
<p><strong>The seemingly overnight success of DeepSeek wiped billions of dollars from the fortunes of the world’s richest people—and catapulted the Chinese AI firm’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, into the three-comma-club.</strong></p>



<p><strong><abbr>On</abbr></strong> January 20, on the same day as Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, Chinese premier Li Qiang held a meeting with experts to consult on the Chinese government’s policies for the year ahead. It was a low-key event that got little attention outside of China. One of the few people to speak at the gathering was Liang Wenfeng, a bespectacled hedge fund founder and AI entrepreneur who was then little-known outside the country. That was also the day his firm DeepSeek launched its latest model, R1, and claimed it rivals OpenAI’s latest reasoning model.</p>



<p>Within a week, DeepSeek’s app had rocketed to the top of app stores in the United States, dethroning those of its competitors including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude and turning&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2025/01/28/deepseek-trump-silicon-valley/">Liang and his AI firm into household names.</a></p>



<p>The best-known AI startups in the U.S. are worth tens of billions of dollars—ranging from $50 billion for Elon Musk’s xAI to $157 billion for OpenAI—and have raised huge sums from the world’s most prominent investors, including Microsoft, Amazon and Silicon Valley’s top venture capital shops. Unlike its U.S. competitors, DeepSeek appears to have no external investors outside of Liang and his three cofounders. According to Chinese corporate records, Liang owns about 84% of the Hangzhou-based firm, which he founded in 2023 and financed with funds from High-Flyer Capital Management, the quantitative trading hedge fund he cofounded in 2015.</p>



<p>How much is Liang’s open-source AI model worth?&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;spoke to five analysts and investors who offered a range of potential valuations, but the three who provided a specific number agreed DeepSeek is worth at least $1 billion—and potentially far more, despite the fact that it doesn’t yet generate much revenue. Right now, DeepSeek has one paid product: developer access to its models. Its reasoning model costs $2.19 per million output tokens (on average 750,000 words), far less than OpenAI’s $60. That low price could simply be to undercut larger competitors OpenAI and Anthropic to capture market share, but&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;estimates that DeepSeek generates around $6 million in annualized revenue per million paying users, using estimates of a typical user’s token usage from investment firm D.A. Davidson.</p>



<p>Apply that to a revenue multiple of 65 (somewhere between that of Anthropic and Chinese open-source AI startup 01.AI, which raised outside capital in late 2023), and DeepSeek would need around 3 million paying users to reach a billion-dollar valuation. More than 3.6 million people downloaded DeepSeek’s app in its first two weeks, per&nbsp;<a href="https://appfigures.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Appfigures</a>&nbsp;data. William Blair partner and software analyst Arjun Bhatia thinks that less than 10% of that number are paying users—but also says the multiple should be applied to DeepSeek’s user count a year or two from now.</p>



<p>Regardless of DeepSeek’s exact revenue,&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>estimates it’s worth at least $1 billion—in part because state-of-the-art models like DeepSeek’s are often valued at their “blue-sky potential” rather than as a multiple of revenue, according to tech investor and Corpora.ai CEO Mel Morris. DeepSeek is arguably in the “top five AI labs in the world right now,” says D.A. Davidson analyst Alexander Platt, adding that it should be worth more to “account for the research horsepower there which isn’t necessarily monetizable.”</p>



<p>Bhatia says $1 billion “seems like a very low number” even after the “China discount” (due to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2025/01/29/its-the-new-tiktok-national-security-concerns-spike-over-chinas-deepseek/">geopolitical uncertainty since DeepSeek</a>&nbsp;is a Chinese company), while Morris pegs DeepSeek’s value at $10 billion. “There might even be an annoyance factor where someone might actually be prepared to pay that just to take them out of the picture,” he says.</p>



<p>There’s also the case of DeepSeek’s Chinese competitors—none of which seem to have achieved performance as good as DeepSeek’s, but all of which external investors have valued at $1 billion or more in various funding rounds. DeepSeek hasn’t raised VC funding in part because Liang believes VCs want to “exit and hope to commercialize products as soon as possible,” which didn’t align with DeepSeek’s research priorities, he told Chinese tech outlet&nbsp;<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2272896094586500" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">36Kr</a>&nbsp;in 2023.</p>



<p>On top of that, Liang also owns at least 76% of High-Flyer, which has $8 billion in assets according to financial data provider Preqin.&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;values High-Flyer at $240 million, with Liang’s stake worth about $180 million. (Chinese corporate records also show that he owns 85% of another High-Flyer entity that was first registered in 2015 and manages 65 of the firm’s 503 active funds, meaning his equity in the firm could be even higher.) Put it all together and Liang is likely worth at least $1 billion, making him the latest founder to mint a fortune from AI.</p>



<p>Not that he likely cares much. “An exciting thing cannot be measured purely by how much it is worth,” Liang told 36Kr, speaking of DeepSeek and adding how he’d been interested in testing the limits of computing power since 2012. “It’s like buying a piano for the home. On one hand, you can afford to buy it; on the other, it’s because there’s a group of people eager to make music with it.” Liang and his firm, which are likely closed due to Chinese New Year, did not yet return&nbsp;<em>Forbes’</em>&nbsp;requests for comment.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>Liang was born in 1985 and grew up in the port city of Zhanjiang in southern China. The son of a primary school teacher, he studied artificial intelligence at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and got a bachelor’s in electronic engineering in 2006 and a master’s in information and communication engineering four years later.</p>



<p>While he was still in graduate school, he started exploring how to fully automate trading on China’s domestic stock market. In 2013 he founded his first investment firm, Hangzhou Jacobi—named for German mathematician Carl Jacobi—with his college classmate Xu Jin. Two years later the pair cofounded High-Flyer with another classmate, and the trio used math and AI techniques to build a hedge fund.</p>



<p>At that point, Liang already had 100 graphics processing units—the high-tech chips that help train AI models—powering High-Flyer’s investment decisions. By 2019, High-Flyer had become one of the largest and best-performing quantitative trading firms in China, and Liang spent nearly $30 million expanding that footprint to 1,100 chips and building his own facilities to house them. He also doubled down on AI, setting up a separate company—Hangzhou High-Flyer AI—to research AI algorithms and their applications and expanded High-Flyer overseas, setting up a fund registered in Hong Kong. The firm has a similar structure to most hedge funds, charging 2% of assets in annual management fees and 20% of profits for its “enhanced funds” while charging a higher profit fee for investors in its quantitative hedging and Hong Kong-based funds.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>In 2021, as High-Flyer reached a peak of around $14 billion in assets under management—generating an estimated windfall of more than $200 million in management fees for the firm—Liang spent another $155 million to buy 10,000 of Nvidia’s A100 chips. In a 2021 pitch deck for High-Flyer viewed by&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>, the firm revealed it spent 60% of its research funding on its AI lab. That investment came after one of High-Flyer’s best years in 2020, when one of the firm’s earliest and flagship funds—targeting the Chinese CSI 500 stock index—outperformed the index by 50%, posting an annual return of 71% thanks to its use of an AI-powered prediction model that forecast which stocks would perform better. A graph of the firm’s history in the deck showed an upwards-sloping line with a picture of a rocket next to the year 2020, noting that High-Flyer was “looking towards the future.”</p>



<p>But the funds’ performance started to decline in late 2021, partly due to its AI mistiming trades on the market. High-Flyer closed new subscriptions to its funds in November that year and an executive&nbsp;<a href="https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzIyODEyNDYzMw==&amp;mid=2652893685&amp;idx=2&amp;sn=48fb607900a0cd0b92b9f77d13fbd896&amp;chksm=f3bde343c4ca6a55dcadefcd1e14a750c57be6abc0141e3e1cbb4f6621efbea0840b55146c52&amp;mpshare=1&amp;scene=1&amp;srcid=1228RDEIcbOkF7CpIhYTab5Y&amp;sharer_sharetime=1640735749412&amp;sharer_shareid=05f29d8d151ab4a2abdd858f51710915&amp;exportkey=AdyMXnj1zOaCX7ywVQTgWTw%3D&amp;pass_ticket=%2B6O04yXGbvxmVc2FZX6bnXZNOGdOTeNJnOiTSk5AmsxZnNMwtfQ0Tu9th7nfYFwq&amp;wx_header=0#rd" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">apologized</a>&nbsp;on social media for the poor returns a month later. The firm then put about $55 million of its own cash into its funds in January 2022, and by the end of the year it had recovered, with High-Flyer’s three main funds posting returns higher than 15% compared to a more than 20% loss for the broader market in 2022.</p>



<p>Then came DeepSeek. In April 2023 the firm announced in a post on its WeChat account—titled “High-Flyer’s New Journey”—that it had established a new firm named DeepSeek to build an artificial general intelligence (AGI) model. Liang funded DeepSeek himself, in part with High-Flyer proceeds, and enlisted his team of mostly new grads from top Chinese universities. Liang was driven by his curiosity to push the boundaries of what AI can do, and not necessarily profit, he&nbsp;<a href="https://36kr.com/p/2272896094586500" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;36Kr in 2023.</p>



<p>Around that time, perhaps realizing DeepSeek’s potential and amid the Chinese government’s regulatory crackdown on quantitative trading, Liang started to scale down High-Flyer to focus on the new firm. In October 2023, a High-Flyer representative&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cls.cn/detail/1498506" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told Chinese financial outlet Cailianshe</a>&nbsp;that High-Flyer’s business would be divided into two units—artificial intelligence research and the hedge fund—which would be “managed by two parallel companies under the same controller,” a reference to Liang. High-Flyer also reduced its scale to about $6 billion in assets under management at the time.</p>



<p>Last year, as DeepSeek built out its models, High-Flyer adjusted its strategies and abandoned its market-neutral products, which pick both long and short positions on stocks, focusing only on long positions instead. The firm is still active—it invested $35 million of its own cash into its funds in February 2024 and its assets appear to have ticked up again—but its performance last year was middling. Out of 65 High-Flyer funds that report financials, 36 of them showed losses of up to 6% in value in 2024 while another 29 posted gains up to nearly 18%, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sohu.com/a/843673666_120702" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Chinese financial data firm Tonghuashun.</a></p>



