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There’s a Reason That Netflix’s Ad Business Has Underwhelmed

Somewhat lost in the company’s slew of firings and engagement warnings over the past few weeks was the fact that Netflix is scaling back its ad forecast for 2026 from $3 billion to $2.7 billion. That’s despite the fact that: CTV is growing by 14-15% this year This year saw a monster upfront Netflix is the biggest streamer out there this side of YouTube, and was the platform that for years brands were supposedly dying to be a part of In other words, that’s an alarming pull-back from Netflix. A Wall Street analyst I spoke with last week was blunt, calling Netflix’s ad business “disappointing.” To me, a red flag on the ad front is that Netflix has never revealed how many ad-supported subscribers it has. Because if I know anything about how big companies work, if they have a positive number that makes them look really good - they tend to share it. (How many subs does go90 have right now? We’re not saying just yet. How are ads going on ChatGPT? Oh, a billion run rate - I see). Yes, to date Netflix has shared some fuzzy ad numbers, such as the idea that the company’s ad tier ‘reaches’ 250 million users globally.’ Here’s why that figure gives me pause: a)they lead with global, and b) they don’t explain how they are calculated. (Are they based on average people in each room? Surveys of some kind?). Regardless, some insiders say that Netflix’s ad tier is scaling nicely - others not so much. Either way, one of Netflix’s biggest challenge on the ad front appears to have been its starting point. Remember, when Netflix launched ads in 2022, it had 73 million subs in the US and Canada. That’s 73 million people who were used to Netflix with zero ads. And when the ad product rolled out, the company clearly was going after new users - a limited pool of potential subscribers by default. That focus seems to have changed over time, as Netflix has tried to convert longtime subscribers to the ad tier. Historically Netflix subscribers are very sticky. But is the company’s low churn a problem? Not necessarily, according to Antenna data. Rather, Netflix’s consumer loyalty is a bit of a double-edged sword. “Netflix is the one streamer which actually has seen substantial “trade downs” but has much lower ‘win backs,’ said Antenna founder Jonathan Carson (win-backs being people who were on the ad-free plan, cancelled, then rejoined on the ad plan). “Netflix has lower churn and so has less opportunity to win back old subs with a lower cost plan option.” This all might explain why Netflix has been so slow to roll out all of these table stakes targeting options until just this week. It likely didn’t have enough users to carve up into various targets. etc. However, what really hit Netflix’s ad business was Amazon’s move a few years ago to turn on advertising for Prime Video by default. Suddenly the market was awash in premium inventory, and Netflix was playing catch-up on multiple fronts. Thus, the streaming giant appears to still be figuring out if if wants lead in ‘programmatic TV,’ or premium ‘upfront’ TV sales. “The CTV market now sorts into three businesses, and Netflix is not the leader of any of them,” wrote analyst Jack Myers. Ouch. So how does Netflix ratchet up its ads business? Get the next NFL package You’re gonna have to wait until 2030 unless one of the bigger media companies like Skydance opts out, but the easiest (not cheapest) way for Netflix to become a huge TV ads contender is to get one of the regular NFL packages, ideally Sunday afternoons. That way it can sell ads to its whole U.S. subs base overnight. Go FAST This one is risky, because to program a compelling FAST channel, you’d likely have to take some older Netflix exclusive shows and make them available for free to non-subscribers. But FASTs, for better or worse, are ad-inventory machines. Go full UGC I’m not sure I see this happening. There is something already off about Netflix carrying podcasts and shows for creators. The experience sticks out in what is such a produced, and generally non-communal environment. But Netflix could open up its platform by allowing creators to upload videos without having to be approved by the service. But that opens a whole other can of worms (policing brand safety, copyright infringement, overall quality). Make a huge RMN Deal I was going to suggest something crazy, such as ‘instead of buying Warner Brothers, Netflix should buy Target. But the company doesn’t want to be in the brick and mortar business. Yet for Netflix’s ad business to compete in an Amazon world, it needs to be able to connect ad exposures to shopping. What if, instead of letting Amazon target Netflix viewers with its DSP, Netflix inked a deal with Target, or even took control of Roundel, and created its version of the Amazon full-funnel for brands? Price us out. I hope they don’t do this, but Netflix’s price increases - while significant - haven’t been enough to push long-term customers out of the ad-free tier. But if they made those prices so prohibitive, it could push large swaths of consumers to trade down. Then again, that could also dent engagement - as binging becomes much less appealing once you bring ads into the equation. Or, they could just launch a bunch of hit shows and maybe everyone will quickly forget all this angst. More from Amazon unBoxed A few weeks ago, I recorded two podcasts live at Amazon’s unBoxed event in San Francisco. I was able to go really deep with several brand partners about how Amazon’s various data and ad products work - particularly the under appreciated Amazon Marketing Cloud. First, I talked with Laura Abadias Velilla, of the Amazon specialty agency Amerge, along with Amazon’s own Charlotte Maines, Vice President, Devices Content & Advertising, about how the two partners helped a very specific printer company Epson launch into a brand new category - high end projectors. It’s a great example of how brands connect audience data across platforms to make budget deployment decisions. Next, I chatted with Monks VP Head of Digital Investment for North America Tom Burchill about how the agency actually brought in data from Linkedin to help target B2B customers across various Amazon properties for the brand Quicken. Check it out: Check these out, or just listen:

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Oct 23 • 8:52 AM EDT • Business • mikeshields.substack.com
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Jack Clark: a billion virtual scientists are coming

Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark told the IMF the singularity has begun and AI could put a billion virtual scientists to work if labs can test the results.

