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☆ George Soros hands over his $25 billion empire to one of his sons — and yes, it's a bit like 'Succession'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

George Soros has handed control of his foundation and investment fund to his 37-year-old son Alex. George Soros, 92, has handed the reins of his $25 billion empire to his 37-year-old son in a decision that has surprised some. There are some parallels between the Soros succession and the Roy siblings' battle for control of Waystar Royco in HBO's "Succession." "He's earned it," George Soros told the newspaper. Representatives for George Soros didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: George Soros, Alex, Alex Soros, HBO's, Roy, George Soros's, Soros, Jonathan Soros, Kendall Roy, Jonathan, He's, Roman Roy, Roman, Kendall, George Soros didn't Organizations: Wall Street, Morning, Soros's, Foundations, Soros Fund Management, New York, NBA, Biden White, . Locations: HBO's, White

☆ Tucker Carlson called Ukraine's Jewish leader Zelenskyy 'rat-like' on his Twitter show, repeating a well-worn antisemitic trope
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In his new Twitter show, Tucker Carlson called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy "rat-like." Tucker Carlson kicked off his new Twitter show with an antisemitic trope. During the debut of his show, the recently ousted Fox News host called Ukraine's Jewish president "rat-like" — repeating an age-old slur used against Jews. "Ukraine, as you may have heard, is led by a man called Zelenskyy. The slur of depicting Jews as vermin dates back to the early 20th century, The Guardian reported in 2015.

Persons: Tucker Carlson, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carlson, —, Vladimir Putin, oligarch, BlackRock, George Soros, Soros, Carlson didn't Organizations: Ukraine, Fox News, NBC News, Guardian, Defamation League, Twitter, Israeli, Haaretz Locations: Russian, Southern Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russia, Ukraine, Nazi Germany, Nazi

☆ Companies are using Twitter's own tools to keep their ads away from Elon Musk's tweets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Chris Kaye | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk told the BBC in April that "almost all advertisers have come back to Twitter." Ad revenue from April 1 to the first week of May was down 59% from a year earlier, NYT reported. Brands and agencies continue to limit spending on the platform over misleading and hateful content. While Elon Musk claims that "almost all advertisers have come back to Twitter," some still don't want anything to do with the company's CEO. He has deployed an array of bizarre tweets, from antisemitic conspiracy theories to anti-transgender content and anti-vaccine misinformation.

Persons: Elon Musk, Jason Kint, Musk, Nina Chen, AJ Brown, Chen, Brown, George Soros, Ted Deutch, Twitter Organizations: BBC, Twitter, Brands, Elon, New York Times, Digital, Times, Engineering, Brand, American Jewish Committee

☆ Opinion: What Oppenheimer’s reading list can teach us
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Jane Carr | Opinion Jane Greenway Carr | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Oppenheimer’s list of books included works by Plato, mathematician Bernhard Riemann and scientist Michael Faraday, and the “Bhagavad-Gita,” with which he has famously long been associated. What happens when the inner workings and potential reach of scientific inventions are unknown, even to the human beings who create them? Still, Pride is also a time to revel in culture’s power to transform, sustain and bring joy to LGBTQ communities. But Medvedev knows that above all else he needs Putin to think of him as unequivocally loyal and useful. What it will do is help 40 million borrowers who, like me, were drowning in debt and need immediate relief.

Persons: Robert Oppenheimer, ” Oppenheimer, Plato, Bernhard Riemann, Michael Faraday, William Shakespeare’s “, ” Charles Baudelaire’s “, Fleurs, Mal ”, Eliot’s, Oppenheimer, ” Matthew Zapruder, ”, William Carlos Williams, Nick Anderson, ChatGPT, Stuart Russell, Jessica Chia, Bethany Cianciolo, Russell, isn’t, ” Russell, “, Clay Jones, Joe Biden, John Avlon, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Joel Pett, Poppy Harlow, James Comey, Donald Trump, Republicans ’, MAGA, Julian Zelizer, Zelizer, Trump, Kayleigh McEnany, Rob Finnerty, Matt Wolking, Cupp, McEnany, that’s, Kayleigh, Pride Luciano, Sereno, Luciano Vecchio, It’s, ” Vecchio, “ Sereno, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s, Frida Ghitis, Medvedev, Putin, ” Medvedev “, Michael Bociurkiw, Biden, Sophia A, Nelson ., Nelson, it’s, …, Brandon Bell, Jill Filipovic —, —, Filipovic, we’ve, ” Don’t, Keith Magee, Kara Alaimo, James Moore, Texas GOP Tess Taylor, Lala Tanmoy Das, Alex Soros, Scottie Pippen can’t, Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Nathaniel S, Butler, NBAE, Michael Jordan, ” Pippen, Charles Barkley, Phil Jackson —, Will Leitch, ” Leitch, Pippen, Leitch, There’s Organizations: CNN, Manhattan, American, Committee, Tribune, Agency, Biden, Republicans, Trump, GOP, Luciano Vecchio Pride, United, AFP, Russia’s Security, Republican, Texas GOP, Philadelphia 76ers, Getty, NBA Locations: Berkeley, Iowa, revel, it’s, Argentina, United Russia, United Kingdom, Russia, Houston City, America, European, Texas

