Forbes Daily: Toyota’s Latest $500 Million Bet On Flying Taxis

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The Forbes Billionaires List reached a new milestone: For the first time, it has four members worth $200 billion or more.

Mark Zuckerberg joined the elite $200 billion club Thursday after his net worth rose by $3 billion as Meta shares ticked up 1.7%. His fortune of $201.5 billion puts him just ahead of Jeff Bezos, worth $200.2 billion, but behind Larry Ellison, worth $203.3 billion, and the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, with a net worth of $258.7 billion.

The Meta cofounder’s wealth has rebounded significantly since a 2022 low point for the company’s shares when Zuckerberg’s net worth was just $57.7 billion. But Meta’s had a banner year, with shares up 68% so far in 2024.

FIRST UP

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang said during a recent interview with CNBC that there’s “insane” demand for its upcoming Blackwell “Superchip,” sending shares of the tech giant up more than 3% on Thursday. “Everybody wants to have the most and everybody wants to be first,” he said. Nvidia’s stock is up more than 147% since the start of the year.

Striking dockworkers and port employers reached a tentative agreement Thursday that will end the work stoppage, after the strike halted about half of the ocean shipping conducted by the U.S and raised concerns of potential economic shocks. The tentative agreement includes a 62% wage increase over six years, according to The Wall Street Journal, but the matter of automation in dock work is still up for negotiation.

WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP

When Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow started brand empire Goop in 2008 as a simple newsletter from her kitchen table, her lack of formal business training initially led to moments of self-doubt. But at the 2024 Forbes Power Women’s Summit, she said that her willingness to embrace vulnerability became key to her leadership style. “The difficult things and the difficult conversations are the only ones really worth having,” she says.

TECH + INNOVATION

Toyota will invest $500 million in U.S. electric air taxi company Joby Aviation for its launch of commercial passenger services, which are slated to begin as soon as 2025. It’s Toyota’s latest bet on futuristic transportation technologies, and Morgan Stanley has said electric flying taxis could be a more than $1 trillion market by 2040.

MONEY + POLITICS

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Biden Administration can resume its student loan forgiveness program, which, once finalized, would forgive student loan debt for more than 25 million Americans. It would partially or fully forgive the debt of borrowers whose loans exceed the amount they initially borrowed after interest, those with loans older than 20 or 25 years, those who attended career-training programs that resulted in high debt or low earnings, and those who are eligible for forgiveness programs but never applied.

SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT

It was a record-breaking year in the music business: Forbes estimates that the top 10 touring acts collectively grossed more than $3 billion from January through the end of August, a nearly 10% increase from the same period last year. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour was the top-earning summer concert tour for the second year in a row, earning approximately $400 million, followed by Coldplay, whose Music of the Spheres tour earned the band an estimated $131 million.

WORLD

While Iran does not yet have nuclear arms, analysts believe the country’s nuclear development program might be a prime target for Israeli retaliation following Iran’s missile launches at Israel, despite U.S. opposition. Iran’s attack “greenlights a counterstrike by Israel, potentially the final showdown blow that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been seeking for years,” possibly targeting Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities, says Laura Blumenfeld, an author and Middle East analyst at Johns Hopkins University.

TRENDS + EXPLAINERS

Community colleges were hit harder by Covid-era enrollment declines than any other type of higher education institution, but a new report from S&P Global Ratings finds that those steep drops are over, and the finances of the community colleges it tracks have stabilized. Many of the enrollment bumps can be attributed to an uptick in students who take community college classes while they’re still in high school, according to one expert.

DAILY COVER STORY

Inside The Superyachts Of America’s Richest People

TOPLINE For the first time, Forbes dug into how many superyachts are owned by America’s 400 richest people and how much they’re truly worth.

While the largest—and most valuable—yachts in the world are owned by Middle Eastern royals and Russian oligarchs, Americans own the most, with roughly one out of four of all superyachts—commonly defined as those larger than 40 meters (131 feet)—belonging to an American. That’s three times as many as Russians, the second-largest group of yacht owners, according to industry publication SuperYacht Times.

Collectively, Forbes estimates that 40 members of the Forbes 400 own at least 60 yachts worth more than $6 billion, according to yacht valuation experts VesselsValue. Some own multiple, while others focus on one extravagant build, which can cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

These ships range from the modest—Igor Olenicoff’s 118-foot, $2 million Rusalka—to the grandiose, such as David Geffen’s Rising Sun. The 18th-largest yacht in the world at 453 feet and the biggest one owned by an American, Rising Sun comes with a basketball court that converts to a helipad and has hosted celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio and fellow billionaire Oprah Winfrey.

The most valuable American-owned yacht is Jeff Bezos’ Koru, a custom-built 417-foot sailing yacht that’s worth an estimated $500 million.

WHY IT MATTERS “America's 400 richest people are now wealthier than they've ever been, worth a collective $5.4 trillion,” says Forbes staff writer Giacomo Tognini. “As their fortunes have grown, these billionaires have increasingly been spending on lavish purchases, from luxury real estate to megayachts. And while yachts aren’t great investments—they tend to depreciate around 10% in the first year after purchase—that hasn’t stopped America's richest from dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars to build opulent, custom-made yachts, with Jeff Bezos spending an estimated $500 million on his superyacht Koru, the second-largest sail yacht in the world, which was delivered in 2023.”

FACTS + COMMENTS

Record-low birth rates among American women and an overall decrease in the world’s population growth rate have become a hot topic this election cycle, especially among conservatives. More politicians are looking to offer tax and other benefits for parents:

1.62: The number of births per woman last year, a 2% decline from the year before

1930s: The last time the U.S. birth rate was as low as it was last year

$5,000: The amount per child that Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance has suggested as a tax credit, while Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed a $6,000 tax credit to parents of newborns

STRATEGY + SUCCESS

As exciting as it is to land a job interview, it’s important to evaluate whether the organization is a place where you can grow in your career. Ask questions about how the company helps its employees grow and develop their skills, and inquire about the average tenure of team members. Frequent turnover could mean employees are overworked. Ask your interviewers what they like most about working at the company, and pay attention to how they describe the workplace culture.

VIDEO

QUIZ

A strong solar flare is expected to cause Northern Lights sightings across several states as the sun’s solar cycle is approaching its anticipated peak. How long is the cycle?

A. 5 years

B. 8 years

C. 9 years

D. 11 years

Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.