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Oct 22 • 7:18 PM EDT • Science • rdworldonline.com
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Gears of War: E-Day, Cancelled Last-Minute for PS5, May Have Cost Half a Billion to Make

Fenix down

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Oct 22 • 3:30 PM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com
A Billionaire Wanted a Trump Pardon. His Family Gave Alina Habba a $50 Million Deal.

Julio Herrera Velutini, a prominent Venezuelan, was seeking clemency. He got it not long after his daughter gave Ms. Habba, a lawyer close to President Trump, an extraordinarily lucrative job.

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Oct 20 • 6:45 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
IM8, co-founded by David Beckham, lands NBA partnership as health brand continues fast growth

IM8 co-founder Danny Yeung revealed how David Beckham's trust helped grow the supplement brand from a $40 million market cap to nearly half a billion with new NBA partnership in hand.

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Oct 12 • 7:08 PM EDT • Health • foxbusiness.com
Top Democrats and allies to fight a California billionaire tax

It would impose a one-time, 5% tax on the wealth of Californians whose net worth exceeds $1 billion

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Oct 9 • 1:59 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumnews1.com
The same union supporting a billionaire tax wants voters to limit clinic spending. Here’s what to know about Prop. 44

Prop. 44 would require clinics to spend more money on patient care, but clinics say the measure will bankrupt them.

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Oct 7 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • calmatters.org
Half a billion dollars in GOP spending does little to move polls

Republicans’ massive money advantage has yet to reshape the midterm map, as Democrats keep expanding their ambitions.

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Oct 7 • 5:00 AM EDT • Politics • washingtonpost.com
Irish Sea Moss Is Making Waves. The Science is Actually Pretty Murky.

Irish Sea moss supplements are all the rage with a billion-dollar industry that expects consumer demand to continue rising. While the superfood is packed with different nutrients, there is a high risk of ingesting heavy metals.

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Oct 2 • 5:30 PM EDT • Science • health.yahoo.com
New York's gambling tax revenue faces prediction market growth

Online sports betting has generated over a billion in tax revenue for New York, but prediction markets could take a bite out of that.

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Oct 2 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Pope Leo XIV's October prayer intention is 'for mental health ministry'

More than a billion people worldwide live with a mental disorder, while public spending on mental health accounts for barely 2% of health budgets.

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Oct 1 • 3:53 PM EDT • Health • osvnews.com
Works by van Gogh and Cézanne up for sale in Sotheby's $450 million auction

A dozen Impressionist and post-Impressionist artworks valued at almost half a billion dollars are going up for auction | 1010 WINS

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Sep 30 • 7:49 AM EDT • Entertainment • audacy.com
Works by van Gogh and Cézanne up for sale in Sotheby's $450 million auction

A dozen Impressionist and post-Impressionist artworks valued at almost half a billion dollars are going up for auction | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM

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Sep 30 • 7:49 AM EDT • Entertainment • audacy.com
Works by van Gogh and Cézanne up for sale in Sotheby's $450 million auction

A dozen Impressionist and post-Impressionist artworks valued at almost half a billion dollars are going up for auction.

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Sep 30 • 7:49 AM EDT • Entertainment • news4jax.com
California poll: Voters back a billionaire tax, but the proposal falls short of majority support

A new NBCUniversal Local/Telemundo Station Group poll shows “yes” supporters leading 48% to 38% on the California ballot measure.

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Sep 30 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • nbcnews.com
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Scientists Pinpoint a Possible “Sweet Spot” for Life’s Origins 4.33 Billion Years Ago

By simulating a billion years of Earth’s history, researchers have identified a possible window for life’s earliest chemistry around 4.33 billion years ago. During its first few hundred million years, Earth was a hostile target. Asteroids, comets, and leftover planetesimals, smaller bodies remaining from planet formation, relentlessly battered the planet, generating intense heat that could

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Sep 28 • 9:38 AM EDT • Science • scitechdaily.com
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Bill Gates warns AI could lead to 'a billion deaths'

The cofounder of Microsoft made grave predictions about AI and voiced support for government regulation of the sector.

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Sep 25 • 1:45 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Googlebooks will live or die on the loyalty of a billion Android users

Good morning. Today I’m bumping to Carly Rae Jepsen’s new double album (it’s great!), wishing I had more kidneys so...

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Sep 22 • 7:00 AM EDT • Technology • 9to5google.com
Private-equity legend David Rubenstein on owning the Baltimore Orioles, and how sports ownership became big business

The Carlyle co-founder is a billionaire and a giant name in modern finance. His new book looks at sports ownership through a different lens.

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Sep 22 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • fortune.com
Katie Porter: Prop 40 won’t help fix our broken healthcare system

OPINION: Progressives who have long fought for “Medicare for All” should resist a billionaires tax that entrenches a troubled for-profit healthcare system, rather than dismantling it.

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Sep 21 • 7:00 AM EDT • Health • sfchronicle.com
Gavin Newsom's first business was a wine shop funded by a billionaire family friend

Before he was in politics, Newsom was building a hospitality empire he still has stakes in today.