☆ Meet David Sacks, the friend of Elon Musk who could play kingmaker for Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Ron DeSantis — including hosting the candidate's kickoff event on Twitter — demonstrate how Sacks is working to become a GOP kingmaker. A DeSantis campaign spokesman did not return a request for comment before publication. Sacks, according to Puck, serves as one of the group's directors. Kevin McGrann, a lobbyist at government relations juggernaut Forbes Tate Partners, is also linked to Bay Strategies, according to Hall. And Sacks said during a recent episode that he plans to ask the DeSantis campaign for the Florida governor to agree to an interview.

Persons: David Sacks, Paul Chinn, Caroline Wren, Wren, Donald Trump's, Jan, president's, Sacks, George Soros, Puck, Ron DeSantis, Peter Thiel, Ro Khanna, didn't, Joe Biden, Thiel, Elon Musk, –, Joe Lonsdale's, Julie Samuels, Samuels, DeSantis, I've, Trump, Stewart Hall, Jill Kendrick, Hall, Sen, Richard Shelby, Kendrick, Kevin McGrann, juggernaut Forbes, McGrann, John Boehner, OpenSecrets, Musk, Bari Weiss, isn't, Peter, Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, Chamath, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Kennedy, Biden, Nikki Haley, Calacanis Organizations: TechCrunch, Calif, San Francisco Chronicle, Hearst Newspapers, Getty Images Venture, Trump, U.S . Capitol, Republicans, Commission, Florida Gov, Twitter, GOP, PayPal, CNBC, Democratic, Microsoft, DeSantis, Purple Good Government PAC, FEC, Ron DeSantis PAC, PAC, Republican Party, Purple Good Government, Stewart, Public, Crossroads, Altria Group, Boeing, General Electric, Hearst Corp, Washington , D.C, Forbes Tate Partners, juggernaut Forbes Tate Partners, Forbes Tate, Association of Independent Mortgage Experts, United Wholesale Mortgage, SpaceX, Republican, YouTube, Biden, CNN Locations: San Francisco, Florida, Silicon, Trump, DeSantis, Puck, Washington ,, Ohio

☆ DeSantis's team would have 'preferred the internet had not broken' during the governor's campaign announcement on Twitter, leaked audio shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ron DeSantis's campaign team held a donor briefing on Thursday at Four Seasons Hotel Miami. The event was held a day after the governor's glitch-filled campaign announcement on Twitter. Members of the campaign team gave talking points on how to spin the Twitter meltdown. "We all know we definitely would have preferred that the internet had not broken, without question," a member of DeSantis's campaign team said in the audio. One team member surmised that most candidates would have "melted" under the pressure of people waiting for the announcement to kick off.

☆ Former Trump adviser Michael Flynn is launching an online community for 'COVID-19 unvaccinated people,' where you can find blood donors, surrogates, and 'unvaccinated singles.' A founding membership c
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn was a national security adviser during the Trump Administration. He pled guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contact with a Russian ambassador. The community is called 4thePURE, and members can connect with blood donors, sperm donors, breastmilk donors, surrogates, and unvaccinated singles, according to the website. It will also have a directory of "COVID-19 unvaccinated patriot businesses." He pled guilty to lying to the FBI in 2017.

☆ Fact Check-Image of George Soros in the background of Ron DeSantis photo is digitally altered
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An image appearing to show billionaire George Soros seated at a table in the background of a photograph of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is altered. The image shows DeSantis standing alongside pundit John Cardillo, with what appears to be Soros viewable in the background seated at a round table. Examples of the altered image shared online can be seen (here) and (here). Michael Vachon, a spokesperson for Soros, told Reuters that Soros was not at the fundraiser. The altered image surfaced after DeSantis officially announced his bid for the White House on May 24 (here).

