- AB InBev (1NBA TH) +7.6%
- AB InBev Beats Estimates as Top Brands Drive US Recovery (1)
- Saab (SDV1 TH) +2.7%
- Munich Re (MUV2 TH) +2.4%
- Munich Re FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- BAE (BSP TH) +2.3%
- Siemens Energy (ENR TH) +2.3%
- Heidelberg Materials (HEI TH) +1.9%
- Siemens (SIE TH) +1.9%
- Bawag (0B2 TH) +1.8%
- Sartorius Stedim (56S1 TH) +1.8%
- Sartorius Stedim Raised to Overweight at Barclays; PT 250 euros
- Fresenius SE (FRE TH) +1.8%
- Fresenius SE Sees 2025 Organic Revenue +4% to +6%
- Danone (BSN TH) -0.6%
- Danone Posts Resilient Sales Growth, Helped by Higher Volumes
- Gerresheimer (GXI TH) -1.3%
- Gerresheimer Sees FY Adj. Ebitda Margin Around 22%
- Stellantis (8TI TH) -2.5%
- Stellantis Issues Cautious Outlook After 70% Profit Slump
- Deutsche Telekom (DTE TH) -2.6%
- Deutsche Telekom Profit Outlook Misses Estimates on Europe Slump
DAX:
- Munich Re (MUV2 TH) +2.3%
- Munich Re FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- Siemens Energy (ENR TH) +2.2%
- Siemens Energy, Fortive Spreads vs Industrials Peers Tighten
- Sartorius (SRT3 TH) +2.1%
- Siemens (SIE TH) +2.1%
- E.On (EOAN TH) +1.9%
- EON Boosts Spending by 15% as AI Data Hubs Seek Grid Linkups (1)
- Deutsche Telekom (DTE TH) -2.4%
- Deutsche Telekom Profit Outlook Misses Estimates on Europe Slump
MDAX:
- AUTO1 (AG1 TH) +6.2%
- AUTO1 2025 Gross Profit Forecast Beats Estimates
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) +3.8%
- Evotec SE (EVT TH) +2.3%
- Evotec Appoints Paul Hitchin CFO Effective March 1
- Hensoldt (HAG TH) +1.8%
- TAG Immobilien (TEG TH) +1.7%
- TAG Immobilien Prelim FY FFO II Beats Estimates
- Gerresheimer (GXI TH) -0.7%
- Gerresheimer Sees FY Adj. Ebitda Margin Around 22%
SDAX:
- Indus Holding (INH TH) +3.4%
- RENK Group AG (R3NK TH) +2%
- Formycon (FYB TH) +2%
- Deutsche PBB (PBB TH) +2%
- Salzgitter (SZG TH) +1.7%
Stocks, Treasuries and other assets steadied as investors sought to move on from weak US economic data that had rattled financial markets Tuesday. US stock-index futures pointed to gains, Treasury 10-year yields rebounded in Asian trading while gold, Bitcoin and oil all traded within a tight range after declines overnight. Hong Kong equities surged, extending a rally that started last month driven by optimism that China’s technological breakthroughs may help revive the sluggish economy. Investors sought safer corners of the market Tuesday after a weak US consumer confidence reading raised worries about the outlook for the broader economy from President Donald Trump’s policies and their impact on global growth. Chances for early action on Trump’s tax cut plans improved as House Republicans passed a budget blueprint Tuesday. The steadiness Wednesday will get a test later when Nvidia Corp. reports earnings. “Nvidia’s numbers could well be a make-or-break event for the market, at least in the short term,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade in Sydney. “What could really drive sentiment one way or the other could boil down to whether the outlook from the company remains as rosy as before.” Hong Kong shares were the standout asset in Asian trading, after DeepSeek reopened access to its core programming interface after nearly a three-week suspension, resuming a service key to wider adoption of an AI model that’s proven remarkably popular since its emergence last month. Get the Markets Daily newsletter to learn what’s moving stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. President Trump’s move to further decouple economic ties between the two nations had rattled global investors who had bet on a sustained rebound in Chinese