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Sep 19 • 6:45 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
After the I.P.O., a Billion-Dollar Bill for Employee Paydays

A compensation strategy at start-ups keeps expenses low until they go public. At that point, the companies may face billions of dollars in catch-up expenses.

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Sep 12 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • nytimes.com
Prop 40 is dividing CA labor unions and experts argue the fight goes well beyond a billionaire tax

SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West is spearheading Proposition 40, arguing the tax is necessary to offset major federal health care cuts. But the opposition includes groups that have often found themselves politically aligned with organized labor, including the California Teachers Association, California Professional Firefighters and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.

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Sep 9 • 7:39 PM EDT • Politics • abc7news.com
MAGA Billionaire’s Ugly Business Baggage Exposed

The revelations come as the midterm race for Georgia heats up on multiple fronts.

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Sep 7 • 5:51 PM EDT • Business • thedailybeast.com
Liverpool spent £670m under Richard Hughes and only got worse

IN FOCUS: Liverpool’s departing sporting director won the Premier League with Arne Slot but his task of rebuilding Jurgen Klopp’s old team remains unfinished despite spending two-thirds of a billion. By Richard Jolly

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Sep 6 • 1:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
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From Life’s Origin to Cyanobacteria in a Billion Years

That’s now just 1 billion years for all the apparatus to hit on the lucky combination randomly, unless we start with design principles.

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Sep 5 • 10:53 AM EDT • Science • scienceandculture.com
Yankees Get $12 Billion Update After Record-Setting Purchase Agreement

The New York Yankees have reached a new record valuation following a historic sale update from a billionaire NFL owner.

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Sep 5 • 7:00 AM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
A Billion Tons of Ice Are Hiding Under Utah, Study Finds

An incredible discovery.

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Sep 3 • 10:01 PM EDT • Science • sciencealert.com
Opinion: California billionaire tax could push founders away

Silicon Valley has made California a global hub for startup activity, but a proposed billionare tax puts all that at risk, writes tax policy expert Jared Walczak.

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Sep 3 • 5:34 PM EDT • Business • bizjournals.com
gamescom 2026’s Steam wishlist winners

