. Meanwhile, pricier destination theme parks run by Disney and Universal got a boost from affluent visitors, a trend mirrored in the rest of the industry.
DAILY COVER STORY
Why Cheech And Chong’s $100 Million Cannabis Empire Is No Joke
These days, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, America’s best-known pothead entertainers, are playing by the rules, as long as you ignore the federal laws regarding marijuana.
In 2020, the duo, along with their business partners, launched two companies, California-based Cheech and Chong Cannabis Co., which licenses its brand, genetics, formulas and retail designs to marijuana companies, and Cheech and Chong’s Global Holding Company, a Nevada-based endeavor that sells hemp-derived products ranging from gummies to THC-infused drinks.
In 2025, the companies’ combined revenue will hit nearly $100 million from both marijuana and hemp, up from about $50 million last year. The companies, which outsource manufacturing to third parties, are worth roughly $150 million. And as the U.S. cannabis market posted $32 billion in sales last year across 40 states, Cheech and Chong, if anybody, deserve a taste of the action.
The pair are the godfathers of the stoner comedy genre thanks to Up In Smoke, their 1978 debut film followed by Nice Dreams and other movies, all of which influenced generations of films from Dave Chappelle’s Half Baked to Seth Rogen’s Pineapple Express.
Celebrity cannabis brands do not typically do well, other than a few exceptions such as Mike Tyson’s Tyson 2.0 and Wiz Khalifa’s Khalifa Kush. But Cheech and Chong have a unique advantage—not only are they synonymous with weed, but they also have a massive fan base that spans generations.
WHY IT MATTERS
“Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have been making people laugh for decades, but their cannabis business is no joke,” says Forbes staff writer Will Yakowicz. “With $100 million in combined revenue from their companies that sell marijuana and hemp products, Cheech and Chong are standouts when it comes to celebrity-founded cannabis companies. The duo’s fame and influence spans decades—from their 1978 debut film Up In Smoke to That 70s Show to Zootopia. While most celebrity weed brands flounder on the market, Cheech and Chong have built a strong brand with impressive sales within five years.”
MORE The Kings Of CBD Are Now Cooking Up Plans To Make Billion-Dollar Meds From Cannabis And Mushrooms
FACTS + COMMENTS
The gap between the earnings of workers and CEOs among the lowest-paying firms on the S&P 500 is growing, according to a report from the progressive think tank Institute for Policy Studies. The report found CEO pay is rising more than twice as quickly as that of the average worker:
12.9%: How much the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio widened between 2019 and 2024
6,666 to 1: Last year’s pay ratio gap at Starbucks, the company with the largest such disparity in the S&P 500
32: The number of billionaires who owe their wealth directly to companies in the Low-Wage 100, the S&P 500 corporations with the lowest median worker pay
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
Gen Z is facing one of the worst job markets in recent history, but if you apply the right strategy to your search, it’s still possible to secure an offer. Branch out beyond jobs related only to your college degree, you might find possibilities you hadn’t considered. Don’t be afraid to pivot, and try to target recession-proof industries.
VIDEO
QUIZ
A retail business that previously went bankrupt and closed its stores nationwide is planning a comeback, with 300 new locations in the works. What chain is it?
A. Party City
B. Bed Bath & Beyond
C. Joann
D. Toys “R” Us
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.
