Forbes Daily: Stocks, Crypto Hit New Highs In Post-Election Bull Market

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Good morning,

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.

FIRST UP

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

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

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.

VIDEO

QUIZ

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?

A. Five

B. Six

C. Eight

D. Ten

Check your answer.

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