gamescom wrapped up last weekend, and it was bloody fantastic. It really felt like the industry had a spring in its step again. The show itself was BUZZING, with 368K attendees (+3% over last year), maxed-out exhibit space, and Opening Night Live pulling over 78M online views (+7.5%). Let’s have a look at the games at the event that brought in the most new Steam wishlists between August 23 and 30. One quick thing before we start, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but wishlists are NOT a barometer for launch sales (they’re bookmarks, not baskets is what we always say over here at Alinea). With that aside, wishlists are a nice gauge of hype, so let’s dive in. Witche(r)s and Warlocks take the top two spots The biggest game of the event (by new wishlists, anyways) wasn’t a game at all. It was an expansion. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s upcoming expansion, Songs of the Past, nabbed 451K Steam wishlists by the end of the weekend. It’s a big example of something we bang on about constantly: proven IP with built-in fandom is the most powerful force in this market. But said IP can also ripple into other external success stories (more on that later!). Anyway, Songs of the Past debuted at Opening Night Live, and it’s the first Witcher 3 expansion in over a decade, landing next year after a full Witcher 3 remaster (free for existing owners!) arrives next month. The Witcher 3 has sold around 66M copies, and I’ll be one of those owners jumping back in to refresh myself on the core game (like there isn’t enough to play!), then play the expansion next year. This is all part of CDPR’s plan. The studio is clearly whetting everyone’s appetite for The Witcher 4 in 2028 via a classic bridge strategy. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Releasing a free 4K remaster next month – followed by a proper expansion in 2027 – keeps IP top-of-mind across a huge gap between content (games-wise, anyway). It kind of echoes Capcom’s evergreen catalogue strategy. And outsourcing co-development to Fool’s Theory (a studio led by trusted Witcher 3 veterans) keeps CDPR’s internal headcount focused on The Witcher 4. #2 by wishlists between Aug 23 and 30 went to another giant IP: Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, published by Wizards of the Coast and developed by Invoke Studios (a team of ex-Far Cry, Watch Dogs, and Splinter Cell devs). It’s due to launch in 2027, and it looks brilliant so far. It’s a dark-fantasy open world with third-person spell-slinging. It’s a very Witcher-ish aesthetic. As you might expect, 48% of Warlock’s Steam wishlisters have played Baldur’s Gate 3, and 46% have played The Witcher 3. One to watch. For sure! Mash-ups: Anime GTA (!?) and a city-builder for kids (and adults) Ananta took #3 with 302K new wishlists. It’s an open-world game that looks like GTA and Persona had a baby. It was published by NetEase, developed by Naked Rain, and got a trailer at Opening Night Live. I got hands-on at the show, and it wears its influences openly; there’s literal web-slinging (very Spider-Man) and a LOAD of mini-games (Like a Dragon). It’s free-to-play and out in January. For Ananta, Naked Rain is taking the free-to-play, cosmetics-only route. That’s certainly a choice for a single-player open-world game. Without gacha mechanics driving high ARPU, Ananta is betting purely on top-of-funnel reach and long-term retention. This puts pressure on skin appeal when there’s no multiplayer lobby to flex in (although, co-op is reportedly coming later). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Then there’s Lego Skylines (273K wishlists between Aug 23 and 30), which does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a cosy Lego twist on the city-builder genre, as shallow or as deep as you fancy (five min quick sesh or ten-hour no-lifer session; latter for me). There’s some family-friendly stuff in there like couch co-op, which is only really viable on console. Iceflake Studios, which Paradox acquired back in 2020 is developing this one. So Paradox is probably looking for a family-friendly onramp to its rad Cities: Skylines games. The overlap there is plain, with 33% of Lego Skylines wishlisters having played Cities: Skylines and 16% Skylines II. There’s no doubt plenty of parents here (and uncles, ahem) planning to indoctrinate the next gen of city-builders. I’ll definitely be playing with my youngest nephew. This one could be big and educational. I’m very curious to see more. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Mature IP, new and old, rounds out the list As for the rest of the list of gamescom games by new wishlists between Aug 23 and 30: Heroes of Might & Magic III Remake got 189K new wishlists. It remakes the iconic 1999 turn-based-strategy classic in full 3D and 4K. It follows this year’s Heroes of Might & Magic: Olden Era (~1.8M copies sold, as per our estimates), and around a quarter of the III Remake wishlisters have played Olden Era, including 7% of them this month. Wardogs – a $40 PvP shooter – added another 146K to an already massive pile (nearly 1.6M total). It’s published by Team17 and made by Bulkhead. It plays somewhere between the tactical squad stuff of … Squad and the all-out-chaos battlefield of … Battlefield. It’s up to 100 players, and it’s out in about 10 days. It’s already pre-sold over 500K copies on Steam ($16.6M), boosted by a pre-order-only beta. It sold another 70K copies during gamescom, too. Afterworld managed 121K new wishlists. It’s a Paradox-made post-apocalyptic grand-strategy game, and it was announced at the show. It’s a departure from Paradox’s usual historical stuff, and the studio’s first new setting in over a decade. The Paradox purists are into it, with over half its wishlisters having played Hearts of Iron IV (19% this month) and 41% Crusader Kings III (17% this month). Metro 2039 got 110K during the show, tunnelling its total past 1.3M. Nearly 40% of wishlisters have played 2020’s Metro Exodus, the previous mainline title in the series. The Metro novels are Russian, dev 4A Games is Ukrainian, and it’s set in Moscow, so it’s unsurprising that – after the US (17.3% of wishlisters) – the next two countries are Russia (12.7%) and Ukraine (10.0%). The Blood of the Dawnwalker drew in (the blood of) 108K new wishlisters, now totalling an impressive 1.7M (at a $70 price point, though). It’s an open-world dark-fantasy action-RPG set in 14th-century Europe (with vampires!), made by some former Witcher devs at Rebel Wolves. Again, it shows. Over half of Blood of the Dawnwalker’s wishlisters have played The Witcher 3, and its #2 market is Poland, home of Rebel Wolves. That’s that hometown-hero effect we keep banging on about again! And Blood of the Dawnwalker plays very well, by the way. While it looks like a Witcher clone on the surface, it actually brings a lot to the table mechanics-wise. I love the whole time-as-a-currency spin on RPG gameplay. It gives the game a different, refreshing pace. Essentially, you start Blood of the Dawnwalker with a pool of 480 action points spread across 30 days and 30 nights. As for how the game performs, we’ll be posting some numbers next week, so hit subscribe below to get that in your inbox when it’s ready. Subscribe The Witcher’s legacy ripples Make no mistake: on a high level, this was The Witcher‘s gamescom. The #1 game by wishlisters was a Witcher 3 DLC. Warlock is clearly Witcher-inspired – as is Blood of the Dawnwalker, which was made by ex-Witcher devs. There was a lot of other cool stuff on the floor that we’ll no doubt be covering in subsequent newsletters, though! As always, wishlists went through the roof for sequels, remakes, DLC, and licensed IP. As always, though, these wishlists will likely convert to about 5% to 10% of launch-day buyers, with the probable exception of The Witcher DLC – the exception that proves the rule. Either way, we’ve got a nice, diverse list here – one that is very Witcher-y, Paradox-y, and – if you’re a fan of great games on Steam – a bloody good list. We even got a bunch of new IP to get excited for. Great gamescom! Even if we are still processing that unfathomable number of mini Kölsch beers! One more thing: GTA 6 broke the internet (again) Move aside, Spider-Man and The Odyssey (I love you both, really). But the decade’s defining entertainment zeitgeist is round the corner. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Rockstar dropped an extended look at GTA 6 last week. It was INSANE, the most impressed I’ve ever been by a showcase like this. You can see the budget seeping through every second of the extended look, and this level of game is unobtainable for any other publisher. Everyone’s going nuts, and rightly so. GTA 6 is out in holiday 2026, and it’ll be the biggest entertainment release ever, full stop. For those without a PS5 or Xbox Series console, a $500-$900 console is a big ask in this economy, but GTA will pull a lot of last-generation-console fence sitters over the current-gen fence either way: The autumn timing puts GTA 6 on (digital) shelves for the holidays, meaning a PS5 or Xbox (let’s be honest, mostly the former) will be on many a Christmas and Hanukkah list. Demand will outweigh the struggling supply, though, and PS5 Pros are already sold out and being sold at a markup via scalpers. Every console that isn’t on a shelf is a sale deferred or lost, and worse, it hands scalpers the margin. GTA has cultural clout that reaches everyone. It’s been a mainstream fixture since 2001’s GTA III and its clout has only grown exponentially since then. There’s a touchpoint for every generation alive. The FOMO-word-of-mouth double punch does the rest. Loading... It’ll reactivate the lockdown cohort, the millions who picked up gaming in 2020-21 and churned. GTA 6 will bring them back. Remember when College Football 25 brought a bunch of US gamers to current-gen consoles? GTA will do that globally. Once they’re back (or upgraded), and all GTA’d out, the fresh current-gen-console folks will check out the rest of the current-gen catalogue they missed. GTA Online, if not free to play, will also lead to a boost for PS+ and Xbox Game Pass, another boost for the ecosystem players. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Even some of the smug PCMR 60FPS crew won’t be able to resist their FOMO and will bite the bullet on a console to play this one early (then double dip). The consoles cost the same as a decent stick of RAM these days anyway lmao… Don’t get me wrong, though. GTA 6 is no silver bullet for the mature console market, but it does prime the current gen for a couple of strong swan-song years. And it’ll also give the consoles more users from which to maximise ARPU. ‘’We are in the latter half of the lifetime cycle of [the PS5],’’ said Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki in a Wall Street Journal interview. ‘’That means we do not need to aggressively sell the console today; rather than that, we are focusing on the current revenue from the current user base.’’ The biggest, best premium games always arrive late in a console cycle, so getting more players aboard now, ahead of that content storm (the new current-gen-only Call of Duty included), is a clear win for the platforms. On the Netflix thing, though: let’s all chill out a bit, like. Half my LinkedIn feed was going bonkers treating the reveal debuting on Netflix like it’s the future of entertainment. It wasn’t. It was a six-hour head start, and Netflix left that detail out of the “first-of-its-kind partnership” press release. The extended look hit Netflix at 3pm ET on 27 August, then went up on YouTube and Rockstar’s site for everyone six hours later. And it was all over social immediately, anyways. This reveal was going to reach an untold number of people whether it debuted on Netflix, YouTube, a Times Square screen, or a group chat. The last trailer did nearly half a billion views in a day with no gatekeeper at all. Netflix just stood next to that audience for six hours, borrowing it. It’s was a tidy deal for Netflix, sure. But every outlet on earth was breaking the thing down frame by frame by the evening anyway. Anyway. I’m hype. And we’ll be covering some GTA numbers on the newsletter soon. So hit subscribe below to get that in your inbox when it’s ready! Subscribe The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]