☆ Elon Musk Is Right About George Soros—and Not Anti-Semitic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Alan M. Dershowitz | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Opinion: What happened to Elon Musk?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Appalled, Enes Kanter Freedom, the Turkish-born former NBA player, a fierce critic of Erdogan, told CNN, “I don’t want to hear about Elon Musk talking about free speech ever again. It turns out Musk’s free speech absolutism is less than absolute. Absurdly, he now says, “By ‘free speech,’ I simply mean that which matches the law.” So, if a tyrant makes a law banning criticism, will Musk believe that muzzling its critics conforms with free speech? Beyond his free speech hypocrisy, there’s the vanishing aura of Musk as the thoughtful futurist concerned about humanity’s fate. Soros, Musk wrote – to almost 140 million Twitter followers – “wants to erode the very fabric of civilization.

☆ Vice Media's bankruptcy has 'killed the ad pipeline' for the company, sources say, as questions about its future roil staffers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Vice Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 15, leaving current and laid-off staffers anxious over what's next. One advertising source told Insider, "The bankruptcy has killed the ad pipeline." Employees who were laid off in recent weeks are demanding answers about how the company's bankruptcy will affect the terms of their departure. One of the former execs told Insider they were just keeping their fingers crossed that payments come through. A person close to the company said Vice Media intends to pay severance and COBRA, subject to court approval.

☆ Elon Musk says he's a 'pro-Semite, if anything' when questioned about his public attacks on George Soros
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

His comments came after he compared George Soros to the "X-Men" villain Magneto on Monday. Elon Musk tried to defend his statements on the Jewish billionaire George Soros a day after likening Soros to a comic-book villain. On Monday, Musk tweeted that Soros reminds him of the "X-Men" villain, Magneto, while claiming that Soros "hates humanity." Musk then doubled down on his criticism of Soros, saying he thinks it's true that Soros does hate mankind, but offered no further substantiation for the claim. —nikki mccann ramírez (@NikkiMcR) May 16, 2023Musk's tweet on Monday saying "Soros reminds me of Magneto," has been viewed 39 million times as of press time.

☆ Tesla’s governance autopilot heads for disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Jonathan Guilford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It’s a vulnerable time for such pronouncements when the market Tesla (TSLA.O) effectively created threatens to overtake it. The stock price has tumbled some 60% since November 2021 compared to a 12% decline in the S&P 500 index (.SPX). A more deferential approach to Musk might have made sense during Tesla’s meteoric rise, when its mere existence bucked convention. The Department of Justice has initiated a probe into Tesla’s self-proclaimed “self-driving” capabilities, which have been involved in fatal crashes. Heeding advice from ISS and Glass Lewis would at least be a place to start, because leaving governance on autopilot also can have dangerous consequences.

☆ Elon Musk misquoted 'The Princess Bride' when asked why he keeps tweeting political opinions and antisemitic conspiracy theories: 'If we lose money, so be it'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In an interview with CNBC that aired Tuesday, Elon Musk was asked about his tweeting. Musk said he'll say what he wants to say even if it leads to him, Tesla, or Twitter losing money. During an interview with CNBC's David Faber, Musk was asked about why he tweets the way he does. Faber pointed to a tweet from Monday in which Musk said Soros "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization" and "hates humanity." Faber asked why Musk continued to tweet such things and share his political opinions even though Tesla customers and Twitter advertisers may not agree with him.

☆ Stanley Druckenmiller piles into these A.I. plays and other technology stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller bought into a few stocks tied to artificial intelligence last quarter, while piling into a handful of other names in the tech sector, according to a new regulatory filing. Druckenmiller said last week these two bets were his way of getting exposure to the booming AI space. He thinks that AI could be a fruitful opportunity for investors, especially when the economy comes out of what he thinks is an imminent downturn. The investor also built a sizable stake in Alphabet, another AI play, making it one of his top 10 holdings. Amazon was another new bet for Druckenmiller, who built an $84 million stake at the end of March.

☆ A new CEO won’t fix Twitter’s biggest problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —During his six months as Twitter’s CEO and owner, Elon Musk decimated its ad business, alienated some news publications and VIP users, and plunged the platform into a constant state of chaos. But she may struggle to address Twitter’s biggest problem: Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Musk said he “didn’t care” if his controversial tweets drew the ire of Twitter advertisers or Tesla shareholders. She may struggle to undo the damage Elon Musk has done to the company's ad business. That could only add to the difficulty Yaccarino will face in shoring up Twitter’s business.

☆ DeSantis defends fundraising for the ex-Marine who fatally choked Jordan Neely in subway: 'Vets look out for other vets'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DeSantis shared a fundraising page for Penny over the weekend, raising $2 million for his defense. "Vets look out for other vets," DeSantis said when asked about it Tuesday. Ron DeSantis of Florida defended ex-Marine Daniel Penny as having done the "right thing" after he fatally choked Jordan Neely on a New York City Subway. Protests ensued in New York City, and the story became national news as it touched on race, homelessness, crime, and mental health treatment. Crime in New York City is higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, statistics show.