stocks. The shares have risen this year on optimism around DeepSeek artificial intelligence and President Xi Jinping’s meeting with corporate leaders, a move seen as a possible end to the year-long crackdown on the private sector. The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose after an 11-basis point decline overnight, sitting around its lowest levels since mid-December. Yields on Australian and Japanese bonds declined. Money markets are now pricing in more than two quarter-point reductions by the Fed in 2025. Copper climbed after Trump signed an executive action directing the Commerce Department to examine possible tariffs on the metal. Investors are awaiting this week’s reading on prices. The Fed’s preferred inflation metric — the core personal consumption expenditures price index — is expected to cool to the slowest pace since June. In other markets, oil in New York steadied after sinking back into the $60s-a-barrel range as a souring economic outlook threatened prospects for energy demand. Gold edged up along with Bitcoin, which fell 6% overnight. US After Hours PRCH +24.8%, INVX +19.1%, ZI +17.4%, OLO +15.5%, AXON +13%, WDAY +10.2% higher on earnings; FLYW -18.4%, GO -17.1%, AGL -15%, LMND -13.3%, CART -9.3% lower on earnings.
Nikkei -0.25% Hang Seng +3.29% CSI +0.60% Shanghai +0.77% Shenzen +0.84%
Eur$ 1.0496 CNH 7.2588 CNY 7.2575 JPY 149.55 GBP 1.2640 CHF 0.8942 RUB 86.2924 TRY 36.4619 WTI$ 69.15 Gold 2,919 BTC 88,650 ETH 2,484
S&P +0.39% Nasdaq +0.59% EuroStoxx +0.84% FTSE +0.76% Dax +0.98% SMI -0.02%
Macro :
- DeepSeek Reopens AI Model Access as China Rivalry Heats Up
- Trump Opens Door to New Metal Levy With Copper Tariff Probe (1)
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ABI BB : AB InBev Beats Estimates on Higher Margins in Biggest Brands
- ADEN SW : Adecco FY Dividend per Share CHF1.00
- AENA SM : Aena Sees 2025 Passenger Traffic +3.4%
- AENA SM : Aena Sees 2025 Passenger Traffic +3.4%
- ALC SW : Alcon AG 2025 Net Sales Forecast Misses Estimates
- AAL LN : De Beers, Botswana Sign Marketing Deal to Revive Diamond Demand
- AAPL US : Apple Joins Tech Firms Pledging Over $1 Trillion in US Spending
- ASMI NA : ASM Intl 4Q Orders Misses Estimates, ASM Sales Forecast Beats Estimates as AI Boom Drives Demand
- ASMI NA : ASM Intl 4Q Orders Misses Estimates, ASM Sales Forecast Beats Estimates as AI Boom Drives Demand
- AML LN : Aston Martin FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- ATS AV : Austrian Circuitboard Maker AT&S Names Michael Mertin as New CEO
- AG1 GY : AUTO1 2025 Gross Profit Forecast Beats Estimates
- AZE BB : Azelis Holder Akita I Offers Up to 15M Shares: Terms
- BPE IM : Sondrio Names BofA, Morgan Stanley Advisers Regarding BPER Offer
- BGBIO NO : BerGenBio Discontinues Study, to Explore Strategic Alternatives
- BOOZT SS : Boozt to Establish Headquarters in Copenhagen
- CAVA US : Cava Group Shares Slide as Annual Sales Forecast Disappoints
- CLNX SM : Cellnex Cuts 2025 Recurring FCF Forecast, Beats Estimates
- CAKE US : Cheesecake Factory Prices Upsized $500m Conv Sr Notes Due 2030
- 1COV GY : Covestro Sees 2025 Ebitda EU1B to EU1.6B, Est. EU1.34B
- BN FP : Danone FY Recurring Operating Income Beats Estimates
- DEME BB : DEME Group FY Ebitda Beats Estimates
- DTE GY : Deutsche Telekom Sees 2025 Adj. EBITDA AL About EU44.9B
- FGR FP : APRR, Financière Eiffarie Renew Banking Facilities for €2.4B
- EMMN SW : Emmi Sees 2025 Ebit CHF330M to CHF350M, Est. CHF345.3M
- EOAN GY : E.On 2025 Adjusted Ebitda Forecast Beats Estimates
- EOAN GY : EON to Boost Investments by 15% This Year as Europe Electrifies
- EVT GY : Evotec Appoints Paul Hitchin CFO Effective March 1