<p>Now, all the attention is on DeepSeek. That’s largely thanks to its claims that it trained its V3 model, released in December, with far fewer resources than the much larger OpenAI—$6 million vs. $100 million for GPT-4—and with less sophisticated chips, though the GPT-4 number could include chip and personnel costs. (A few differences in the structure of DeepSeek’s model makes it smaller, and therefore cheaper, while losing minimal accuracy: akin to writing numbers with fewer decimal places, reading in whole phrases at a time instead of word-by-word, and creating a system that divides the model’s knowledge among “experts,” only a few of which need to be active at a time.) On top of that, it claims that its reasoning model R1, released in January, can rival OpenAI’s “o1” model on tasks like coding and solving complex math problems. Notably, unlike those of OpenAI, DeepSeek’s models are open-source, meaning anybody can access the code for free.</p>



<p>DeepSeek made “what was once thought to be such a capital intensive process much less capital intensive,” says William Blair’s Bhatia.</p>



<p>For now, DeepSeek’s valuation is a moving and yet-unproven target. It will depend on whether its models continue to be as efficient and advanced going forward and at scale. Plus, with users inputting information into DeepSeek’s models that is “more sensitive, from a national security standpoint, than anything that ever will appear on TikTok,” it’s unclear how much of the global market DeepSeek will be able to tap into, per Chris Franzek, who leads financial firm Stout’s valuation services. (One of DeepSeek’s Chinese competitors, Zhipu AI, was added to a U.S. Department of Commerce list of foreign companies considered to be a national security risk on January 16, subjecting it to export controls.) Also crucial is how aggressively Liang—who reportedly started DeepSeek without big plans for commercialization—decides to pursue plans for profits.</p>



<p>“What we are thinking now is that we can share most of our training results publicly, so that we can integrate it with commercialization,” Liang <a href="https://36kr.com/p/2272896094586500" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> in 2023. “We hope that more people, even a small app, can use the big model at a low cost, rather than having the technology be monopolized by a few people and companies.”</p>



<p>Giacomo Tognini is a Staff Writer on the Wealth team at Forbes, covering billionaires and their wealth. He joined Forbes in 2019 and lives in New York. He&#8217;s&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2022/03/05/a-guide-to-all-the-outrageous-mansions-and-estates-owned-by-sanctioned-russian-billionaires/">investigated the hidden offshore wealth of Russian oligarchs</a>,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2023/02/28/exclusive-new-investigation-reveals-gautam-adanis-older-brother-vinod-adani-as-key-player-in-adani-groups-biggest-deals/?sh=6b7b93a67dea">billions of dollars in assets held offshore by a member of the Adani family and the Adani Group</a>, and the&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2023/06/14/binance-sec-cz-guangying-chen/?sh=42cbcf962a94">maze of corporate structures and secretive inner circle of crypto giant Binance.</a>&nbsp;His reporting has also led him to a&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-connor/?sh=4c2cb3625d5b">Dayton, Ohio-based real estate investor with the best returns in the country</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2020/10/07/meet-the-new-billionaire-who-dropped-out-of-high-school-and-flies-fighter-jets-for-fun/?sh=794d14f114c2">a fighter-jet-flying payments entrepreneur in New Jersey.</a>&nbsp;Tognini&#8217;s work has been cited in U.S. Department of Justice seizure warrants, U.S. congressional letters and in Indian Supreme Court filings, and he was a part of the Russian Asset Tracker project that&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.europeanpressprize.com/article/russian-asset-tracker/">won the 2023 European Press Prize award.</a>&nbsp;Tognini graduated with a double major in political science and political economy from the University of California, Berkeley and a master&#8217;s in journalism from Columbia University. Follow Tognini for continued coverage of billionaires and investigations into offshore wealth. Send tips to gtognini@forbes.com or giacomo.na.tognini@proton.me.Read More</p>


Newly Launched Chinese AI App DeepSeek Causes U.S. Tech Stocks To Tumble, Amid Its Rapid Rise To #1 In Apple’s App Store

Here’s How Much AI Firm DeepSeek And Its Founder Are Worth


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received guidance to immediately stop working with the World Health Organization following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations agency—though the immediate stop to work surprised CDC staff, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-who-trump-548cf18b1c409c7d22e17311ccdfe1f6" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;and The Washington Post&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/27/trump-presidency-news/#link-PNY2UHHRDFBXFBRQW5IXX3ZW44" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Deputy Director for Global Health for the CDC John Nkengasong sent a memo to senior agency leaders Sunday advising them that agency staff who work with WHO should stop their collaborations and “await further guidance,” the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-who-trump-548cf18b1c409c7d22e17311ccdfe1f6" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;reported Monday.</p>



<p>The Washington Post&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/27/trump-presidency-news/#link-PNY2UHHRDFBXFBRQW5IXX3ZW44" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>&nbsp;the memo said the direction applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means” whether virtually or in person and prevents CDC staff from going to WHO offices.</p>



<p>On his first day back in office, Trump signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-the-worldhealth-organization/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">executive order</a>&nbsp;that began the process of withdrawing from WHO, citing “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic” and that it demands “unfairly onerous payments” from the U.S.</p>



<p>It is legal from Trump to withdraw the U.S. from WHO, but the U.S. must give “a one-year notice” and meet its financial obligations to the agency for that fiscal year, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://maint.loc.gov/law/help/statutes-at-large/80th-congress/session-2/c80s2ch469.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">joint resolution</a>&nbsp;from 1948, and there is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/01/21/trump-withdrawal-world-health-organization/#A5TWCZYCWRDLVD7QKHYMTW76UU-4" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">debate</a>&nbsp;around whether it requires congressional approval, as well.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>Trump’s order directed the secretary of state and director of the Office of Management and Budget to pause the future transfer of funds and support to WHO and “recall and reassign” personnel working with WHO, but Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert who works with WHO,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-who-trump-548cf18b1c409c7d22e17311ccdfe1f6" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told the AP</a>&nbsp;“people thought there would be a slow withdrawal,” adding: “This has really caught everyone with their pants down.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>This is not the first time Trump tried to withdraw from WHO. In July 2020, he took steps to leave in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/29/politics/donald-trump-world-health-organization/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">saying</a>&nbsp;at the time the organization “failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms” and that the U.S. would redirect “funds to other worldwide and deserving, urgent global public health needs,” CNN reported. The decision was met with criticism from Democrats and then-presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would reverse the decision if elected, which his&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-who-support-006ed181e016afa55d4cea30af236227" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">administration did</a>. The WHO is a United Nations agency that works on global efforts to expand health coverage and improve global health. Any country in the United Nations is able to join WHO by accepting its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Constitution</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">Contra</h2>



<p>At a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday, Trump hinted that he would consider rejoining WHO, saying “maybe we would consider doing it again … maybe we would have to clean it up a bit,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-floats-reversing-decision-to-leave-who/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Politico</a>&nbsp;reported.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>The executive order starting the process to withdraw from WHO was one of many Trump signed on his first day back in office. He&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/01/21/trumps-executive-orders-here-are-all-his-big-day-one-actions-on-immigration-energy-tiktok-and-more/">also signed</a>&nbsp;executive orders ordering mass deportations of anyone in the U.S. illegally, creating the Department of Government Efficiency, eliminating governmental programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and more.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/cdc-who-trump-548cf18b1c409c7d22e17311ccdfe1f6" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CDC ordered to stop working with WHO immediately, upending expectations of an extended withdrawal</a>&nbsp;(Associated Press)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/01/21/trumps-executive-orders-here-are-all-his-big-day-one-actions-on-immigration-energy-tiktok-and-more/">Trump’s Executive Orders: Here Are All His Big Day-One Actions On Immigration, Energy, TikTok And More</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/trump-floats-reversing-decision-to-leave-who/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Trump floats reversing decision to leave WHO</a>&nbsp;(Politico)</p>



<p></p>


U.S. President Trump Seeks U.S. Withdrawal From World Health Organization

CDC Ordered To Stop Working With WHO Immediately


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The “doomsday clock,” a scientist-curated measure of how close human civilization may be to total collapse, ticked one second closer to “midnight” with just 89 seconds to go, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced Tuesday, with artificial intelligence joining the ranks of the most high-priority concerns to humanity.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a nonprofit that warns of consequences caused by scientific and technological advances, listed AI among other concerns including climate change, nuclear weapons, war in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the spread of misinformation among the chief problems threatening humanity.</p>



<p>This year, the&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">organization warned</a>&nbsp;of several threats spurred by artificial intelligence, including the use of AI in military operations and the use of AI to “spread false or inauthentic information across the internet,” which it said can also make misinformation hard to detect.</p>



<p>Two years ago, the last time the clock was pushed forward, AI was not listed among chief concerns in a Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/2023/01/press-release-doomsday-clock-set-at-90-seconds-to-midnight/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">press release</a>, though last year, the organization&nbsp;<a href="https://news.uchicago.edu/story/2024-doomsday-clock-announcement-90-seconds-to-midnight-apocalypse" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">identified AI</a>&nbsp;as a growing, but not yet existential, threat.</p>



<p>The organization also condemned global political leaders for subverting elections, aiding the “spread of lies and conspiracy theories,” discounting science and suppressing free speech and human rights.</p>



