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Could the United Arab Emirates become the Las Vegas of the Middle East? A bet from Wynn
Resorts could be the litmus test.
Casinos are practically nonexistent in the Middle East since majority Muslim countries
typically ban gambling. But the casino giant took a gamble in 2022, announcing a $3.9
billion luxury “integrated resort” on a man-made barrier islet in the emirate of Ras Al
Khaimah north of Dubai.
The risk paid off, with the kingdom granting Wynn the first commercial gaming operator’s
license in the emirates last month. Wynn Al Marjan is slated to open in 2027.
C.J. Burton/getty images
Investors celebrated Donald Trump’s decisive victory in last week’s presidential election,
with banks and alternative investing firms among the biggest winners in anticipation of more
lenient regulations. There’s a hope that Trump will not only choose a Treasury Secretary
sympathetic to Wall Street, but also replace stricter regulators at agencies like the
Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. “I consider this a
watershed moment in turning the page for bank regulation. The post-Global Financial Crisis
period is now over,” says Mike Mayo, a longtime banking analyst at Wells Fargo.
The S&P 500 topped 6,000 for the first time in its near seven-decade history, as
post-election gains brought the index to its sharpest weekly gain since November 2023.
Driving the S&P’s rally Friday were electric vehicle maker Tesla, pharmaceutical giant Eli
Lilly and retailer Costco, and the index is up 26% this year.
Bitcoin breached $82,000 for the first time early Monday, up more than 19.5% compared to
last week, continuing a post-election bull run that has included a 28.7% lift for ether and
even a 50% boost to crypto platform Coinbase’s stock price. Aside from Trump, one of the
biggest wins for the crypto industry came in the Ohio Senate race, where blockchain
entrepreneur Bernie Moreno defeated incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown, who chairs the Senate
Banking Committee.
BUSINESS + FINANCE ✅
The son of the 91-year-old founder of the country’s largest private chain of elderly care
facilities is charging in a new legal filing that his father has been robbed of “tens of
millions” and is suffering “abuse” at the hands of his wife, putting the future of the $3
billion (revenue) nursing home chain in jeopardy. In the legal filing, Aubrey Preston asks
the court to make him the conservator of his mogul father, who is worth some $1.4 billion,
according to Forbes’ estimates.
President-elect Donald Trump said on social media Friday that he has “no intention of
selling” his shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth Social’s parent company,
despite rumors and false statements he claims are circulating. Shares of the company, which
he has roughly a 57% stake in, immediately jumped 4%, ending the day up 15%.
TECH + INNOVATION
Elon Musk attends the 10th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Academy Museum of Motion
Pictures on April 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Tesla’s market value surpassed $1 trillion Friday for the first time since early 2022, as
Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company enjoys a massive rally following Trump’s election
victory. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, saw his net worth top $300 billion Friday for the
first time in more than two years.
In the wake of Trump’s election win, immigration attorneys are fielding hundreds of
questions from foreign-born workers who want to know what his draconian immigration plans
might mean for them. While Trump has said that he’s not opposed to legal immigration, in his
first term he cut back on it, and a big unknown for tech workers this time is whether
Trump’s ties to Silicon Valley will shield them from his anti-immigrant push.
MONEY + POLITICS
Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump’s
criminal case over the 2020 election to pause all deadlines while prosecutors figure out how
to move forward after Trump’s election win. Reports suggest Smith plans to end his
prosecutions against Trump before the ex-president retakes the White House, as long-standing
DOJ policy prevents sitting presidents from being prosecuted.
Three people have been charged with being tasked by Iran to assassinate Trump and others
before Election Day, the Justice Department announced Friday, months after Trump was the
target of two unrelated assassination attempts. “There are few actors in the world that pose
as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran,” Attorney
General Merrick Garland said while announcing the charges.
TRENDS + EXPLAINERS
With a Republican sweep in the presidency and likely both chambers of Congress, many assume
the GOP will move swiftly to enact tax cuts. The Senate often uses a budget process called
reconciliation to speed things up, because reconciliation bills cannot be filibustered (with
three Senate seats yet to be called, the GOP has a 52-seat majority, short of the 60 votes
needed to stop a filibuster). But there are limits to reconciliation: You can't tack on
policy changes unrelated to the budget, and any bill under reconciliation cannot increase
the deficit beyond the fiscal years covered.
DAILY COVER STORY
Handicapping Trump’s Brain Trust: The New Trumpiverse
Illustration by Yunjia Yuan for Forbes; Photos by James Gilbert/Getty Images; Tom
Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty
Images; Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images
TOPLINE Elon Musk is the most famous (and wealthiest) of a cabal of new allies as
President-elect Donald Trump prepares to reenter the White House.
The 78-year-old Trump has long treasured his close alliances with the rich and famous, but
this time around, he will bring with him a mostly new generation of loyalists that includes
podcaster Joe Rogan and MMA star Dana White, among others. This 2.0 contingent has curried
favor with Trump through a combination of loyalty, campaign donations, endorsements and, of
course, flattery. Some are expected to serve as cabinet members. Others will likely have
unofficial roles as advisors with whom Trump speaks over the phone, on the golf course, on
podcasts and via social media.
Besides Musk, there are hedge fund moguls John Paulson and Scott Bessent—two contenders for
Treasury Secretary or other key economic roles—who have vowed to help Musk slash spending.
Political newcomers like Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., two other possibilities
for cabinet positions or high-powered advisory roles, seek to remake entire federal
agencies.
Among tech power players whose stars have risen in Trump’s orbit: Silicon Valley venture
capitalist Marc Andreessen, a lifelong Democrat who sided with Trump because of his tech
policies and who scored an invitation to Mar-a-Lago on election night, and TikTok
shareholder Jeff Yass, who seemingly convinced Trump earlier in the year to back off his
threats of banning the social media platform, which Trump later joined.
There will be lots of jostling and schmoozing in the coming weeks. Who will win a coveted
cabinet appointment or some other role will be a closely watched match of gamesmanship.
MORE Here’s What Billionaires Are Saying Online In Response To Trump’s Victory
FACTS + COMMENTS
Daniel Lurie, one of the heirs to the Levi Strauss fortune, won San Francisco’s mayoral
election, beating incumbent London Breed, the city’s first Black woman mayor. It was the
most expensive race in the city’s history, according to the San Francisco Chronicle:
$8.65 million: The amount Lurie spent on his mayoral campaign, according to local filings
56%: The share of the vote he received in the final round of counting, as San Francisco uses
a ranked-choice voting system
78th: The Haas family’s ranking on Forbes’ list of America's Richest Families in 2015 (Lurie
is the son of Mimi Haas and the stepson of former Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Peter Haas)
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
COP29 kicks off today in Azerbaijan, and as severe weather becomes more frequent and
destructive due to climate change, it’s a reminder to leaders that taking care of the
environment is good for business, too. If your business has high utility costs, consider an
energy audit to not only reduce spending on lighting, heating, AC or other equipment, but
also lower the company’s carbon footprint.
Five years after a tragic fire destroyed much of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, its
bells rang for the first time last week as it prepares to reopen in December. How many bells
does the cathedral’s northern belfry have?
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire, Chris
Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.
2024-11-11 12:54:04
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