- FRE GY : Fresenius SE Sees 2025 Organic Revenue +4% to +6%
- GF SW : Georg Fischer FY Sales Miss Estimates
- GXI GY : Gerresheimer Sees FY Adj. Ebitda Margin Around 22%
- GLYC US : GlycoMimetics Says Apollomics Hong Kong Terminates License Pact
- GRF SM : Grifols Names Independent Director Berner as Its Chairwoman
- HSX LN : Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Set for FTSE 100 as Hiscox Exits
- HIK LN : Hikma 2025 Core Operating Profit Forecast Beats Estimates
- IDIA SW : Idorsia Says Bondholders Approve Extension of 2025 Conv Bonds, Idorsia Bond Restructuring to Provide CHF150M New Funding
- IDIA SW : Idorsia: Aprocitentan Partner Fails to Sign Deal as Envisaged
- IMPN SW : Implenia Sees 2025 Ebit About CHF140M
- INRN SW : Interroll Names Markus Asch New CEO from March 1
- ITP FP : Interparfums 4Q EPS Misses Estimates
- ISS DC : ISS Holder Kirkbi Invest Offers Up to 9.28M Shares
- JAZZ US : Jazz Pharma Sees 2025 Revenue $4.15B to $4.40B, Est. $4.32B
- JDEP NA : JDE Peet's FY Organic Revenue Beats Estimates, JDE Peet’s Organic Sales Rise Amid Record Green Coffee Inflation
- JYSK DC : Jyske Sees 2025 Net Income DKK3.8B to DKK4.6B, Est. DKK4.37B
- KAMBI SS : Kambi 4Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- LMND US : Lemonade 1Q Revenue Forecast Misses Estimates
- LIN US : Linde Raises Quarterly Dividend 7.9% to $1.50/Shr
- LCID US : EV Maker Lucid to Seek New CEO After Rawlinson Steps Aside
- MC FP : Giuseppe Zanotti Buys Back Minority Stake From L Catterton
- MEDCL FP : Teva, Medincell Report FDA Accepts sNDA for Uzedy for Bipolar
- MEDX SW : Medmix Sees 2025 Adjusted Ebitda Margin 18% to 19%
- META US : Meta Discusses $200 Billion AI Data Center Project
- MTGB SS : MTG Names Nick Hopkins as New Group CFO
- MUV2 GY : Munich Re FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- MUV2 GY : Munich Re to Buy Back €2b of Shares, Pay €20/Share Dividend
- NEL NO : Nel 4Q Ebitda Loss NOK36M, to Cut Investments by 50%
- NOVN SW : Sandoz Family to Sell $2.9 Billion Stake in Novartis, priced @ 98.25 (-2.45%)
- P911 GY : Porsche AG Names Successors to CFO & Sales Head
- RBREW DC : Royal Unibrew Sees 2025 Ebit DKK2.10B to DKK2.23B, Est. DKK2.19B
- RIO LN : *FREEPORT SHARES JUMP 6% POSTMARKET AFTER TRUMP COPPER ORDER
- SPM IM : Saipem Sees 2025 Revenue About EU15.0B, Est. EU14.93B
- SAN SM : La Nación.ar: Banco Santander bought 50% of an innovative payment and financing platform for agriculture from
- SAN SM : Santander Boosts Dividend 20% After Record Profit in 2024
- SESG FP : SES 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- STMN SW : Straumann CFO Yang Xu to Leave for Other Opportunity
- TEG GY : TAG Immobilien Prelim FY FFO/Share Beats Estimates
- TEVA IT : Teva, Medincell Report FDA Accepts sNDA for Uzedy for Bipolar
- UBXN SW : U-blox Sees 1Q Revenue of CHF65 Million to CHF75 Million
- X US : US Steel, Nippon Steel Seek Meetings With Trump Admin.: Semafor
- WIE AV : Wienerberger Dividend Beats Est., Sees 2025 Ebitda at €800m
- WLN FP : Worldline Names Pierre-Antoine Vacheron as Chief Executive
- WLN FP : Worldline FY Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
>>> Up
* Alibaba ADRs Raised to Outperform at Bernstein; PT $165
* Alibaba ADRs Raised to Outperform at Bernstein; PT $165
* Burberry Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
* Dormakaba PT Raised to 862 Swiss francs at Berenberg
* Ferragamo Raised to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
* Kering Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
* Klarabo Sverige Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 20 kronor