<p>The one-second tick closer to midnight should be considered an “indication of extreme danger,” the nonprofit said, calling on political leaders to take action to quell nuclear risk, climate change and the spread of biological diseases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>The clock, which was first set at 7 minutes to midnight in 1947, is not intended to be a prediction of when the world will end, but is instead a metaphor to spark conversation and action about threats to humanity, the&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">organization has said</a>. Conceived just two years after the world’s first nuclear detonations by scientists who had worked on the Manhattan Project, a research project led during World War II to create nuclear weapons,&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">the doomsday clock</a>&nbsp;was initially used to measure the threat nuclear weapons posed to society. Each year, the organization determines whether or not the clock’s hands will move, and it can move forward, backward or stay the same. The clock hasn’t&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/timeline/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">moved backward</a>&nbsp;since 2010, when scientists moved it from five minutes to midnight to six minutes to midnight following a United Nations climate change conference in Copenhagen. Since then, the clock has steadily moved closer to midnight, with its largest jump occurring in 2015, when scientists moved the clock from five minutes to midnight to three minutes to midnight, citing “unchecked climate change, global nuclear weapons modernizations, and outsized nuclear weapons arsenals.” During President Donald Trump’s first term, the organization moved the clock closer to midnight three times, partially&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Final-2017-Clock-Statement.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blaming him</a>&nbsp;because he had “made disturbing comments about the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons and expressed disbelief in the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“The United States, China, and Russia have the collective power to destroy civilization. These three countries have the prime responsibility to pull the world back from the brink, and they can do so if their leaders seriously commence good-faith discussions about the global threats outlined here,” the organization said in its&nbsp;<a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">press release</a>, adding the world “depends on immediate action.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/28/science/doomsday-clock-2025-time-wellness/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Doomsday Clock reveals how close humanity may be to total annihilation</a>&nbsp;(CNN)</p>



<p><a href="https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/2025-statement/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Closer than ever: It is now 89 seconds to midnight</a>&nbsp;(Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)</p>


The Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists Holds Its Annual “Doomsday Clock” Adjustment News Conference

The ‘Doomsday Clock’ Ticks Closer To Global Catastrophe—And AI Is Now A Primary Concern


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Here’s everything to know about Chinese AI company called DeepSeek, which topped the app charts and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/27/deepseek-panic-heres-why-tech-stocks-are-getting-crushed-as-nasdaq-paces-to-worst-day-of-2025/">rattled</a>&nbsp;global tech stocks Monday after it notched high performance ratings on par with its top U.S. rivals.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The DeepSeek startup is less than two years old—it was founded in 2023 by 40-year-old Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng—and released its open-source models for download in the United States in early January, where it has since surged to the top of the iPhone download charts, surpassing the app for OpenAI’s ChatGPT.</p>



<p>DeepSeek’s latest product, an advanced reasoning model called R1, has been compared favorably to the best products of OpenAI and Meta while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-27/what-is-deepseek-r1-and-how-does-china-s-ai-model-compare-to-openai-meta" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">appearing</a>&nbsp;to be more efficient, with lower costs to train and develop models and having possibly been made without relying on the most powerful AI accelerators that are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp500-nasdaq-live-01-27-2025/card/what-is-deepseek-and-why-is-it-rattling-tech-stocks--mOeGwTTGQmyUTNPrqaIq" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">harder to buy</a>&nbsp;in China because of U.S. export controls.</p>



<p>The company&#8217;s R1 and V3 models are both ranked in the top 10 on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-uc-berkeley-project-that-is-the-ai-industrys-obsession-bc68b3e3?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Chatbot Arena</a>, a performance platform hosted by University of California, Berkeley, and the company says it is scoring nearly as well or outpacing rival models in mathematical tasks, general knowledge and question-and-answer performance&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-27/what-is-deepseek-r1-and-how-does-china-s-ai-model-compare-to-openai-meta" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">benchmarks</a>.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/deepseek-stock-market-china-ai-4149ddc0#:~:text=DeepSeek%20said%20it%20had%20spent,Trump%20administration's%20Stargate%20AI%20initiative." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">DeepSeek said</a>&nbsp;training one of its latest models cost $5.6 million, which would be much less than the $100 million to $1 billion one AI chief executive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/china-ai-deepseek-chatbot-6ac4ad33?mod=livecoverage_web" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">estimated</a>&nbsp;it costs to build a model last year—though Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon later called DeepSeek’s figures highly misleading.</p>



<p>Despite the questions remaining about the true cost and process to build DeepSeek’s products, they still sent the stock market into a panic: Microsoft (down 3.7% as of 11:30 a.m. ET), Tesla (1.3%), Nvidia (15%) and Broadcom (16%) all slipped Monday following a selloff spurred by DeepSeek&#8217;s success, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 3.5%&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/27/deepseek-panic-heres-why-tech-stocks-are-getting-crushed-as-nasdaq-paces-to-worst-day-of-2025/">on the way</a>&nbsp;to its third-worst day of the last two years.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>&#8220;Deepseek R1 is AI&#8217;s Sputnik moment,&#8221; billionaire investor Marc Andressen&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/pmarca/status/1883640142591853011" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;Sunday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



<p>1.6 million. That&#8217;s how many times the DeepSeek mobile app had been downloaded as of Saturday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-27/what-is-deepseek-r1-and-how-does-china-s-ai-model-compare-to-openai-meta" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;reported, the No. 1 app in iPhone stores in Australia, Canada, China, Singapore, the US and the U.K.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-i-use-deepseek">How Do I Use Deepseek?</h2>



<p>DeepSeek is free to use on web, app and API but does require users to create an account.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-does-deepseek-compare-to-openai-and-chatgpt">How Does Deepseek Compare To Openai And Chatgpt?</h2>



<p>DeepSeek-R1 is most similar to OpenAI’s o1 model, which costs users $200 per month. Both are large language models with advanced reasoning capabilities, different from shortform question-and-answer chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGTP. R1 and o1 specialize in breaking down requests into a chain of logical &#8220;thoughts&#8221; and examining each one individually. R1 has achieved performance on par with o1 in several benchmarks and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/26/deepseek_r1_ai_cot/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reportedly</a>&nbsp;exceeded its performance in the MATH-500 test. Chatbot Arena currently ranks R1 as tied for the third-best AI model in existence, with o1 coming in fourth.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-deepseek-r1-open-source">Is Deepseek-R1 Open Source?</h2>



<p>Yes. DeepSeek-R1 is available for anyone to access, use, study, modify and share, and is not restricted by proprietary licenses.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-owns-deepseek">Who Owns Deepseek?</h2>



<p>DeepSeek operates independently but is solely funded by High-Flyer, an $8 billion hedge fund also founded by Wenfeng. The company released its first product in November 2023, a model designed for coding tasks, and its subsequent releases, all notable for their low costs, forced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/janakirammsv/2025/01/26/all-about-deepseekthe-chinese-ai-startup-challenging-the-us-big-tech/">other Chinese tech giants</a>&nbsp;to lower their AI model prices to remain competitive. In an&nbsp;<a href="https://thechinaacademy.org/interview-with-deepseek-founder-were-done-following-its-time-to-lead/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">interview</a>&nbsp;last year, Wenfeng said the company doesn&#8217;t aim to make excessive profit and prices its products only slightly above their costs.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-deepseek-really-that-cheap">Is Deepseek Really That Cheap?</h2>



<p>Not everyone is buying the claims that DeepSeek made R1 on a shoestring budget and without the help of American-made AI chips. Scale AI CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/what-is-deepseek-why-is-it-disrupting-ai-sector-2025-01-27/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Alexandr Wang</a>&nbsp;told CNBC on Thursday (without evidence) DeepSeek built its product using roughly 50,000 Nvidia H100 chips it can’t mention because it would violate U.S. export controls that ban the sale of such chips to Chinese companies. Billionaire Elon Musk supported the theory and said it was &#8220;<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1883761141647901083" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">obviously</a>&#8221; true in a post on X. Rasgon expressed similar thoughts in a note Monday, writing that DeepSeek did not quantify the resources it used to develop the R1 model in its reports and that while &#8220;the models look fantastic&#8230; we don&#8217;t think they are miracles.&#8221; He also said the $5 million cost estimate may accurately represent what DeepSeek paid to rent certain infrastructure for training its models, but excludes the prior research, experiments, algorithms, data and costs associated with building out its products.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>How big of a hit Nvidia, the maker of highly sought-after artificial intelligence chips, takes Monday. The company is tracking toward an 11%, or $400 billion, loss, which would be the biggest single-day value loss ever for any company. That record is already held by Nvidia, which dropped almost 10%&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/09/04/nvidia-slide-wipes-10-billion-from-ceo-jensen-huangs-fortune-as-selloff-continues-after-hours/#:~:text=On%20Tuesday%2C%20Nvidia's%20share%20price,part%20of%20an%20antitrust%20probe.">in September</a>&nbsp;to lose $280 billion in market value.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>China and the U.S. are the major players in the artificial intelligence arms race that seemed to be led primarily by American firms OpenAI (backed by Microsoft), Meta and Alphabet. Last week, President Donald Trump backed OpenAI’s $500 billion <a href="http://openai.com/index/announcing-the-stargate-project/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stargate</a> infrastructure plan to outpace its peers and, in announcing his support, specifically <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-announces-private-sector-ai-infrastructure-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spoke</a> to the importance of U.S. dominance over China in the AI space. Artificial intelligence is largely powered by high-tech and high-dollar semiconductor chips that provide the processing power needed to perform complex calculations and handle large amounts of data efficiently. And while not all of the biggest semiconductor chip makers are American, many—including Nvidia, Intel and Broadcom—are designed in the United States. In 2022, the U.S. <a href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/updated-october-7-semiconductor-export-controls" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">began limiting</a> semiconductor exports to China in an attempt to stymie the country’s ability to advance AI for military applications or other national security threats.</p>


DeepSeek Shakes Up Stocks as Traders Question US Tech Valuations

What Is DeepSeek? New Chinese AI Startup Rivals OpenAI—And Claims It’s Far Cheaper

Untitled design (6)