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Sep 1 • 10:27 AM EDT • Technology • alineaanalytics.substack.com
How the billionaire tax backers plan to combat a cash avalanche

The campaign to enact a billionaire tax in California is hoping to counter their cash disadvantage with a type of voter outreach that has never been attempted at this scale.

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Aug 30 • 7:00 AM EDT • Politics • sfchronicle.com
NASA is preparing to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Here's what to know

NASA plans to soon launch a new space telescope that will survey a billion galaxies to trace how the universe evolved over time, all courtesy of America’s spy program and decades of research into detector technology. Once in position, it will take data that astronomers hope will help answer some of the field’s most puzzling questions.

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Aug 28 • 6:51 PM EDT • Science • pbs.org
Even a Billionaire Critic Likes Mamdani’s Business Council

What the rich and powerful have to say about Mamdani’s 15-member board that includes the Liberty CEO and a yogurt billionaire.

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Aug 28 • 9:00 AM EDT • Business • nymag.com
How The Founder Of MaryRuth’s Vitamin Supplements Built A Billion-Dollar Business

The inside story of the crazy, creative financing behind one of America’s best-selling wellness brands.

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Aug 27 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com
Kingdom Hearts Is a Billion-Dollar Franchise, Disney Declares Ahead of Hotly Anticipated D23 Panel

Kingdom Hearts is one of nine billion-dollar franchises Disney has under its video game banner.

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Aug 14 • 11:16 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Magic Johnson on what it takes to build a billion-dollar business portfolio

"I've always gravitated to people who are smart or have been through something because I want to learn," Magic Johnson said.

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Aug 14 • 1:11 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
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Gates Foundation to give historic $540 million to UW health institute

The Gates Foundation is donating over half a billion dollars to UW's Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, whose research informs policies around the world.

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Aug 10 • 8:00 AM EDT • Health • seattletimes.com
How will ruling affect Meta’s business practices in New Mexico?

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Meta is being forced to pay and change the way it does business. A New Mexico judge ordered the social media giant to pay more than half a billion dollars and make changes to ho…

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Aug 7 • 5:05 PM EDT • Business • krqe.com
Trump-backed incumbent loses primary after super PAC bankrolled by Dems meddled in race

A super PAC bankrolled by a California billionaire and frequent Democratic donor spent $2 million to unseat Andy Ogles over renewable energy policy.

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Aug 6 • 6:34 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
Reformation's IPO has made it a billion-dollar company

Reformation IPO

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Aug 4 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • latimes.com
Trump targets Biden-era billion-dollar Smithsonian budgets amid anti-'woke' push

Trump's budget proposal cuts Smithsonian funding below $1 billion for the first time since 2020 as a 162-page White House report targets woke ideology.