* LVMH Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
* NatWest Raised to Add at AlphaValue/Baader
* Norske Skog Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 28 kroner
* Sanofi Raised to Buy at Intron Health; PT 125 euros
* Sartorius Stedim Raised to Overweight at Barclays; PT 250 euros
* Yubico Raised to Buy at Berenberg
>>> Down
>>> Down
* BoneSupport Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 410 kronor
* Covivio Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 63.70 euros
* Digia Cut to Accumulate at Inderes; PT 7.80 euros
* Embracer Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 135 kronor
* Hermes Cut to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
* H&M Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 150 kronor
* Netum Group Cut to Reduce at Inderes; PT 2.60 euros
* Orthex Cut to Accumulate at Inderes; PT 6 euros
* Subsea 7 Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 171 kroner
>>> Initiation
* Subsea 7 Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 171 kroner
>>> Initiation
* 4imprint Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 7,170 pence
* MARR SpA Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 13.60 euros
* Mitie Reinstated Neutral at Goldman; PT 150 pence
>>> Call
* BofA’s Subramanian Sees US Stock Gains Broadening Beyond Tech
* Mitie Reinstated Neutral at Goldman; PT 150 pence
>>> Call
* BofA’s Subramanian Sees US Stock Gains Broadening Beyond Tech
* Morgan Stanley Strategists Say European Earnings Tracking Well
>>> Up
* Alibaba ADRs Raised to Outperform at Bernstein; PT $165
* Alibaba ADRs Raised to Outperform at Bernstein; PT $165
* Burberry Raised to Buy at Kepler Cheuvreux
* Dormakaba PT Raised to 862 Swiss francs at Berenberg
* Klarabo Sverige Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 20 kronor
* NatWest Raised to Add at AlphaValue/Baader
* Norske Skog Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 28 kroner
* Sanofi Raised to Buy at Intron Health; PT 125 euros
* Sartorius Stedim Raised to Overweight at Barclays; PT 250 euros
* Yubico Raised to Buy at Berenberg
>>> Down
>>> Down
* BoneSupport Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 410 kronor
* Covivio Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 63.70 euros
* Digia Cut to Accumulate at Inderes; PT 7.80 euros
* Embracer Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 135 kronor
* Hermes Cut to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux
* H&M Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 150 kronor
* Netum Group Cut to Reduce at Inderes; PT 2.60 euros
* Orthex Cut to Accumulate at Inderes; PT 6 euros
* Subsea 7 Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 171 kroner
>>> Initiation
* Subsea 7 Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 171 kroner
>>> Initiation
* 4imprint Rated New Buy at Deutsche Bank; PT 7,170 pence
* MARR SpA Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 13.60 euros
* Mitie Reinstated Neutral at Goldman; PT 150 pence
>>> Call
* BofA’s Subramanian Sees US Stock Gains Broadening Beyond Tech
* Mitie Reinstated Neutral at Goldman; PT 150 pence
>>> Call
* BofA’s Subramanian Sees US Stock Gains Broadening Beyond Tech
* Morgan Stanley Strategists Say European Earnings Tracking Well
Meet the World’s 24 Superbillionaires
The ultra-rich are growing in numbers, and changing wealth as we know it
In 1987, Forbes published its first billionaires list, featuring 140 individuals whose combined wealth totaled $295 billion. At the time, the richest person in the world was Japan’s Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, a real estate tycoon worth $20 billion.