50 Over 50 Global: 2025


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Meta will rapidly ramp up its spending in 2025 as part of its artificial intelligence push, according to its centibillionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Friday, as the battle between Meta and its generative AI competitors including OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI comes to the forefront this week with President Donald Trump’s announcement of the $500 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/22/musk-is-bashing-trumps-new-stargate-ai-initiative-with-openai-and-oracle-heres-why/">“Stargate”</a>&nbsp;joint venture with OpenAI.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>“This will be a defining year for AI,” Zuckerberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.threads.net/@zuck/post/DFNf73PJxOQ" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;on the company’s Threads social media site, continuing with updates and predictions for Meta’s AI push in 2025.</p>



<p>Perhaps Zuckerberg’s biggest revelation Friday was his guidance for $60 billion to $65 billion in capital expenditures for Meta in 2025.</p>



<p>That’s well above consensus analyst forecasts of $51 billion in capital expenditures this year, according to FactSet, and Zuckerberg’s median projected capex of $62.5 billion would be 63% above Meta’s $38.4 billion in projected 2024 capex and 129% above its $27.3 billion in 2023 capex.</p>



<p>Meta will expand its “AI teams significantly” as part of its increased spending, declared Zuckerberg.</p>



<p>The billionaire also predicted Meta’s Llama 4 large-language model “will become the leading state of the art” AI model and it will end 2025 with more than 1.3 million graphics processing units, the highly coveted Nvidia-designed processors powering generative AI programs including Meta AI, xAI’s Grok and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meta-stock-rises">Meta Stock Rises</h2>



<p>After initially declining about 1% premarket following Zuckerberg’s announcement, shares of Meta rallied Friday, advancing as much as 1.6% shortly after market open before settling into a 0.9% gain by midmorning. Meta stock scored a record intraday share price of $646.90 and all-time high market value of more than $1.6 trillion. Meta shares are up more than 8% year-to-date.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Zuckerberg’s 2025 outlook comes during a whirlwind week for generative AI after Trump capped his first full day in office announcing a $500 billion joint venture designed to build out the data center infrastructure to power OpenAI’s technology. Stargate was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/22/musk-is-bashing-trumps-new-stargate-ai-initiative-with-openai-and-oracle-heres-why/">considered</a>&nbsp;a win for OpenAI in its battle against the likes of xAI, Meta and Amazon-backed Anthropic to build out the best artificial general intelligence model, and the project highlighted a very public feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as Trump’s close ally Musk apparently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/tech/elon-musk-trump-ai-sam-altman/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">undercut</a>&nbsp;the president. Meta’s push beyond social media dates back to its 2021 name change from Facebook to Meta. Wall Street initially revolted at the company’s billions of dollars in advanced tech research, as Meta stock crashed 64% in 2022, before improving financial performance and a broader investor rush into all things AI bolstered the stock’s turnaround. Since Trump won a second term in November, Zuckerberg has overseen a major culture shift at his company, ending its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/01/07/meta-ditches-fact-checks-for-x-style-community-notes-zuckerberg-says-it-will-restore-free-expression/">fact checking</a>&nbsp;and diversity, equity and exclusion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/10/tech/meta-ends-dei-programs/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">(DEI)</a>&nbsp;programs as Zuckerberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/gemmaallen/2025/01/19/mark-zuckerbergs-masculine-energy-is-techs-power-play-laid-bare/">decried</a>&nbsp;the company’s culture as losing its “masculine energy.” Meta remains an advertising company on paper, with 98% of revenue in its most recent quarter coming from social media ads.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forbes-valuations">Forbes Valuations</h2>



<p>Zuckerberg is the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#3c20abab3d78">fourth-richest</a>&nbsp;person in the world with a $222 billion net worth, trailing only fellow American technology moguls in Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos and Oracle chairman Larry Ellison. Zuckerberg owns about 13% of Meta, a stake worth about $200 billion.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>Meta will report financial results from 2024’s fourth quarter Wednesday afternoon. Consensus estimates call for $6.75 earnings per share and $47 billion in revenue, which would both be quarterly records.</p>


Key Speakers At The Meta Connect Event

Meta Will Spend Record $60 Billion On AI This Year, Zuckerberg Says—After Trump Announces Stargate Deal With OpenAI


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>OpenAI unveiled its latest artificial intelligence tool Thursday, announcing the release of “Operator,” an assistant designed to carry out a wide variety of web tasks that will first be made available for ChatGPT Pro users.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>OpenAI&nbsp;<a href="https://openai.com/index/computer-using-agent/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">described</a>&nbsp;Operator as “an agent that can go to the web to perform tasks for you,” saying it is capable of navigating web pages and interacting with the buttons and menus people see on the websites they visit.</p>



<p>The AI tool can complete a range of tasks including online grocery orders, ticket purchases, refund calculations, lecture downloads and combining PDFs.</p>



<p>OpenAI noted Operator may make mistakes with some queries and is not fully autonomous, as users may need to input information manually in some cases (e.g. logging in with usernames and passwords).</p>



<p>Operator also asks users for confirmation before completing tasks like sending an email or completing an order.</p>



<p>OpenAI said Operator cannot carry out harmful or illegal tasks, and is barred from accessing “preemptively blocked” websites like gambling, adult entertainment and drug and gun retailers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-can-use-openai-s-operator">Who Can Use Openai’s Operator?</h2>



<p>As of Thursday, Operator is only available to users on the ChatGPT Pro plan, which costs $200 a month, though OpenAI said it plans to expand the tool to other subscription plans including ChatGPT Plus, ChatGPT Team and ChatGPT Enterprise.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-does-operator-collect-user-data">Does Operator Collect User Data?</h2>



<p>Yes, like ChatGPT, OpenAI uses conversations to train its AI models. However, users can&nbsp;<a href="https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7730893-data-controls-faq" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">opt out</a>&nbsp;of the training data gathered by Operator by turning off ChatGPT’s “improve the model for everyone” setting, which will stop new conversations from being used for AI model training.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Operator is one of OpenAI’s steps toward artificial general intelligence, which is defined as the “hypothetical intelligence of a machine that possesses the ability to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can,” according to Google, one of OpenAI’s largest competitors in the AI market. The AI race between OpenAI and other players like the Google-funded Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI heated up quickly this year, as OpenAI—which partners with Microsoft—announced its involvement in Stargate, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/21/oracle-stock-surges-ahead-of-500-billion-stargate-openai-trump-deal/">$500 billion AI infrastructure deal</a>&nbsp;with Nvidia. Musk criticized the partnership this week, questioning its practicality and its ability to raise enough money to carry out its goals of creating American jobs and building large data centers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/23/microsofts-satya-nadella-swipes-at-stargate-ai-venture-alongside-musk-despite-openai-backing/">Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Swipes At ‘Stargate’ AI Venture Alongside Musk—Despite OpenAI Backing</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/22/musk-is-bashing-trumps-new-stargate-ai-initiative-with-openai-and-oracle-heres-why/">Musk Bashes Trump’s New Stargate AI Initiative With OpenAI And Oracle As ‘Fake’—Here’s Why</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/21/oracle-stock-surges-ahead-of-500-billion-stargate-openai-trump-deal/">Oracle Stock Surges On $500 Billion ‘Stargate’ OpenAI-Trump Deal</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


In this photo illustration a Open AI logo is displayed on a

OpenAI’s ‘Operator’: What We Know About New AI Assistant Capable Of Ordering Groceries, Making Reservations


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/21/netflix-is-raising-its-prices---heres-what-to-know/#open-web-0"></a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/21/netflix-is-raising-its-prices---heres-what-to-know/#open-web-0"></a>Topline</h2>



<p>Netflix announced it would be adjusting its pricing for most plans in the United States, Canada, Portugal and Argentina on Tuesday—news that came as the streaming service announced it added almost 19 million new subscribers in the fourth quarter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Netflix confirmed it would be “adjusting prices” on most of its plans in its&nbsp;<a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_financials/2024/q4/FINAL-Q4-24-Shareholder-Letter.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">shareholder letter</a>&nbsp;released Tuesday, saying the company “will occasionally ask our members to pay a little more so that we can re-invest to further improve Netflix.”</p>



<p>The company’s ad-supported tier will increase one dollar from $6.99 to $7.99, the standard tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 and the premium tier will increase $2 from $22.99 to $24.99,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/21/netflix-raises-prices.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CNBC</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/netflix-price-hike-ad-plan-2024-1236280428/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Variety</a>&nbsp;reported.</p>



<p>The last time Netflix raised prices in the U.S. was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/10/18/netflix-hikes-prices-for-some-plans-as-subscriber-numbers-surge/">October 2023</a>, when some plans saw increases ranging from $2 to $3.</p>



<p>The shareholder letter said its Q4 lineup exceeded its expectations, specifically citing “Squid Game” season two, which it said is on track to become Netflix’s most watched original series season, and its entrance into sports and live events, naming the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson as the “most-streamed sporting event ever” and the two Christmas day NFL games as the most-streamed NFL games in history.</p>



<p>Netflix’s share price was up more than 14% in after-hours trading, rising to $995.30 as of 3:20 p.m. EST after closing the day at $869.68.</p>



<p>Forbes has reached out to Netflix to confirm the price increases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“When you’re going to ask for a price increase you better make sure you have the goods and the engagement to back it up, and I feel like what we have going into 2025 is just that,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs00OAlxWkY" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;in Tuesday&#8217;s earnings interview call. “I definitely feel like the strength of slate has never been better.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



