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In the ultra-competitive world of cancer medicines, biotech company Summit Therapeutics is a relative minnow, with no revenue or approved drugs. But recent news around its most promising drug nearly doubled the company’s share price, and minted its co-CEO Maky Zanganeh as a new billionaire.
The Iranian immigrant who fled her home country as a child is now one of just 34 self-made U.S. women billionaires, and one of three American women to have made a billion-dollar fortune in the healthcare sector.
FIRST UP
Illustration by Alex Castro for Forbes
Thanks to a $30 billion state-licensed cannabis economy spanning 38 states, marijuana legalization is no longer a Democratic issue by default, and is now becoming a proxy for classic conservative ideals: pro-business, states’ rights and freedom from Big Government. After years of perpetuating the war on drugs, an expert told Forbes, the GOP has finally realized that legalization is happening with or without them—and many lawmakers have decided to get on the bandwagon.
The Israeli military said it conducted a series of “extensive” airstrikes Monday targeting Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and urged civilians in the region to evacuate from their homes. It comes a day after Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel, as well as Israeli airstrikes on Friday and Saturday that targeted the Iran-backed militant group’s leadership in Lebanon. The intensifying military exchanges have raised fears of escalation into an all-out conflict, even as Israel’s war in Gaza is set to enter its second year.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
A Nike flagship store in Shanghai
CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Athletics apparel giant Nike announced it would bring retired exec Elliot Hill back as CEO, replacing John Donahoe next month, in a move that powered a nearly 7% boost to the company’s stock Friday. Nike has struggled under Donahoe’s tenure, with criticism ranging from his leadership capabilities, to a crowded sportswear space and the broader retail decline in China.
Jeff Ferro, CEO of accounting firm Baker Tilly, reached an uncomfortable conclusion in 2022: To stay competitive, his firm had to invest more in technology, mergers and new hires. His solution was one that’s grown increasingly common in the accounting industry: private equity. Five of the largest 25 U.S. accounting firms, ranked by revenue, have taken private equity money, and another five could well announce deals before the end of the year, according to an industry advisor.
MONEY + POLITICS
Former President Donald Trump said in an interview he doesn’t expect to seek office again if he loses to Kamala Harris in November’s election. Trump became the oldest major party presidential nominee in history after President Joe Biden dropped out largely due to age concerns, and the Republican nominee would be 82 years old on Election Day in 2028.
The Secret Service was responsible for planning and communication failures that led to the shooting of Donald Trump in a July assassination attempt, according to an internal review of the agency’s security practices during the incident. On Friday, the acting director of the Secret Service said the agency “should have been more direct” with state and local law enforcement about what was needed to secure the area.
WORLD
Last week’s attacks in Lebanon appear to be an unprecedented act of sabotage by Israel, and questions still remain over how the country’s spy agencies were able to infiltrate Hezbollah to put boobytrapped pagers and walkie talkies in the pockets of as many as 5,000 of its members. BAC Consulting is the Budapest-based company apparently responsible for shipping the pagers, but it does not appear to have a history in electronics manufacturing, and its CEO’s background is rife with inconsistencies.
SCIENCE + HEALTHCARE
The FTC on Friday sued UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx, CVS Health’s Caremark and Cigna’s Express Scripts, alleging the companies have created a “perverse” drug rebate system that has “artificially inflated” the price of insulin. The lawsuit claims the three companies excluded lower-priced insulin in favor of higher-priced options, forcing “patients to pay more for life-saving medication.”
TRENDS + EXPLAINERS
What makes a growth stock? The first thing most investors look at is the earnings per share, but there’s a case to be made for giving equal attention to revenue growth. Financial success starts on the top line, after all, and smart investors like the late Charles Allmon start there, too. “In the long run, a company cannot grow any faster than its sales,” he once told Forbes.
DAILY COVER STORY
WeWork Founder Adam Neumann Brings ‘Conscious Community’ Real Estate Startup To Saudi Arabia
Michael Kovac/Getty Images
TOPLINE Though he’s no longer at WeWork, and his attempt to buy back the bankrupt co-working startup was rebuffed earlier this year, Adam Neumann is still very much in the real estate game.
His latest bid to crack co-living and apartment rentals is a startup called Flow, which has quietly opened its first properties in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Flow Narjis “soft launched” in August, peddling “conscious community” and two- and three-bedroom apartments in the An Narijis area near Riyadh’s airport. The furnished apartments showcase Flow’s formula of bundling housing with services like laundry and housekeeping, and amenities like pools, gyms and bowling alleys. Until last month, Flow’s only other properties were in America’s sun belt, where Neumann bought up over $1 billion of apartment blocks in cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
But when Neumann first announced Flow, its business model was something of a mystery.
Backed with $350 million from Andreessen Horowitz in 2022, Flow’s job listings touted an “ambitious vision for the future of living,” while in Neumann’s speeches it appeared to encompass a mess of ideas extending from crypto-enabled financial services to a nebulous plan for tenants to build equity with their rent. It also posited the idea of renters plunging their own toilets to build “ownership.”
“If you’re in your own apartment, and you bought it and you own it and your toilet gets clogged, you take the plunger,” Neumann explained in November 2023. “It’s the difference from feeling you own something. From being transactional to being part of a community.”
Flow has close to 1,000 apartments in the Saudi capital with construction slated to finish by the end of the year. Neumann’s startup had bought the properties in partnership with private local investors, according to Flow spokesperson Amy Stevens. Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, which backs A16Z, has not invested in Flow, she said.
WHY IT MATTERS Neumann has a tangled history with Saudi Arabia and its sovereign wealth fund, which has emerged as a major backer of both tech startups and investors over the last decade but remains controversial because of the country’s human rights record and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
SoftBank pumped more than $20 billion in equity and debt into WeWork, largely with Saudi money. When SoftBank doubled down on WeWork despite massive, mounting losses, Saudi’s Public Investment Fund reportedly boycotted investment in their second Vision Fund. Still, Neumann appeared as a star speaker running a Shark Tank-style competition for startups at last year’s “Davos in the Desert” summit in Riyadh.
MORE Saudi Arabia Is Investing Billions In AI. But Some Founders Are Still Waiting To Get Paid.
FACTS + COMMENTS
If you live in a state that recently legalized sports betting, you’re probably well-aware that the dollars involved in legal gambling are huge—and the IRS is paying attention. From friendly wagers to jackpots, gambling winnings are reportable for federal income tax purposes:
$14.67 billion: Direct gaming tax revenue paid to state and local governments last year from commercial operations, which does not include billions more in income, sales or other taxes
$600 or more: The threshold for gambling winnings, which are also at least 300 times the wager amount, that triggers a tax form. But even if you don’t receive this form, if you gamble for fun, you must include your winnings on your tax return
‘While online gambling is easily accessible, it’s not always legal’ says IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
AI consulting is more than just figuring out how to use a few ChatGPT prompts—the global market is expected to reach $630 billion by 2028, and more than 50% of large enterprises already use AI consulting services. With so much work to go around, here’s a look at what five self-employed AI consultants are doing (and how much they’re earning), including training for the non-technical, automating a specific business need, or even enterprise-wide AI implementation.
VIDEO
QUIZ
The company behind which popular card game sued Elon Musk for $15 million, claiming employees from SpaceX trespassed on and damaged its land?
A. Exploding Kittens
B. UNO
C. Happy Little Dinosaurs
D. Cards Against Humanity
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Chris Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.