Today, the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, is worth $419.4 billion, roughly 21 times as much as Tsutsumi at his peak and more than two million times as much as the median net worth of an American household, according to exclusive data from global wealth intelligence firm Altrata.
As the ranks of global billionaires have swelled dramatically in recent years, a new category of ultrarich has emerged—the superbillionaire. Musk is one of just 24 people worldwide who qualify for that distinction, which is defined as individuals worth $50 billion or more.
As of early February, those superbillionaires’ fortunes accounted for more than 16% of all billionaire wealth, a dramatic increase from 4% in 2014, according to Altrata. Their combined net worth totaled $3.3 trillion, equivalent to the nominal GDP of France. Of those 24 people, 16 qualified as centi-billionaires, meaning they have a net worth of at least $100 billion.
The rise of the superbillionaire has coincided with a significant leap in luxury markets across the world, including real estate, as these individuals cobble together massive portfolios of luxury homes around the globe.
Experts say the data shows how the ranks of the ultrarich have begun to pull away from the merely wealthy, and how a subset has been propelled to new heights.
“Billionaires have always obviously controlled significant amounts of wealth, but now you’re talking about differences in the billionaire population themselves,” said Maya Imberg, head of thought leadership and analytics at Altrata, who has been researching the superbillionaire set. “It’s quite staggering just how much the net worths of some of these people have grown.”
In major luxury real-estate markets like New York, Miami, Palm Beach, Los Angeles and Aspen, new supertall towers and spec mansions have popped up geared specifically to the billionaire set and there has been an explosion of nine-figure home sales across the country.
Each of the superbillionaires on Altrata’s list has direct personal residential real-estate holdings of at least $100 million, and often far more, according to the company. Imberg said that number is likely to be a significant underestimate in some cases because real estate can often be held in a partner’s name or owned by one of these billionaires’ companies or holding companies.
The world’s superbillionaire population is made up in large part by entrepreneurs who made their money in the tech sector, or whose industry was catapulted to new levels by technological advances. Of the top 10 richest individuals on the list, six fall into that category. Of the total 24 superbillionaires, only three were female. Only seven were headquartered outside of the United States.
The rise of the superbillionaire marks a transformation in the composition of the world’s ultrawealthy, experts said. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the richest men were industrialists: John D. Rockefeller built Standard Oil into a monopoly, Andrew Carnegie dominated the steel industry, and Cornelius Vanderbilt amassed a fortune through railroads. Their wealth, while vast, was spread across industries that defined an era of physical infrastructure and manufacturing. Through Standard Oil, John D. Rockefeller became the world’s first confirmed billionaire in 1916.
During that period, a company’s value accounted for physical assets like property and machinery, more so than the types of intellectual property and promise of future scale and earnings that push up values today.
Today’s tech billionaires make up a significant portion of the superbillionaire pool. In addition to Musk, there’s Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Steve Ballmer, the former chief executive of Microsoft.
Their wealth is linked almost entirely to the stock prices and therefore future cash flows of the companies they started. Bezos, Zuckerberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang have all recently seen their fortunes fluctuate by tens of billions in a single year, depending on investor sentiment. As a result, the scale of their wealth is unparalleled—but so is its volatility.
Unlike past generations, where fortunes were built over decades, today’s tech-driven economy has also enabled founders to amass enormous sums in a matter of just a few years. Before his arrest in 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried, the now-disgraced founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was worth $26 billion before the age of 30, for instance.