<p>371.75 billion. That was Netflix’s market capitalization at Tuesday’s close.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Netflix offers three&nbsp;<a href="https://help.netflix.com/en/node/24926" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">paid plans</a>&nbsp;in the U.S.: a standard plan, a standard plan with ads and a premium plan. The standard plan allows for people to watch on two devices at a time in 1080p and download content onto two devices. It also allows people to add one non-household member. The standard plan with ads does not allow the additional member, has ad breaks and limits access to some content available on standard and premium plans. And the premium plan allows for unlimited ad-free watching on four devices at a time in a higher, 4K quality. Premium plans also allow for two non-household members and use Netflix spatial audio. The company introduced the ad-supported plan in 2022 and cracked down on password sharing in 2023, both of which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/08/20/netflix-stock-hits-record-high-first-since-2021-after-ads-password-crackdown/">helped</a>&nbsp;its subscriber growth. Netflix ended 2024 with 302 million paid members, it revealed in its shareholder letter Tuesday, up from 269.6 million in the first quarter of the year. In 2024 Netflix’s revenue also grew 16% and its operating income exceeded $10 billion for the first time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Netflix has made two Forbes 2025 lists so far: It landed at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/americas-dream-employers/">No. 84</a>&nbsp;on America’s Dream Employers and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/most-trusted-companies/">No. 189</a>&nbsp;on Most Trusted Companies in America.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/10/18/netflix-hikes-prices-for-some-plans-as-subscriber-numbers-surge/">Netflix Hikes Prices For Some Plans As Subscriber Numbers Surge</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/netflix-raises-u-s-prices-reports-jump-in-new-subscribers-39430d32" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Netflix Raises U.S. Prices, Reports Jump in New Subscribers&nbsp;</a>(The Wall Street Journal)</p>



<p><a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/netflix-price-hike-2024-1236280428/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Netflix Raising Prices in U.S. Again, Including First Hike on Ad-Supported Tier</a>&nbsp;(Variety)</p>



<p></p>


Video Streaming Platforms Stock Photos

Netflix Is Raising Its Prices — Here’s What To Know


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Big-name billionaires worth a collective $1.2 trillion—including four of the five richest men in the world—attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump Monday morning as many looked to strengthen their relationship with the pro-business president as he takes office.&nbsp;<strong>(Follow here for&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2025/01/20/trump-inauguration-live-updates-trump-will-return-to-office-in-hours/"><strong>Inauguration Day</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;updates.)</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194374953.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64393 size-full" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194374953.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194374953-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194374953-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<p><em><strong>Donald Trump Jr., Howard Lutnick, Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk, and Doug Burgum attend the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th President of the United States. (Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)</strong></em></p>
</div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The world’s three wealthiest people attended multiple inauguration morning events:<strong>&nbsp;</strong>Amazon founder<strong>&nbsp;Jeff Bezos&nbsp;</strong>(worth $239.4 billion according to Forbes’ estimates), Meta’s&nbsp;<strong>Mark Zuckerberg</strong>&nbsp;($211.8 billion) and&nbsp;<strong>Elon Musk&nbsp;</strong>($433.9 billion), the Tesla CEO, world’s richest person and presidential confidant who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-spent-over-quarter-billion-dollars-help-elect-trump-2024-12-06/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">spent</a>&nbsp;over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November&#8217;s election.</p>



<p>OpenAI CEO&nbsp;<strong>Sam Altman</strong>&nbsp;($1.1 billion) and Apple CEO&nbsp;<strong>Tim Cook&nbsp;</strong>($2.2 billion), who donated money to the inauguration, were in the Capitol Rotunda Monday morning, as was billionaire backer&nbsp;<strong>Miriam Adelson&nbsp;</strong>($31.9 billion) and former Fox News Chairman&nbsp;<strong>Rupert Murdoch</strong>&nbsp;($22.2 billion).</p>



<p><strong>Bernard Arnault&nbsp;</strong>($179.6 billion), the head of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury empire and the richest person in France, was&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/elizlanders/status/1881398108179046670?s=46&amp;t=bUTQCdKx4w7TbNWl8KRyJw" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">at the inauguration</a>&nbsp;with his son, Alexandre.</p>



<p><strong>Mukesh Ambani</strong>&nbsp;($98.1 billion), the richest man in India,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-inauguration-billionaires-ceos-ambani-zuckerberg-bezos-attend-church-2025-01-20/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reportedly</a>&nbsp;attended inauguration events, and Trump’s friend&nbsp;<strong>Phil Ruffin</strong>, a Las Vegas casino executive worth $4.7 billion, was also spotted at the Capitol, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/20/us/trump-inauguration-president/e39d0884-13c3-5d0c-912c-72acfc9cd270?smid=url-share" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>



<p>Several billionaires and their spouses have been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/12/22/the-billionaires-trumps-picked-for-next-administration-elon-musk-tilman-fertitta-and-more/">offered top roles</a>&nbsp;in the Trump administration, including&nbsp;<strong>Howard Lutnick</strong>&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2024/11/20/the-most-hated-guy-on-wall-street-the-unspoken-story-around-howard-lutnick-trumps-pick-for-commerce-secretary/">$1.5 billion</a>) and&nbsp;<strong>Vivek Ramaswamy</strong>&nbsp;($1 billion), both of whom were seen at the inauguration.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="396" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194369892.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64391" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194369892.jpg 594w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194369892-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em>(Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)</em></strong></figcaption></figure>



<p>Coinbase CEO&nbsp;<strong>Brian Armstrong</strong>&nbsp;($12.8 billion) was invited to inauguration-related events, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-10/openai-meta-uber-ceos-plan-to-attend-trump-inauguration-events" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, but hadn’t yet been seen as of the swearing in.</p>



<p>Other billionaires who have been offered jobs in the administration, but their attendance wasn’t confirmed, include&nbsp;<strong>Stephen Feinberg</strong>&nbsp;($5 billion),&nbsp;<strong>Warren Stephens</strong>&nbsp;($3.4 billion),&nbsp;<strong>Jared Isaacman</strong>&nbsp;($1.9 billion),&nbsp;<strong>Steve Witkoff&nbsp;</strong>($1 billion), Linda McMahon (husband&nbsp;<strong>Vince McMahon</strong>&nbsp;is worth $3 billion) and Kelly Loeffler (husband&nbsp;<strong>Jeff Sprecher</strong>&nbsp;is worth $1.1 billion).</p>



<p>Zuckerberg co-hosted a pre-Inaugural Ball&nbsp;<a href="https://puck.news/mark-zuckerberg-is-throwing-an-inauguration-party-for-trump/?_gl=1*17fobxi*_up*MQ..*_ga*OTIwODg3ODI1LjE3MzY5MzkxMjY.*_ga_SEFD191RFM*MTczNjkzOTEyNi4xLjAuMTczNjkzOTEyNi4wLjAuMA.." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reception</a>&nbsp;for Trump alongside Adelson,<strong>&nbsp;Tilman Fertitta</strong>&nbsp;($10.2 billion) and Todd Ricketts, whose father&nbsp;<strong>J. Joe Ricketts</strong>&nbsp;and family are worth an estimated $4.2 billion.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Much Is Trump Worth?</h2>



<p><strong>Trump&nbsp;</strong>himself is worth an estimated $6.7 billion thanks to his stake in Truth Social&#8217;s parent company, his real estate investments and other assets.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Other Billionaires Could Attend?</h2>



<p>Dozens of other billionaires also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/10/30/kamala-harris-has-more-billionaires-prominently-backing-her-than-trump-bezos-and-griffin-weigh-in-updated/">supported Trump</a>&nbsp;on his road to a second term who haven’t been confirmed as attendees, including&nbsp;<strong>Robert “Woody” Johnson</strong>&nbsp;($3.3 billion),&nbsp;<strong>Elizabeth&nbsp;</strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Richard Uihlein</strong>&nbsp;(each worth $5.9 billion),&nbsp;<strong>Roger Penske</strong>&nbsp;($6.5 billion) and&nbsp;<strong>Timothy Mellon</strong>&nbsp;(family was worth $14.1 billion).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Did Billionaires Like Musk, Bezos And Zuckerberg Back Trump’s Campaign?</h2>



<p>Some of them did, but others either stayed out of the presidential race or were Trump foes before they started trying to make nice. Zuckerberg’s Meta previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/01/07/mark-zuckerberg-blasts-trump-and-announces-indefinite-ban-on-presidents-facebook-instagram-accounts/">banned</a>&nbsp;Trump from Instagram and Facebook—and Trump once&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/28/trump-zuckerberg-election-book-00176639" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">threatened</a>&nbsp;to send him to prison—before he fell in line following the election results. Since then, Zuckerberg has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/12/23/ford-will-donate-1-million-fleet-of-vehicles-to-trump-inauguration-latest-company-to-contribute/">donated</a>&nbsp;$1 million to his inaugural fund,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-zuckerberg-meet-mar-a-lago-semafor-reports-2025-01-11/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">met with Trump</a>&nbsp;at Mar-A-Lago, made&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/01/07/meta-ditches-fact-checks-for-x-style-community-notes-zuckerberg-says-it-will-restore-free-expression/">changes</a>&nbsp;to how its platforms fact-check posts and put Trump’s friend Dana White on Meta’s board. In the leadup to the election, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate but did&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-19/mark-zuckerberg-calls-donald-trump-badass-without-endorsing-for-president" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">call</a>&nbsp;Trump’s response to his assassination attempt “badass.” Bezos also has a history of clashing with Trump: Amazon in 2019&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2019/12/09/amazon-blames-trumps-personal-dislike-of-bezos-for-losing-pentagon-jedi-contract/">blamed Trump&#8217;s</a>&nbsp;&#8220;personal dislike&#8221; of Bezos for losing a multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract with the Pentagon, and Trump has been critical of the Bezos-owned Washington Post. Bezos didn’t endorse Trump last year but&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/JeffBezos/status/1812315786507088370?lang=en" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;he “showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” following the assassination attempt, and donated $1 million to the inaugural fund. Others have supported him all along. Musk is among Trump’s biggest donors, alongside&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/miriam-adelson/?list=rtb/">Adelson</a>, the widow of billionaire Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, who donated $100 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Preserve America during the election.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/tilman-fertitta/?list=rtb/">Fertitta</a>, owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, has been nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to Italy after the Texas billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/21/donald-trump-tilman-fertitta-ambassador/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">hosted a fundraiser</a>&nbsp;for Trump last year. Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, has been a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/trump-collides-with-the-world-of-baseball" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">major fundraiser</a>&nbsp;for Republican politicians and, while he initially fundraised within the party against Trump during his first campaign, he ultimately went on to spearhead pro-Trump fundraising in 2020 and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/todd-ricketts-attending-trump-campaign-fundraiser" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">last year</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tangent</h2>