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Aug 2 • 3:33 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
Watch Why Think Tanks are a Billion Dollar Business

Think tanks bring together experts and shape debates in Washington, but how do you measure the value of an idea? From the Aspen Institute to the Heritage Foundation, this episode explores the business of ideas, the billions of dollars behind America's leading think tanks, and how they measure success.

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Aug 2 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • bloomberg.com
In Italy, America does business on the ambassador’s yacht

A billionaire diplomat’s floating statecraft

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Jul 30 • 9:02 AM EDT • Business • economist.com
Once valued at $2B, this Utah tech darling is selling off its business for a fraction of that

After racking up nearly a billion dollars in losses, a company once seen as a premier Utah tech success story is selling its core business.

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Jul 26 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • sltrib.com
AEW's Tony Khan on the business lessons he learned from his billionaire father Shad Khan

The All Elite Wrestling CEO said his father's journey to becoming a billionaire embodies the American dream.

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Jul 25 • 10:32 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Inside 530-million-year-old embryos, scientists uncover rare time-lapse of early animal growth

Think of a small fossil as the equivalent of a homemade video of prehistoric life. Fossils formed when sea organisms began their great proliferation more than half a billion years ago rarely contained ...

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Jul 25 • 7:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencex.com
Byron Donalds gets his biggest contribution yet: $10M from Ken Griffin

Donalds has also received $7.5 million from Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass, bringing his total war chest to $92 million.

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Jul 24 • 1:21 PM EDT • Politics • miamiherald.com
This $46 Million Toilet Startup Is Betting Smart Seats Can Be A Billion-Dollar Business

Medical tech company Casana raised $46 million to launch a toilet seat that monitors your health. Their goal? Make sittables the next wearables.

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Jul 20 • 6:00 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com
South Florida businesses report economic boom, as FIFA officials estimate a billion dollar economic impact
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Jul 11 • 10:53 PM EDT • Business • cbsnews.com
High-Signal Publisher
😐 Neutral (13%)
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Exclusive | Trump-Backed Company Behind Family Crypto Wealth in Talks to Sell Core Business

The potential sale by AI Financial marks an abrupt reversal for a company that has channeled more than half a billion dollars to the Trumps.

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Jul 8 • 5:56 AM EDT • Business • wsj.com
Despite Eliminating 15% of Its Workforce, Xbox Wants a Billion Players Per Day

"I know we can achieve this goal"

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Jul 6 • 11:45 AM EDT • Technology • pushsquare.com
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wants the company to "entertain more than a billion people" every day: here's why that's a deeply unrealistic thing to say

The company will have to do so with four less studios under its belt.

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Jul 6 • 11:16 AM EDT • Technology • eurogamer.net
Americans disgusted at Trump earning $1bn from crypto as president: ‘Obviously a grift’

Hundreds of Guardian readers expressed concerns over greed in the White House and a billionaire president unconcerned with high gas and grocery prices

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Jul 3 • 12:55 PM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
Trump's crypto earnings far outpace the businesses he spent decades building

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Bernard Condon of the AP about how President Trump and his family raked in more than a billion dollars last year through crypto ventures.

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Jul 1 • 4:11 PM EDT • Business • npr.org
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Healthcare groups clash over proposed California billionaire tax

California voters in November are set to decide if the state's billionaires should face a new tax on their assets in order to fund healthcare programs.

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Jun 28 • 11:25 AM EDT • Health • kcra.com
Healthcare groups clash over proposed California billionaire tax

California voters in November are set to decide if the state's billionaires should face a new tax on their assets in order to fund healthcare programs.

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Jun 28 • 11:25 AM EDT • Politics • kcra.com
California is in for a summer of wild billionaire spending

OPINION: With competing tax measures on the ballot, California billionaires will be spending like... billionaires, political columnist Joe Garofoli writes.

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Jun 26 • 9:27 PM EDT • Politics • sfchronicle.com
☹️ Negative (-11%)
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100%
The Business of Grand Theft Auto VI, Explained: How a Billion Dollar Game Is Likely to Pay Off

Anthony Palomba on why the stakes are so high for the Grand Theft Auto VI launch and what it means for the gaming industry and the entertainment industry as a whole.

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Jun 26 • 5:29 PM EDT • Business • news.darden.virginia.edu
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NASA's canceled Artemis hardware contracts reached $5.9 billion, audit finds

NASA was on track to pay nearly half a billion dollars for a stage adapter. A stage adapter should not cost half a billion dollars.

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Jun 26 • 9:00 AM EDT • Technology • space.com
Should I Start A Business From Passion Or With The Intention To Sell?

Sara Blakely did not set out to build a billion-dollar company. She just wanted better underwear.

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Jun 26 • 8:00 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com
Poppi founder speaks about building a billion-dollar soda business

Allison Ellsworth, the founder of the viral soda brand Poppi, sits down with NBC News' Savannah Sellers to discuss how she turned a personal health issue into a billion-dollar cultural phenomenon.

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Jun 25 • 11:26 AM EDT • Business • nbcnews.com
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I'm a billionaire founder and father of 5. I parent them differently.

Zynga founder Mark Pincus says giving children agency, responsibility, and room for eccentricity matters more than achievement.

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Jun 23 • 10:28 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
How the WNBA went from survival mode to a billion-dollar future

As the WNBA celebrates its 30th anniversary, the once-fledgling league has evolved from its 1997 launch into a global fixture in women’s sports.