“We have had huge technological change the last 40 years, and that has allowed some of these businesses to scale, and created a huge amount of shareholder value,” said Steven Kaplan, a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business who studies finance and inequality. “Walmart is an example, Amazon is another. These are businesses that couldn’t have scaled to this level without technology.”
by the numbers
140: Billionaires on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List in 1987
3,323: Worldwide billionaires as of 2023
24: Superbillionaires, or people worth more than $50 billion
16%: Amount of billionaire wealth that superbillionaires’ fortunes account for
$100 million: Average worth of personal real estate each superbillionaire holds
16: Superbillionaires who qualify as centi-billionaires, meaning they have a net worth of at least $100 billion.
The current makeup of the superbillionaire population also shows a shift from the world’s richest people inheriting their wealth to a rise in self-made billionaires.
“The great American fortunes of today are new money, not old,” said a 2024 report by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, which noted the absence of names like Astor, Carnegie, Mellon, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt on lists like the Forbes 400.
“Of the approximately 97 still-living billionaires on the 2005 Forbes 400 list who inherited fortunes, less than half are still on the list today…. The minority of heirs and heiresses who remain on the list today were three times more likely to have fallen in the Forbes rankings than to have risen,” the report said.
Those shifts can be traced to the 1980s and 1990s. That’s due to vast advancements in technology during that period and, with that, a rise in the globalized nature of business.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University, said he attributes some of the rise of the super wealthy to the inability of antitrust laws to contend with monopoly power in the tech sector.
“We have antitrust laws that were well adapted to Standard Oil but that don’t work well in the tech sphere,“ he said. “Monopoly power has given rise to the potential of enormous amounts of wealth.“
He also pointed to how today’s superbillionaires have become masters at tax avoidance and adept at taking advantage of weaknesses in corporate governance laws to extract “obscene amounts of money“ in salary and bonuses. One example, he said, is the $50 billion compensation package from Tesla that Elon Musk has been in court fighting for over the past year.
“These guys have, both at the corporate level and at the individual level, been even better at avoiding taxes than in making good products,” Stiglitz said. “The level of taxes they pay as a share of their profits should be an embarrassment to them.” The 24 superbillionares declined to comment or didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Estimations of billionaire net worth are by nature, an inexact science. While it’s simple to calculate the value of publicly traded corporate stock, it’s much trickier to reach an estimate of value for a privately held company. Imberg said Altrata’s findings can vary from rankings in Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires’ Index because of factors like methodology and the daily fluctuations of stock prices.
The explosion of billionaire net worth comes at a time of growing economic disparity in the U.S. In 2024, the top 1% of American households held $49.2 trillion in wealth, or about 30% of the country’s total wealth, according to federal data. In the late 1980s the top 1% held 23%.
The rise of the superbillionaire raises fundamental questions about the future of wealth distribution and economic power in the U.S. and globally. Economists and politicians remain split over the importance of allowing billionaire wealth to remain uncapped as a means to encourage innovation, or whether society can function equitably when so much capital is concentrated in the hands of so few.
Inarguably, the concentration of wealth among a small number of tech entrepreneurs gives these individuals unprecedented influence over policy, media, and society. Musk controls SpaceX, Tesla, and X, influencing everything from space exploration to online discourse, as well as more recently having the ear of President Trump. Bezos owns the Washington Post. Zuckerberg heads Instagram, Facebook and Threads, platforms used by billions. These superbillionaires operate in a largely deregulated digital landscape where oversight is limited.
Kaplan, a self-described optimist, said he sees the same advances in tech and globalization that fueled the rise of the superbillionaire as being a net positive for society, though in the U.S. they have hurt the manufacturing sectors that used to be an economic driver for the middle class.
Luigi Zingales, an economics professor and host of the podcast “Capitalisn’t,” said he sees the rise of the superbillionaire class as a symptom of the failure of capitalism in the U.S.
“A good capitalist system is a system that doesn’t reward exactly anybody too much, because it remains very competitive, and every new innovation is quickly copied,” he said.
Zingales blamed the U.S. legal system for allowing tech companies to protect their trade secrets and innovations to the point where competition is impossible. “I’m the first one to say we need incentives for people to innovate. However, that somebody is reaping such large rewards suggests that the incentives are too much that we could have gotten the same outcome with much less,” he said.