<p>Other corporate leaders planned on attending the inauguration, including Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/donald-trump-inauguration-ceos-business-fundraising-2b0d5086" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew attended, after his platform took itself offline Sunday due to a nationwide ban taking effect—and restored service when Trump vowed to delay the ban upon taking office. Other supporters are throwing events around Washington over inauguration weekend,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/donald-trump-inauguration-ceos-business-fundraising-2b0d5086" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">including</a>&nbsp;an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” that featured Snoop Dogg and a party held by Uber and its CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-10/openai-meta-uber-ceos-plan-to-attend-trump-inauguration-events" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dara Khosrowshahi</a>. James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola Company, on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/margomartin/status/1879330618225676448" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">presented Trump</a>&nbsp;with the &#8220;first ever Presidential Commemorative Inaugural Diet Coke bottle.&#8221; Microsoft, Ford, Google and AI search startup Perplexity also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/09/google-will-donate-another-1-million-to-trumps-record-high-inaugural-fund/">donated $1 million</a>&nbsp;to the inaugural fund.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/donald-trump-inauguration-ceos-business-fundraising-2b0d5086" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Ripple</a>, a crypto company, gave $5 million worth of its cryptocurrency to the inaugural committee. Other major donors include Goldman Sachs, Intuit, Toyota, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, General Motors, Bank of America, AT&amp;T and Stanley Black &amp; Decker, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/trump-inauguration-sponsors-large-company-donations-a3cc1b92?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Journal reported</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



<p>More than $170 million. That’s how much Trump’s inaugural fund is believed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/08/us/politics/trump-inauguration-donors.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">have raised,</a>&nbsp;almost three times as much as the $62 million raised by President Joe Biden four years ago and well above the previous record of $107 million, set by Trump&#8217;s 2016 inauguration. Donors who gave $1 million, or raised $2 million from others, were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/trump-inauguration-sponsors-large-company-donations-a3cc1b92?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reportedly given</a>&nbsp;six tickets to a series of events in the days leading up to the inauguration, including a “candlelight dinner” with Trump and Melania Trump and a black-tie ball.</p>


The Inauguration Of Donald J. Trump As The 47th President

Billionaires Worth A Combined $1.2 Trillion Attended Trump’s Inauguration: Here’s Who Was There—From Musk To Bezos


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>TikTok said Sunday it was “restoring service” to U.S. users, about 14 hours after it abruptly shut itself down minutes before a nationwide ban took effect—a move prompted by President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to halt the ban when he takes office Monday by extending a deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell the app.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Timeline</h2>



<p><strong>1:50 p.m. EST, January 19</strong>TikTok is now back online for many American users, sending a popup message that states: “Welcome back!” adding, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.”—though it still does not appear to be available on Apple’s App Store.</p>



<p><strong>1 p.m. EST, January 19</strong>Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, warned that “any company that hosts, distributes, services or otherwise facilitates communist-controlled TikTok could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability” in <a href="https://x.com/SenTomCotton/status/1881038993875140640" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a tweet</a> responding to the company’s announcement that it’s restoring the app.</p>



<p><strong>1 p.m. EST, January 19</strong>Some TikTok users reported the app has started working again.</p>



<p><strong>12:30 p.m. EST, January 19</strong>TikTok <a href="https://x.com/TikTokPolicy/status/1881030712188346459" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> it “is in the process of restoring service” and thanked Trump for “providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties,” adding the company “will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”</p>



<p><strong>11:55 a.m. EST, January 19</strong>TikTok now greets users with a popup saying it is “working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible”—but the message no longer praises Trump for promising to “work with” the platform, after <a href="https://x.com/mikeisaac/status/1880826325189156936" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">drawing some criticism</a>.</p>



<p><strong>10:00 a.m. EST, January 19</strong>Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113855616848696050" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> he will sign an executive order Monday delaying the TikTok ban and called for the platform to be taken over by a joint venture with U.S. and current owners, also urging companies to prevent TikTok from “going dark” and vowing “no liability” for any tech firms that act before Monday (the law gives Trump the power to extend the ban for up to 90 days if ByteDance is making progress toward a sale).</p>



<p><strong>7:03 a.m. EST, January 19T</strong>rump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113854921940858148" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted</a> to Truth Social: “SAVE TIKTOK.”</p>



<p><strong>12:00 a.m. EST, January 19</strong>A nationwide ban on TikTok took effect, formally barring internet service providers and app stores from offering the ultra-popular social media platform.</p>



<p><strong>11:00 p.m. EST, January 18</strong>TikTok shut itself down in the United States at some point before 11 p.m. EST, greeting American users with a message that said “you can’t use TikTok for now” due to a “law banning TikTok” set to take effect Sunday—but the platform noted Trump “has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.” <strong>(Read </strong><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/18/tiktok-shuts-down-in-us-before-ban-takes-effect-heres-what-to-know/"><strong>more here</strong></a><strong>.)</strong></p>



<p><strong>12:30 p.m. EST, January 18</strong>Trump <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2025/01/18/trump-says-hell-most-likely-delay-tiktok-ban-for-90-days/">signaled</a> he would “most likely” issue a 90-day extension on the TikTok ban, saying an announcement would “probably” come Monday, though he did not definitively say whether he would do so.</p>



<p><strong>January 17</strong>TikTok said in a <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/tiktokjan-17" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> its service will “be forced to go dark” on Jan. 19 unless the Biden administration—which <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/17/statement-by-white-house-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-regarding-tiktok/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> earlier on Friday TikTok “should remain available to Americans” if “under American ownership”—guarantees Apple, Google and other service providers won’t be punished by supporting the app.</p>



<p><strong>January 17</strong>The Supreme Court ruled the law does not violate the First Amendment rights of the app and its users, upholding the federal government’s national security argument and leaving TikTok open to a ban on Jan. 19 unless it is sold to an American company.</p>



<p><strong>January 16</strong>The Biden administration does not plan to intervene against the law forcing TikTok’s ban or sale by Jan. 19, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/politics/biden-administration-tiktok-ban/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a> <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-administration-leave-trump-implement-tiktok-ban/story?id=117753133&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-16/tiktok-poised-for-reprieve-as-trump-team-pledges-extension?srnd=homepage-asia" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outlets</a>, one day after <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-administration-keep-tiktok-available-us-rcna187902" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC News</a> reported Biden’s team was “exploring options” on how it can avoid the app being shut down—though <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-administration-leave-trump-implement-tiktok-ban/story?id=117753133&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ABC reports</a> Biden also won’t take action to enforce the ban against app stores or internet providers.</p>



<p><strong>January 16</strong>Schumer <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/news/press-releases/leader-schumer-floor-remarks-urging-an-extension-of-the-tiktok-ban_to-allow-time-for-a-workable-solution--to-protect-americans-livelihoods-and-protect-against-ccp-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it is “clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer,” noting Senate Democrats’ failed attempt to <a href="https://x.com/SenateDems/status/1879965995759980830" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pass a bill</a> extending the Jan. 19 deadline and urging lawmakers for a solution that keeps TikTok in the U.S. while also protecting Americans’ data privacy (the law banning TikTok unless ByteDance sells the app passed on a bipartisan basis last year).</p>



<p><strong>January 15</strong>TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/01/16/tiktok-ceo-will-reportedly-attend-trumps-inauguration-as-ban-threat-looms/">expected to attend</a> Trump’s inauguration, according to The New York Times.</p>



<p><strong>January 14</strong>ByteDance <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/14/heres-how-much-elon-musk-could-buy-tiktok-for-as-china-reportedly-eyes-deal/">would likely expect</a> $40 billion to $50 billion for the platform’s U.S. operations, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated (other analysts have offered <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2025/01/15/how-much-billions-tiktok-really-worth-possible-ban/">a range of figures</a> for how much TikTok is worth, depending on whether the deal includes TikTok’s powerful content algorithm).</p>



<p><strong>January 13</strong>Chinese government officials have considered selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Trump-allied billionaire Elon Musk if the Supreme Court does not stop the ban from going through on Jan. 19, reported <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-14/china-discusses-sale-of-tiktok-us-to-musk-as-one-possible-option" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a>, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter—though the people noted the deliberations are preliminary and officials prefer to keep TikTok under the ownership of China-based ByteDance (ByteDance told Forbes it “can&#8217;t be expected to comment on pure fiction” when asked about the Bloomberg report).</p>



<p><strong>January 10</strong>The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the law requiring TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or face a ban, with justices appearing “inclined” to uphold the law after appearing satisfied with its focus on the controversial Chinese ownership of the app’s parent company, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/10/us/tiktok-ban-supreme-court/supreme-court-tiktok-ban-law?smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The New York Times</a>.</p>



<p><strong>January 9</strong>Billionaire <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ahead-of-january-19-deadline-project-liberty-announces-a-formal-offer-to-acquire-tiktok-us-302346575.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frank McCourt</a>’s Project Liberty announced a proposal to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations—but not its algorithm—by migrating American users to a locally run digital infrastructure, a deal McCourt <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/phoebeliu/2025/01/15/how-much-billions-tiktok-really-worth-possible-ban/">has suggested</a> could be worth $20 billion, with interest from other investors like “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary (it’s unclear whether ByteDance is considering the offer).</p>



<p><strong>January 6</strong>O’Leary, part of <a href="https://www.thepeoplesbid.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The People&#8217;s Bid for TikTok</a>, told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum he <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/kevin-oleary-buy-tiktok-shark-tank/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">planned to buy</a> the app and that he would need Trump’s help to do so.</p>



<p><strong>January 3</strong>The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to uphold the law forcing the ban or sale of TikTok despite Trump’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/01/03/can-trump-stop-tiktok-ban-heres-what-he-can-and-cant-do-if-supreme-court-upholds-law/">support of the app</a>, arguing TikTok has not shown enough to reason to justify a pause of the law’s date of taking effect and that Trump has not presented a viable argument for a pause.</p>