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Jun 21 • 6:02 AM EDT • Sports • usatoday.com
Microsoft (MSFT) Is Building A Billion Dollar AI Business In China

Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT) is building a large AI and cloud business in China, supplying OpenAI models through Azure to major local technology companies. ByteDance is reported to spend over US$1b annually on Microsoft AI and cloud services, with Ant Group, Meituan, and Tencent also using Microsoft models. Microsoft has emerged as a key provider of OpenAI technology in China at a time when several US competitors are not active in the region. For investors watching Microsoft, this growing AI...

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Jun 18 • 9:12 PM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
Loss of another Seattle-area billionaire? Valve’s Gabe Newell is reported buyer of Florida estate

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the video game developer is the buyer of a waterfront estate north of Miami.

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Jun 17 • 10:30 PM EDT • Technology • geekwire.com
Georgia Republicans choose Collins for Senate and Jackson for governor, a mixed result for Trump

Georgia Republicans delivered a split decision for Donald Trump in Tuesday runoffs, opting for the president’s preferred U.S. Senate candidate but rejecting his choice for governor in favor of a billionaire first-time candidate who spent freely from his personal fortune to win the nomination.

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Jun 17 • 4:59 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
‘Stop the Billionaire Takeover’ Lays Out Finances Behind SF Politics

Ahead of the June 2 election, about 45 people gathered at the Ortega Branch Library on May 13 to hear a presentation on what organizers called a billionaire takeover of local elections.

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Jun 17 • 3:46 AM EDT • Politics • richmondsunsetnews.com
Trump wins two, loses one: Georgia billionaire delivers rare blow to endorsement machine

Trump-backed candidates won two of three key GOP runoffs in Georgia and Alabama, but lost the gubernatorial race to billionaire Rick Jackson.

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Jun 17 • 1:57 AM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com
Bank Balances Rolled Back for Forza Horizon 6 Players Who Used Exploit to Amass a Billion Credits

In response to an arcane but incredibly lucrative exploit discovered by Forza Horizon 6 players, Playground Games has confirmed most of those credits gained will be removed.

ign.com logo
Jun 16 • 5:42 AM EDT • Technology • ign.com
Nearly half a billion dollars in ads projected in Maine election

Most of the spending will target the crucial U.S. Senate race between Democrat Graham Platner and Republican Susan Collins, according to AdImpact.

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Jun 15 • 3:38 PM EDT • Politics • mainepublic.org
Political blame game follows as screwworm parasite threatens cattle in Texas

Screwworms are on their way to becoming a billion-dollar international problem but can be contained if ranchers are vigilant, watch their herds and other wildlife, and quickly treat any infestations, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.

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Jun 12 • 5:38 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org
Xbox layoffs planned as CEO Asha Sharma orders business reset

The Microsoft gaming unit's accountability margin has fallen to 3%, and revenue declined nearly half a billion dollars over five years

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Jun 11 • 9:16 AM EDT • Business • qz.com
A day in the life of John Paul DeJoria of Patron Tequila; haircare

John Paul DeJoria started John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980 while living in his car. He sold Patrón Tequila in 2018 and is now a billionaire.

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Jun 11 • 5:05 AM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com
Patrick Mahomes becomes the highest-paid player in the NFL

Patrick Mahomes becomes the first NFL player to make half a billion in his playing career.

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Jun 10 • 7:52 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com
Chiefs rework Patrick Mahomes' contract as quarterback becomes NFL's first half a billion dollar player

With the new deal that runs through 2033, Mahomes will earn an NFL-best $64 million per year

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Jun 10 • 5:52 PM EDT • Sports • cbssports.com
Snyder's Soapbox: You don't want a salary cap, you just want to be a billionaire

The only thing a salary cap will do is keep player salaries down and save the poor owners some money

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Jun 9 • 8:39 AM EDT • Sports • cbssports.com
A Brit, a billionaire and Spencer Pratt: California’s primary upsets

Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian’s Sam Levin about the big takeaways from the single busiest primary day of the year so far

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Jun 5 • 4:00 AM EDT • Politics • theguardian.com
Caryn Seidman Becker Bought Clear Out Of Bankruptcy. Now She’s A Billionaire.

After conquering airport security checkpoints, Clear’s billionaire CEO Caryn Seidman Becker wants to use your biometrics to unlock doctors’ appointments, baseball games and the rest of your life.

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Jun 3 • 6:30 AM EDT • Business • forbes.com
Tom Steyer spent over half a billion trying to get into politics. So far, not so good

Steyer is trailing Democrat Xavier Becerra for the No. 2 slot for the November general election by about 250,000 votes.

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Jun 3 • 2:56 AM EDT • Politics • sfstandard.com
‘Restart Multiple Times’—Microsoft Changes Windows Next Week

Microsoft starts expiring critical Secure Boot certificates next week — "the clock is ticking" on a billion PCs.

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May 26 • 2:49 AM EDT • Technology • forbes.com
Matt Mahan facing campaign questions, political jabs ahead of CA primary

A pro-Mahan political committee refunded $1 million to Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings, a major backer. Additionally, Mahan faced a corruption complaint related to alleged coordination with a billionaire-funded political action committee.