Stiglitz also cautioned that wealth inequality can eventually translate to political inequality, which in turn compounds wealth inequality. “These guys live in a totally different world from ordinary Americans. So they don’t have to deal with public schools, public hospitals and they don’t rely on health insurance in the way that ordinary Americans do,” he said. “That kind of deep divide is polarizing and I think it undermines the kind of solidarity that is important for the functioning of a society.”
Regardless, the growth of the superbillionaire segment shows no signs of slowing
Imberg said it’s plausible that we could see the world’s first trillionaire in the next few decades.
“One would probably have said no in the past, but anything’s possible these days,” she said
The Investor Who Won Big on Zombie Malls Is Going All-In on Empty Offices
New York-based Namdar and partners have acquired 10 buildings for more than $480 million since 2021
An investor known for squeezing cash out of dying malls is now trying a similar approach to profit from tanking office towers.
Namdar Realty Group started buying office buildings in major markets after the pandemic hit and office values plummeted. The Great Neck, N.Y.-based company and its partners have acquired 10 office buildings for more than $480 million since 2021 in prime locations across Chicago, Cleveland and New York City.
Namdar bought the properties at significant discounts to what they were worth before the pandemic, betting their values would rise as workers returned to the office. Meanwhile, the company is trying to slash expenses at its office buildings, echoing the extreme cost-cutting approach it deploys at the dozens of enclosed malls it owns.
“We think back-to-work, back-to-office will happen,” Chief Executive Igal Namdar told The Wall Street Journal in 2023. “If we can buy quality office buildings, avenue buildings, corner buildings, at a great price per square foot, we think it’s a great buy for us.”
The office market is showing signs of recovery and attracting more investors, but Namdar is still trying to find its footing. Office gains are mostly concentrated in premium buildings as office attendance remains below prepandemic levels. Namdar has purchased well-located but older buildings, which will need renovations and other investments to attract tenants.
In some buildings, Namdar is on a collision course with local unions, an issue that didn’t crop up in its mall-buying strategy.
Namdar’s core business is retail. The company has bought dozens of failing shopping centers at rock-bottom prices, extracting cash by cutting costs to the bone. They appeal their property assessments to lower their tax bills, while maintenance issues such as parking-lot sinkholes fester, to the outrage of town officials.
It’s a lucrative strategy. Namdar in September reported a gross profit of $148.3 million, a nearly 10% increase from the same month a year earlier, according to securities filings with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, where the company’s bonds trade under the name Namco Realty.
Namdar started buying office buildings in major cities in 2021, betting that the recently released Covid-19 vaccine would end the pandemic and rejuvenate office demand.
Its first major office deal was a cluster of four buildings near Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden that the firm and a partner bought for $107 million.
Early efforts to make the office strategy work came up short. Namdar wanted to convert the portfolio’s main office building at 345 Seventh Avenue to housing since “the city was rumored to be changing the property’s zoning,” said Dan Dilmanian, chief operating officer at Namdar.
But Namdar’s conversion plans went nowhere because, Dilmanian said, the zoning laws never changed.
Instead, the company renovated the building’s lobby, common areas and outdoor facade. But the property’s appraised value continued to decline.
By late 2024 Namdar’s lender was moving to foreclose. Namdar ended up selling the four buildings on Seventh Avenue at a $42 million loss, according to Dilmanian.
Namdar’s labor problems flared up when the firm tried to squeeze costs. As Namdar acquired office buildings, an obvious cost-cutting target was the unionized cleaning staff, which are paid $30 an hour and receive high-quality benefits, said Denis Johnston, executive-vice president at 32BJ SEIU, whose members work in several Namdar buildings.
The union held rallies outside Namdar’s buildings to pressure the company to give its workers union pay and benefits, Johnston said. Elected officials also criticized Namdar’s labor tactics.