☆ Elon Musk said George Soros reminds him of 'X-Men' mutant Magneto in a bizarre tweet about the oft-maligned billionaire
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk tweeted that George Soros reminds him of the "X-Men" mutant Magneto. Musk also claimed without substantiation that Soros "hates humanity." His tweet on Monday, which offered no context for his comparison, simply stated: "Soros reminds me of Magneto." Soros hates humanity." Representatives of Musk and Soros did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Elon Musk claims George Soros ‘hates humanity.’ The ADL says Musk’s attacks ‘will embolden extremists’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

While Musk’s remarks don’t mention the billionaire philanthropist’s ethnicity, Musk was criticized for dangerous rhetoric that could potentially fuel further attacks on Soros. When a Twitter user defended Soros as having good intentions which are criticized by those who disagree with his politics, Musk responded, “You assume they are good intentions. Attacks on Soros have increased in recent years alongside a broader increase in incidents of antisemitic attacks. Studies by the ADL and the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that the volume of hate speech on Twitter has grown dramatically under Musk’s stewardship. He most recently sold 22 million shares in December.

☆ Opinion | The Republican Embrace of Vigilantism Is No Accident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Perry had lived out the right-wing fantasy of lethal violence in defense of “order.” By their lights, he had done nothing wrong. What we know is that Neely, who was homeless, was erratic and acting hostile toward other passengers. At some point, Penny, a former Marine, placed Neely in the chokehold that killed him. But this has not stopped conservatives from valorizing him in the same way they valorized Rittenhouse and Perry. In listening to conservative fans of Rittenhouse, Perry and Penny, you would never know that there were actual people on the other side of these confrontations.

☆ Elon Musk: 'I'll say what I want, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Mike Calia | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk told CNBC's David Faber on Tuesday that if his inflammatory tweets scare away advertisers from Twitter, he will accept that. "I'll say what I want, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it," said Musk, who owns Twitter. Musk replied defensively as Faber pressed him over a tweet Monday night in which he likened liberal billionaire George Soros to X-Men villain Magneto, a Jewish Holocaust survivor. Soros, who is also Jewish, is a favorite target of right wing pundits and politicians and often the subject of anti-Semitic attacks. For years, Musk has tweeted controversial items, including conspiracy theories and comments his critics have called broadly discriminatory.

☆ Fact Check-George Soros ‘alive and healthy’ on May 15, 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Billionaire financier George Soros said he is “alive and healthy” on May 15, 2023, after viral posts on social media falsely claimed he died after a heart attack. Scores of social media posts claiming Soros died, including here and here, prompted confusion among users. A spokesperson for George Soros told Reuters on May 15 that Soros was alive and healthy and that rumors on social media that he suffered a heart attack are false. Soros himself also tweeted that he is “alive and healthy” and that the rumour is false (here). George Soros was alive and healthy on May 15, 2023, according to Soros and a spokesperson for the financier.

[1/2] Co-Founders of VICE Shane Smith (L) and Suroosh Alvi (R) pose as they arrive for the 20th Annual Webby Awards in Manhattan, New York, U.S., May 16, 2016. REUTERS/Mike SegarMay 15 (Reuters) - Vice Media Group, popular for websites such as Vice and Motherboard, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday to engineer its sale to a group of lenders, capping years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. Vice listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion. Vice was among a group of fast-rising digital media ventures that once had rich valuations as they courted millennial audiences. It rose to prominence alongside its co-founder Shane Smith, who built his media empire from a single Canadian magazine.

☆ Vice Media to Sell Itself as It Files for Bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vice said its media brands will continue to produce content. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesVice Media, the once-hot digital news startup that was valued at $5.7 billion at its peak, said it has received a rescue offer and filed for bankruptcy protection. The company, whose assets include Vice News, Vice TV, Refinery29 and Motherboard, on Monday said a group of its creditors, including Soros Fund Management, Fortress Investment Group and Monroe Capital , has agreed to buy Vice for about $225 million and take on “significant liabilities.” The agreement is subject to higher bids from other parties, it said.

☆ Vice Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to facilitate sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 15 (Reuters) - Vice Media Group, popular for websites such as Vice and Motherboard, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday to engineer its sale to a group of lenders, capping years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. The company listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion, according to a court filing. Vice was among a group of fast-rising digital media ventures that once commanded rich valuations as they courted millennial audiences. It rose to prominence alongside its co-founder, Shane Smith, who built his media empire from a single Canadian magazine. In April, the company said it would cancel popular TV program "Vice News Tonight" as part of a broader restructuring that would result in job cuts across the digital media firm's global news business.

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