<p><strong>December 27, 2024</strong>Trump opposed the potential ban of TikTok in a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-656/336151/20241227163400981_2024-12-27%20-%20TikTok%20v.%20Garland%20-%20Amicus%20Brief%20of%20President%20Donald%20J.%20Trump.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">court filing</a>, arguing if the Supreme Court intervenes, he could secure a “political resolution” after his Jan. 20 inauguration that would keep the app in the U.S.</p>



<p><strong>December 18, 2024</strong>The Supreme Court announced it will review TikTok’s challenge against the federal law that could potentially ban the app, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/18/supreme-court-will-decide-tiktok-bans-fate-as-justices-take-up-case/">scheduling oral arguments</a> for Jan. 10—just days before the law is set to become effective.</p>



<p><strong>December 16, 2024</strong>TikTok requested an injunction from the Supreme Court that would <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/16/tiktok-asks-supreme-court-to-stop-federal-ban/">block the ban</a> against it until the conservative majority court rules on TikTok’s legality or dismisses the case, saying the pause would “create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review &#8230; before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed.”</p>



<p><strong>December 16, 2024</strong>Chew met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to <a href="https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1868761606542524712" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNN</a>, and argued an injunction from the Supreme Court, which was ultimately not granted, would give Trump’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/11/12/trump-tiktok-ban-sale/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TikTok-friendly administration</a> time to comment on the matter.</p>



<p><strong>December 6, 2024</strong>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/12/06/tiktok-ban-upheld-in-court/">denied TikTok’s petition</a> to review the law against TikTok after the court’s three-judge panel said national security concerns outweigh TikTok’s First Amendment rights, later declining TikTok’s request to halt its ruling upholding the law.</p>



<p><strong>May 14, 2024</strong>Eight TikTok users sued the federal government, accusing them of First Amendment violations and calling the ban “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/05/14/tiktok-users-sue-federal-government-over-potential-ban/">unconstitutionally overbroad</a>.”</p>



<p><strong>May 7, 2024</strong>TikTok <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2024/05/07/tiktok-fights-back-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-its-suit-against-the-us-government/">filed suit</a> against the federal government, challenging the constitutionality of the ban and arguing the app and its American users were having their First Amendment rights violated.</p>



<p><strong>April 24, 2024</strong>President Joe Biden signed the bill requiring TikTok to be sold or banned, provoking a response from the platform, which claimed in a <a href="https://x.com/TikTokPolicy/status/1783149300471525637" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> it “invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation.”</p>



<p><strong>April 23, 2024</strong>The Senate <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/04/23/potential-tiktok-ban-clears-key-senate-vote-part-of-israel-ukraine-taiwan-aid-package/">voted 80-19</a> to pass the bill, which Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said was done to “prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations, harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women, and our U.S. government personnel.”</p>



<p><strong>April 20, 2024</strong>The House in an overwhelming <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/04/20/house-approves-nationwide-tiktok-ban-heres-what-to-know/">360-58</a> vote passed the legislation against TikTok, with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., saying in a <a href="https://x.com/nicholaswu12/status/1767910828861174000" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> the legislation was “designed to address legitimate national security and privacy concerns.”</p>


Wildly Popular Social Media App TikTok Unavailable For U.S. Users

TikTok Ban Live Updates: TikTok Back Online For Many Users—As Trump Promises To Delay US Ban


<p><strong>Plus: Booking Holdings’ CEO On Adding AI, Biden Ends With Mostly Good Economic Growth (And One Big Exception), Meta Reorients Policy Before Trump Takes Office, Activist Investors Had A Huge 2024</strong></p>



<p><strong>This is the published version of <em>Forbes’</em> CEO newsletter, which offers the latest news for today&#8217;s and tomorrow&#8217;s business leaders and decision makers. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/newsletter/ceo">Click here</a> to get it delivered to your inbox every week.</strong></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>Every CEO has the ambition to lead their company into an exciting new future, both spurring growth and bringing new ideas and expansion to the industry. But, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/getting-fit-for-growth-the-leadership-mindsets-and-behaviors-that-matter" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">new report from McKinsey</a>&nbsp;found&nbsp;<strong>it takes audacious and bold moves to be able to do that</strong>—something most CEOs think they are doing but are not. McKinsey identified five actions that can drive long-lasting company growth: Focusing at least 30% of your time on long-term growth, investing in growth initiatives in volatile times, incorporating customer input into business decisions, having a smoothly operating talent planning process, and collecting data and insights to support growth decisions. Less than a third of company leaders are doing any of these actions, with only 8% being confident about talent planning.</p>



<p><strong>It’s not easy to make these bold moves</strong>. Leaders who do are focused on the long term and not afraid of failure, the report states. McKinsey writes that it often requires more than 18 months for any of these kinds of decisions to bear fruit. Yet an average of 78% of the executive team’s time is spent on short- to medium-term growth initiatives, which are realized in five years or less. Meanwhile companies prioritizing long-term growth tend to make it through volatile cycles more successfully and with higher revenue growth.</p>



<p><strong>Business leaders also must be willing to try new and untested moves in uncertain times.</strong>&nbsp;This is more than just encouraging speedy learning activities over perfect execution—something 79% of all survey respondents said they do to try to gain a first-mover advantage. These new moves for growth need funding, which just three in 10 executives increase when times are volatile. When things are unsettled, McKinsey found that nearly half of companies get through it by focusing on their tactics—like changing prices or adding automation—instead of trying to enter a new market or provide new services in areas with growth potential.</p>



<p>Companies also say they put their customers first, with 64% saying feedback is a top source for growth ideas, but McKinsey found that&nbsp;<strong>only 15% consistently incorporate that feedback into their decisions</strong>. Just 23% regularly engage with customers to see that their actions and changes deliver value.</p>



<p>As a second Donald Trump administration begins next week,&nbsp;<strong>change—and likely volatility—will become the next normal</strong>. Policy ideas that could both help and hurt businesses have been floated. What actually becomes a reality, when that happens and how it takes effect are much harder to predict. However, it could be prime time for business leaders to take some of the bold actions McKinsey sees as vital for long-term growth. In uncertain times, audacity could be the best solution.</p>



<p><strong>Figuring out how to use AI in a way that’s useful to customers can be a challenge</strong>. Booking Holdings—parent company of Booking.com, Priceline, Kayak, Agoda and OpenTable—has added AI-powered features to help customers plan for travel and dining. I talked to CEO Glenn Fogel about the process, and an excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.</p>



<p>In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day next Monday,&nbsp;<strong>the regular edition of Forbes CEO will be taking a day off</strong>. We’ll be back in your inboxes Monday, January 27.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-economic-indicators">ECONOMIC INDICATORS</h2>



<p>Last Friday, the final employment numbers of President Joe Biden’s term were released, and&nbsp;<strong>they were much better than expected</strong>. According to the Labor Department, the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/10/december-jobs-report-labor-market-grew-faster-than-expected-as-unemployment-clocks-in-at-41/">added 256,000 jobs</a>&nbsp;in December, beating the economists’ estimates of 153,000 by 67%. These numbers put the national unemployment rate at 4.1%, down a tenth of a percent from November. It was a good report for Biden, and caps off a mostly successful economic term in office,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/10/bidens-final-labor-numbers-lowest-unemployment-since-clinton-marred-by-inflation/">writes&nbsp;<em>Forbes’</em>&nbsp;Derek Saul</a>. The 4.1% unemployment rate—6.7% when Biden took office— is the lowest at the end of a president’s term since Bill Clinton left office in 2001. During Biden’s four years in office, average hourly wages rose 19.6%, from $29.84 to $35.69 now.</p>



<p>But high inflation marred Biden’s economic record, with the consumer price index increasing a total of 20.8% during his term. And while inflation has been calming down this year, reaching 2.7% in November and leading the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates three times in the last quarter of 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/08/federal-reserve-worried-how-trump-tariff-and-immigration-policieswill-impact-inflation-minutes-show/">Fed officials fear</a>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<strong>inflation might not be coming down to their 2% target any time soon</strong>. Trump has proposed sweeping changes to trade and immigration policy, including enacting tariffs on many U.S. trading partners and deporting illegal immigrants en masse. “The effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy suggested” restoring 2% inflation “could take longer than previously anticipated,” according to minutes from the mid-December meeting released last week. “Almost all” Fed officials “judged that upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased,” the release stated. Only one interest rate cut is expected to take place in 2025.</p>



<p>The stronger-than-expected job market and the Fed’s cautious stance on rate cuts contributed to an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/10/stocks-drop-after-jobs-report-shows-hot-us-labor-market-heres-why/">overall market selloff</a>&nbsp;on Friday. A booming job market means that&nbsp;<strong>the economy is doing well without interest rate cuts to stimulate it</strong>. “The Fed cutting cycle is over,” Bank of America economists led by Aditya Bhave wrote in a Friday note to clients, calling the “gangbusters” December jobs report the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”</p>



<p>However,&nbsp;<strong>2024 wasn’t all about job growth</strong>. According to a report from Challenger, Gray &amp; Christmas, U.S. companies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/09/2024-had-most-job-cuts-in-15-years-with-one-exception/">cut 761,358 jobs</a>&nbsp;last year—the most since 2010 (with the exception of Covid pandemic-related job losses in 2020). The tech sector saw the most jobs lost, with a total of 133,988—more than double the number of cuts in the next largest sectors: health care, automotive, services and consumer products.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-the-headlines">FROM THE HEADLINES</h2>