“If part of their playbook is going to be replacing union employees with nonunion companies that are taking advantage of low-wage workers, we want to nip that in the bud,” said Alex Bores, a member of the New York State Assembly.
Dilmanian said the company values its relationships with unions and employs union staff at many of its properties.
Some think Namdar is turning a corner. Its Fifth Avenue building in Manhattan is nearly fully leased after the company upgraded the lobby and amenity space. Adelphi University signed a 20-year lease for three floors, said Mitch Konsker, a vice chairman at real-estate firm JLL, which Namdar has hired to handle leasing.
Michael Rudder, principal of Rudder Property Group, has worked with Namdar at several of its properties and said its strategy of buying office buildings when prices are low will pay off as the sector recovers.
“I think when it averages out at the end of the day, he’s going to get very rich from all this,” he said.
‘Fish disco’ row risks fresh delays to Hinkley Point nuclear plant
Campaigners hit out at EDF’s plan to drop underwater acoustic deterrent designed to protect marine life
EDF has been urged by campaigners to stick with plans to install underwater loudspeakers to deter fish in the Bristol Channel, as the energy company grapples with delays to construction of its Hinkley Point C nuclear reactor.
The row over the “fish disco” deterrent, as it is known in Whitehall circles, marks the latest salvo in the UK’s long-running battle to balance growth with environmental protections.
Mark Lloyd, chief executive of The Rivers Trust charity, said France’s state-owned energy company should keep its commitment to the acoustic fish deterrent, as part of its Hinkley Point C project.
His comments follow warnings that wrangling over fish protection risks further delaying completion of the Somerset power plant, which is already several years behind schedule and billions of pounds over budget.
Plans for the deterrent system involve 288 underwater speakers that would produce underwater noise louder than a jumbo jet all day, every day for six decades, according to EDF.
But despite previously agreeing to build an “acoustic fish deterrent”, EDF is now trying to scrap those plans, saying they would endanger divers and is instead proposing salt marshes to shelter fish.
But Lloyd argued that, unless the acoustic deterrent was installed, “there are likely to be local extinctions and a very significant impact on marine species throughout the South West and the Irish Sea”.
EDF rejects this characterisation, pointing out that regulators estimate the amount of fish that will be harmed without the deterrent is 44 tonnes per year, equivalent to an annual catch of one small fishing vessel.
The government has vowed to remove unnecessary environmental requirements for developers so that they can focus on “getting things built”.
Rachel Reeves, chancellor, told developers last month they could “stop worrying about bats and newts” as Labour planned to reduce obstacles to new infrastructure and curtail the right to appeal against planning decisions in court.
Revelations last year that Britain’s High Speed 2 rail line spent £100mn building a railway arch to protect bats has sparked angst in Whitehall that environmental rules could be hampering economic growth.
However, EDF is still seeking to address what it calls “a small remaining” impact on fish from the 3.2-gigawatt Hinkley Point C project, following other wildlife protection measures already in place.
Its original plan for an acoustic deterrent sought to help prevent an estimated 18 to 46 tonnes of fish per year from being sucked into the plant’s cooling systems, as they take water from the Bristol Channel.
The group later applied to the Environment Agency for permission to drop the proposals, due to doubts over its effectiveness and risks to divers having to maintain the speakers. The agency rejected the request.
EDF plans instead to apply to the energy secretary to alter its original planning permission, highlighting the UK’s need for low carbon electricity, and offering to create salt marshes and other measures instead.
“The remaining potential harm to fish populations is recognised as being very small,” it told local communities in a letter in January. “Nevertheless, the project is obliged to find ways to mitigate for this impact.”
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Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: SPNT -4.2% (Loeb entities to offer 4.1 mln shares, SPNT to repurchase 2 mln of those shares), HRMY -2.3% (files mixed shelf securities offering), CCI -1.9% (to delay 10-K filing), ORIC -1.5% (announces clinical development plans for its two lead programs), WBA -0.4% (enters settlement agreement with Everly/PWN; to pay $595 mln), INVH -0.1% (names new COO)