John Hyatt

‘Smoke And Mirrors’: How This Entrepreneur Exaggerated And Self-Promoted Her Way Into Turmoil Pierson has cozied up to everyone from Diane Von Furstenberg to Selena Gomez, burnishing her image as her businesses unraveled. A case study in how hubris is bad for business.

quite the read from @forbes.com @mhunterhart.bsky.social and @jemimamcevoy.bsky.social on what happens when an entrepreneur with lots of hustle and wealthy celebrity friends repeatedly exaggerated her companies' performance, and more. The truth comes out.

www.forbes.com/sites/monica...

👀

Trump pal Larry Ellison (second richest guy in the world) controls the $$ behind Skydance.

How Jeffrey Epstein Got So Rich The convicted sex offender was worth nearly $600 million at his death, thanks mostly to two wealthy billionaire clients—plus generous tax breaks.

There's a lot of speculation on how Jeffrey Epstein got so wealthy. But @johnhyatt.bsky.social and I dug into court filings, financial records and investigations and what's clear is that it's largely down to two billionaire clients and tax breaks.

Read @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...

How Jeffrey Epstein Got So Rich The convicted sex offender was worth nearly $600 million at his death, thanks mostly to two wealthy billionaire clients—plus generous tax breaks.

For all the speculation surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and his ties to Trump and others, there's actually a lot we know about how Epstein got so rich: Two billionaire patrons and a tax gimmick.

@giacomotognini.bsky.social & I break down the numbers on @forbes.com 👇

www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...

The Selloff Of Jeffrey Epstein’s Tainted Homes Before his second arrest and death in 2021, the convicted sex offender owned a property empire stretching from Paris to New Mexico. All of it has since been sold.

Before his death in 2019, the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had a property empire stretching from Paris to New Mexico where he committed many of his alleged crimes. They've all since been sold. Read what happened @forbes.com:

www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...

Trump Epstein Lawsuit: Why Wall Street Journal Defamation Case Could Backfire In Discovery Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit could force him to hand over evidence about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Why Trump's lawsuit vs the Wall Street Journal over a Jeffrey Epstein article could backfire on him, from @forbes.com @alisond64.bsky.social

www.forbes.com/sites/alison...

The Biggest Epstein Conspiracy Theorist: Elon Musk’s Grok “Epstein didn’t kill himself”: Here’s what the xAI chatbot’s handling of the Epstein mania shows about Elon Musk’s AI.

On the same day Elon Musk's chatbot Grok was calling itself MechaHitler, it was telling anyone who'd listen that Epstein did not kill himself and was murdered by elites.

Here's why Grok went full conspiracy theory mode on Epstein and what it reveals about X's AI.
www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

The Biggest Epstein Conspiracy Theorist: Elon Musk’s Grok “Epstein didn’t kill himself”: Here’s what the xAI chatbot’s handling of the Epstein mania shows about Elon Musk’s AI.

On the same day Elon Musk's chatbot Grok was calling itself MechaHitler, it was telling anyone who'd listen that Epstein did not kill himself and was murdered by elites.

Here's why Grok went full conspiracy theory mode on Epstein and what it reveals about X's AI.
www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

YouTube video by Heather Cox Richardson American Conversations: Cryptocurrency in Politics with Zach Everson

Trump's crypto holdings can be tough to track (I know, it's my job)—

💥 Tokens!

💥 Stablecoins!

💥 Memecoins!

💥 NFTs!

💥 Crypto reserves!

💥 Oh my!

Thanks so much to @hcrichardson.bsky.social for having me on this afternoon to break it down!

Trump Golf Club Received 18 Health Code Violations In May Inspection The club received a score of 32 out of 100, with nine critical violations, including food contamination risks and hand-washing sinks lacking soap or paper towels.

🚨 Trump’s Bedminster golf club flagged for 18 health violations in latest inspection—earned lowest grade in county (32/100)

Among the violations:

🤢 Expired milk

🤢 Raw meat stored above cheese

🤢 A hand-washing station without soap

me, for @forbes.com

May 30, 2025 In July 2024, according to an article published today by Kirsten Grind and Megan Twohey in the New York Times, billionaire Elon Musk texted privately about his concerns that government investigations ...

May 30, 2025

How Elon Musk’s Companies Have—And Have Not—Benefitted Under Trump As Musk winds down at DOGE, he returns to a business empire flush with opportunities and fewer investigations—but new reputational challenges.

Keep in mind when reading all the pieces about how Elon's DOGE stint trashed his reputation, businesses, etc...

"Elon Musk Is $170 Billion Richer Since Endorsing Trump"

@johnhyatt.bsky.social for @forbes.com

How Elon Musk’s Companies Have—And Have Not—Benefitted Under Trump As Musk winds down at DOGE, he returns to a business empire flush with opportunities and fewer investigations—but new reputational challenges.

Elon Musk claims DOGE has saved American taxpayers $170 billion.

Incidentally, Musk is about $170 billion richer today than he was when he endorsed Trump last July.

Even as Tesla customers revolt, Musk & his companies are benefitting under Trump 2.0. Here's how:

www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

Trump Crypto Venture World Liberty Financial Partners With KuCoin, Exchange Banned In U.S., Fined $300 Million Trump’s family controls World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm behind USD1—a new stablecoin now trading on KuCoin.

New: Trump's crypto venture announced its stablecoin would start trading on KuCoin today.