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May 25 • 8:50 PM EDT • Politics • abc7news.com
😐 Neutral (14%)
Ancient Eukaryote Fossils In Australia Add To Story Of How Complex Life Evolved Over A Billion Years Ago

“Studies like this give us an opportunity to understand these little guys as organisms […] we can picture where they were living, what they were doing and who they were.”

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May 25 • 6:01 AM EDT • Science • iflscience.com
Republican Primary for Georgia Governor Will Go to a Runoff

The state’s lieutenant governor, Burt Jones, will face a billionaire health care executive, Rick Jackson, on June 16 to decide the party’s standard-bearer to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp.

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May 19 • 9:15 PM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Wyoming’s plan for $205M in Rural Health Transformation funds approved

The plan doesn’t include a perpetuity fund. It was meant to stretch out more than a billion federal dollars for decades to come. Instead, Wyoming will spend the funds this year on sustaining basic care.

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May 19 • 6:29 PM EDT • Health • wyomingpublicmedia.org
To Critics, Trump Remarks Reveal a Billionaire Out of Touch

The president has never pretended to be an ordinary American, but a recent “truth bomb” has opened him to criticism that he doesn’t grasp the economic strain of his war with Iran.

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May 17 • 5:02 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
To Critics, Trump Remarks Reveal a Billionaire Out of Touch

The president has never pretended to be an ordinary American, but a recent “truth bomb” has opened him to criticism that he doesn’t grasp the economic strain of his war with Iran.

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May 17 • 5:02 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
Google’s Android Upgrade—Why You Need A New Phone In 2026

Bad news for a billion-plus Samsung and Pixel owners — only new phones get Google's new upgrade.

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May 16 • 4:39 AM EDT • Technology • forbes.com
Scientists Just Measured an Energy Pulse Smaller Than a Trillionth of a Billionth of a Joule

A newly developed quantum sensor has measured unimaginably small amounts of energy with record-breaking precision.

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May 14 • 12:22 PM EDT • Science • scitechdaily.com
Wendy's has a billionaire circling its ailing business

Wendy's may have a bidder for its struggling business.

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May 12 • 8:28 AM EDT • Business • finance.yahoo.com
James Webb telescope reveals the clearest map ever of the Universe’s cosmic web

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have created the clearest map yet of the universe’s “cosmic web” — the enormous hidden structure that connects galaxies across space. By analyzing more than 164,000 galaxies through the massive COSMOS-Web survey, researchers were able to trace this vast network back to when the universe was just a billion years old.

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May 11 • 8:00 PM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com
Major business group warns proposed CA billionaire tax in could give more taxing power to lawmakers

A proposed California billionaire tax, which would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires and their assets to fund health care programs, is facing scrutiny from a major business group over concerns about legislative power.

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Apr 28 • 8:56 PM EDT • Business • kcra.com
Unexpected Business Lessons From The Podcast With A Billion Downloads

Unexpected business lessons from a 1B-download Bible podcast: how product design, audience insight and consistency drove sustained engagement and growth.

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Apr 27 • 3:34 PM EDT • Business • forbes.com
California billionaire tax nears ballot after union collects nearly double required signatures

California's proposed billionaire wealth tax clears a major signature hurdle as opponents warn it could kill 108,000 jobs and drive more billionaires out of the state.

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Apr 27 • 12:50 PM EDT • Politics • foxbusiness.com
Sergey Brin Moves to the Right, With a ‘MAGA Girlfriend’ by His Side

After once backing liberal causes, the Google co-founder has praised President Trump, donated to Republicans and spent $57 million to try to block a California billionaire tax.

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Apr 27 • 11:12 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com
How To Build A Billion-Dollar Business Like Clockwork

Building a billion-dollar business starts as an audacious idea that someone dared to take seriously.

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Apr 24 • 7:00 AM EDT • Business • investors.com
Why a Sanders-alligned liberal group endorsed a billionaire for California governor
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Apr 21 • 1:42 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com
After Long Avoiding Politics, Commodity Traders Cozy Up to Trump

(Bloomberg) -- For decades, the world’s biggest commodity traders have sought to remain outside of politics, doing deals with anyone who has natural resources to buy or sell. Now, Donald Trump is changing the rules of the game. Most Read from BloombergHormuz Chaos, Lebanon Clashes Dent Trump Peace Deal HopesNvidia Makes Quantum Computing CEO a Billionaire in DaysTrump Says Iran Will Suspend Nuclear Program as Hormuz OpensThe Jet-Fuel Surge Is Making Global Flight Connections DisappearCongo to To

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Apr 19 • 2:08 PM EDT • Politics • finance.yahoo.com
‘Starting In April’—Microsoft Changes Windows Update After 15 Years

Security certificates on more than a billion Windows PCs expire in 8 weeks — check yours now.

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Apr 18 • 12:26 AM EDT • Technology • forbes.com
‘Starting In April’—Microsoft Changes Windows Update After 15 Years

Security certificates on more than a billion Windows PCs expire in 8 weeks — check yours now.

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Apr 16 • 5:27 PM EDT • Technology • forbes.com
He Has a War Chest and an ‘R’ by His Name. Will Enough Voters Like Him?

Vivek Ramaswamy has all but cleared the field ahead of the May primary for Ohio governor, but whether a finance and pharma billionaire is the man for the moment is another question.

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Apr 15 • 5:01 AM EDT • Politics • nytimes.com