KuCoin is banned in the U.S. and was fined $300 million earlier this year after pleading guilty to flouting anti-money laundering laws.

me, for @forbes.com

1/

Why Elon Musk’s Tesla Robotaxi Rollout In Austin Could Be A Disaster Ready or not–and despite a spotty safety record–the EV maker is racing to launch a pilot ride service in Austin to show off its self-driving chops.

NEW: Ready or not–and despite a spotty safety record–Tesla is racing to launch a pilot ride service in Austin to show off its self-driving chops. It’s Elon Musk’s latest risky bet www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...

Saw this question from the other site earlier today and spluttered: No! No chatbot answer is ever 'authentic'! Chatbots are developed by corporations to advance those corporations' aims and the fact that we only occasionally notice they're doing that is The Problem!

www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...

Saudi Fund Helped Refinance X Debt On Eve Of Musk Visit It’s no surprise Elon Musk is joining Trump on his Arabian jaunt. His businesses have been lapping up gulf money for years.

Scoop: Saudi firm Kingdom Holding Co. helped refinance debt for Elon Musk's social media company X two weeks before his Musk's visit to Riyadh with Trump.

More details on that deal, and Musk's extensive dealmaking with Gulf funds, in my new piece @forbes.com 👇

www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

Saudi Fund Helped Refinance X Debt On Eve Of Musk Visit It’s no surprise Elon Musk is joining Trump on his Arabian jaunt. His businesses have been lapping up gulf money for years.

"It’s no surprise Elon Musk is joining President Donald Trump on his Arabian jaunt. His businesses have been lapping up petrostate money for years."

@johnhyatt.bsky.social for @forbes.com

Saudi Fund Helped Refinance X Debt On Eve Of Musk Visit It’s no surprise Elon Musk is joining Trump on his Arabian jaunt. His businesses have been lapping up gulf money for years.

Scoop: Saudi firm Kingdom Holding Co. helped refinance debt for Elon Musk's social media company X two weeks before his Musk's visit to Riyadh with Trump.

More details on that deal, and Musk's extensive dealmaking with Gulf funds, in my new piece @forbes.com 👇

www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

Newark’s Mayor Arrested at Protest Outside ICE Detention Center Ras J. Baraka and city officials have said that the lockup is operating without a valid certificate of occupancy. Three members of Congress from New Jersey were with Mr. Baraka when he was arrested.

Trump Says Adams Visited the White House to ‘Thank Me’ The meeting on Friday between Mayor Eric Adams of New York City and President Trump came as documents related to his abandoned federal corruption case were released.

Tale of Two Mayors

How the Highest-Earning Millennials Made It to the Top of Their Generation Millennials were just coming of age when the 2007-09 recession hindered their early career prospects. A handful of lucrative industries helped some of them catch up.

"Your surgeon is making the same amount as the guy who’s programming the interface at Snapchat" www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ca...

Trump Organization Admits President Still Controls His Business Donald Trump can lie to the American public, but the Trump Organization has a harder time deceiving authorities in Britain.

The Trump Organization just admitted that the president still controls his business.

www.forbes.com/sites/danale...

This Former Musk Assistant Ran His Calendar. Now She’s Backing His Companies. How a former Musk minion became a VC with investments in SpaceX and xAI

New @forbes.com: This Elon Musk Assistant Ran His Calendar. Now She’s Backing His Companies.

Elissa Butterfield, an assistant to Musk for years, is now investing in SpaceX and xAI as a VC, reflecting the growing pool of Musk alumni to cash in on their connections.

www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

There’s a surprising name lurking in the rankings of startups that have raised the most funding this year. Infinite Reality.

This obscure metaverse startup claims to have raised $3 billion on a $15 billion valuation. Not all is as it seems...

The Mysterious Story Of $15 Billion Metaverse Startup Infinite Reality This tech outfit says it raised more than $3 billion from one unnamed investor in one of the biggest funding rounds of the year. Not all is as it seems.

Something smells fishy here.

The Mysterious Case Of The $15 Billion Metaverse Startup And Its Anonymous Multi-Billion Dollar Investor

via @pheebini.bsky.social @iainmartin.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...

Tesla stock, yes. He's sold $262 million of Tesla stock since 2010.

Any sales of SpaceX stock are undisclosed since it's a private company.

How Elon Musk Made His Brother A Fortune Going where Elon goes has been Kimbal’s modus operandi for decades. It’s made him very, very rich.

Kimbal Musk, Elon's brother, sat on SpaceX's board for 20 years.

And despite having no title or official role at SpaceX, he was a designated corporate officer, a fiduciary position typically reserved for the C-Suite.

Inside the making of another Musk fortune.

www.forbes.com/sites/johnhy...

Elon Musk Has Made Many People Rich. Not His Ex-Wives Justine Musk, Elon Musk’s first wife and the mother of six of his children, asked for stakes in Tesla and SpaceX when they got divorced. Musk made sure she got no shares.

Justine Musk, Elon Musk’s first wife and the mother of six of his children, asked for stakes in Tesla and SpaceX when they got divorced. Musk made sure she got no shares.

Now she's worth just $15 million, or 1/24,000th of Elon.

New with @kerrydolan.bsky.social:

www.forbes.com/sites/kerrya...

Don Jr. And Eric Trump Landed $3 Million In Stock For Joining Firm’s Advisory Board That Had Little Public Presence Before Their Appointment New SEC filings show the Trumps were granted 750,000 shares for joining the advisory board and helping the stock reach a 52-week high.

New: "Don Jr. And Eric Trump Landed $3 Million In Stock For Joining Firm’s Advisory Board That Had Little Public Presence Before Their Appointment"

me, for @forbes.com