<p>As Trump prepares to take office, Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta made a series of quick and sweeping changes last week that will likely improve the incoming administration’s view of the company. Last Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2025/01/07/meta-ditches-fact-checks-for-x-style-community-notes-zuckerberg-says-it-will-restore-free-expression/">is&nbsp;<strong>dropping</strong></a><strong>&nbsp;its independent fact-checking program for posts on its platform</strong>. Instead, it will use a self-policing system like X’s community notes, where users can flag posts with incorrect or misleading information that will appear alongside the post. In a video posted on Facebook, Zuckerberg said the move is helping the company get back to its roots, saying the fact-checkers on Meta “have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they have created” by causing “too much censorship” of free speech. Zuckerberg stated in the video that the U.S. election felt like “a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritizing speech,” and the change will be “restoring free expression” on Meta’s platforms.</p>



<p>The change, which came as former Republican lobbyist and senior advisor to President George W. Bush Joel Kaplan took over as Meta’s global policy chief,&nbsp;<strong>appears to have appeased Trump</strong>, who has complained for years that social media platforms moderating or blocking posts with false, misleading and offensive content were censoring conservative speech.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2025/01/07/meta-blindsided-fact-checkers-with-plan-to-cancel-program-for-community-notes/"><em>Forbes’</em>&nbsp;Iain Martin and Sarah Emerson report</a>&nbsp;that the independent fact-checkers employed by Meta—including news organizations such as&nbsp;<em>USA Today</em>, Reuters Fact Check, AFP and Politifact—were blindsided by the announcement.</p>



<p>Zuckerberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/01/06/zuckerberg-taps-ufc-president-dana-white-to-join-metas-board-of-directors/">also announced</a>&nbsp;last week that&nbsp;<strong>Trump ally and UFC President Dana White would join Meta’s board of directors</strong>. And on Friday, a company memo announced it was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2025/01/10/these-companies-have-rolled-back-dei-policies-mcdonalds-is-latest-to-abandon-diversity-standards/">ending several programs</a>&nbsp;intended to increase the company’s hiring of diverse candidates and equity and inclusion training programs.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-notable-news">NOTABLE NEWS</h2>



<p>In 2024,&nbsp;<strong>activist investors were back with a vengeance</strong>. A report from Barclays showed record-breaking 243 activist investor campaigns last year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2025/01/10/activist-investors-forced-record-number-of-ceos-to-resign-in-2024/"><em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;senior contributor Jack Kelly writes</a>. Nearly half—115—were in the U.S., which saw a 6% increase in investor campaigns over 2023. A record 27 CEOs were ousted last year by activist investor pressure.</p>



<p><strong>Activist investors’ game plans are also changing</strong>. More than a quarter of activist campaigns dealt with improving strategy and operations, while just 22% were pushing for M&amp;A activities. Jim Rossman, global head of shareholder advisory at Barclays,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/record-number-activist-investors-joined-shareholder-rebellion-2024-2025-01-02/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told Reuters</a>&nbsp;last year felt almost like a “shareholder revolt. Investors are no longer willing to sit and wait for promised improvements and are saying, ‘We want the companies where we are invested to change right now.’”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tomorrow-s-trends">TOMORROW’S TRENDS</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-booking-holdings-ceo-talks-about-bringing-ai-to-trip-planning"><strong>Booking Holdings CEO Talks About Bringing AI To Trip Planning</strong></h3>



<p><em>From its inception, Booking Holdings—owner of travel and planning sites including Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Kayak and OpenTable—has been a tech company. It’s added generative AI to its tech stack with AI trip planners on Booking.com and Priceline, detailed search filters to find accommodations that meet a variety of needs and an OpenTable integration in ChatGPT. I talked to CEO Glenn Fogel about how he and his team decided to add these features and how it’s going so far. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity.</em></p>



<p><strong>There are many places you could implement generative AI in your company. How did you decide where to start, and what are your priorities for AI?</strong></p>



<p><strong>Fogel:&nbsp;</strong>It’s a combination of what the biggest problems are for our partners, our consumers and the people we deal with, and can we solve it now? How much will it cost to solve now? And how much benefit, how much value, will they get from it? That’s kind of our own little algorithm, trying to figure out where to put the resources up.</p>



<p>There’s also where you ask what foundational things do we have to work on right now, so we can solve lots of problems down the road? What kind of data architecture do we need to set up now so that we can build? You need to figure out: What can we achieve right now? What do we need to build as a base foundation for the future? These are the things that we consider as we’re planning out this year’s plan, next year’s plan and the year after. These are all different things that are judgment calls based on data that comes from our customers and our partners and the expert people in our company.</p>



<p><strong>What do customers think in terms of feedback you’ve received? Are people using the AI features?</strong></p>



<p>In terms of good feedback and bad feedback, we’ve gotten both. Sometimes I look at the number and say, ‘Wow, that many people are using it.’ But then I’ll say, ‘Wait, compared to our total percentage of people who are using [the systems], that’s not a big number at all.’ This is early, people are creatures of habit. They know how to use things already, and many people just go to the way they’ve always done it.</p>



<p>In so many new things that come out: Look at people in terms of their social media. They started with one, then a new one came out. ‘But I like this one because I’ve been using this one forever.’ The new one may be better. People are slower to adapt to the new one. I think that for a lot of us, we’re going to have a long gestation before we really get the big ramp up in terms of customer adds.</p>



<p>We’ll [do more to promote] it when I feel that we’ve achieved at a level that I think this really is much better than the way they do it now. One of the things that I don’t want to do is move loyal customers who enjoy the service, have been using us for a long time and love what we do for them, and tell them, ‘Here’s a much better way to do this.’ And they go over there and end up being frustrated by it, and then you lose that trust. So let’s make sure it’s better.</p>



<p><strong>What kind of advice would you give to a CEO that is looking to bring AI into their operations, but isn’t quite sure where to start?</strong></p>



<p>Any time the CEO is thinking about starting something new, [my advice] is bringing in people who will know more than you and get good advice: Does it fit your needs? Is it something that will fit your budget, produce the value you hope to achieve, give you a good ROI compared to other projects you could be doing? What is going to be the cost if you don’t do it? All the natural things.</p>



<p>AI is no different than any project or way to work you will go forward with. The same advice I give anybody about anything is think really hard, plan it out, then think hard about it again.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-facts-comments">FACTS + COMMENTS</h2>



<p>The U.S. Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/01/10/supreme-court-signals-it-will-uphold-tiktok-ban-live-updates/">heard arguments</a>&nbsp;Friday on whether a law&nbsp;<strong>forcing the sale or ban of China-owned social media app TikTok violates the First Amendment</strong>. The law is scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.</p>



<p><strong>170 million+:&nbsp;</strong>U.S. TikTok users,&nbsp;<a href="https://tiktokeconomicimpact.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;the app</p>



<p><strong>1%:&nbsp;</strong>Increase in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2025/01/10/meta-stock-rallies-oracle-slides-as-market-reacts-to-tiktok-ban-hearing-at-supreme-court/">Meta’s share price</a>&nbsp;following the hearing, which made many think the law was likely to be upheld</p>



<p><strong>‘Seems like a huge concern for the future of the country’:&nbsp;</strong>Justice Brett Kavanaugh said about the government’s concern that China will use TikTok to collect data from U.S. users</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-strategies-advice">STRATEGIES + ADVICE</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<strong>last two years have seen many advances in AI</strong>, both in terms of technology and how it’s being used at companies. Here are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jodiecook/2024/12/26/predictions-for-ai-in-2025-entrepreneurs-look-ahead/">expert predictions</a>&nbsp;of what will happen in 2025.</p>



<p>How can your <strong>small business continue to grow</strong> in 2025? Here are <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rohitarora/2024/12/30/10-small-business-new-years-resolutions-for-2025/">10 New Year’s resolutions</a> to help it stay on the right path.</p>


She’s got big plans to run the city

Why It’s Time For Business Leaders To (Actually) Be Bold


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The Israeli government approved Friday a ceasefire deal to end fighting in Gaza, paving the way for a six-week ceasefire and the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas on Sunday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the government ratified the deal, which came after a six-hour cabinet meeting that ended around 1:00 a.m. on Saturday in Jerusalem, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-ceasefire-updates?taid=678ae61a7adf430001490ee5&amp;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">multiple</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jan/17/israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-gaza-live-blog-updates-netanyahu-hostages?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other#top-of-blog" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">outlets</a>.</p>



<p>Israeli airstrikes in Gaza continued overnight into Friday and 113 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire and hostage deal was first announced Wednesday evening,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-security-council-approves-hostage-ceasefire-deal-hamas/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;the Hamas-run Civil Emergency Service.</p>



<p>Hamas&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-holds-off-approving-gaza-ceasefire-us-says-deal-is-track-2025-01-17/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on Friday said</a>&nbsp;that obstacles surrounding the terms of the agreement— like Netanyahu’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/pms-office-claims-hamas-creating-last-minute-crisis-and-backing-out-of-some-agreements/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">claims</a>&nbsp;Hamas had backed out of parts of the deal—were resolved.</p>



<p>The three-stage ceasefire plan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-holds-off-approving-gaza-ceasefire-us-says-deal-is-track-2025-01-17/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">will see</a>&nbsp;Hamas release 33 Israeli hostages, including all women, children and men over 50, and Israel will release all Palestinian women and children under 19 detained in Israeli jails within the first six-week phase.</p>



<p>The deal could also ease hostilities in the Middle East, where the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-continue-attacks-if-gaza-ceasefire-breached-2025-01-16/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">war has spread</a>&nbsp;to include Iran and its proxies, including Lebanon&#8217;s Hezbollah and Yemen&#8217;s Houthis.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Do We Know About The Ceasefire Deal?</h2>



<p>On Wednesday evening, U.S. officials confirmed to the Associated Press that the ceasefire agreement was reached after a last-minute dispute was resolved. Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/15/world/israel-hamas-cease-fire-deal-gaza/e52b4e9d-9716-5a82-9dc3-adaf98840b7b?smid=url-share" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;the first phase of the deal will take 42 days and involve Israeli forces moving away from populated areas and 33 hostages being returned from Gaza. President Joe Biden said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon that American hostages would be released during the first phase. Biden also said the deal will “halt the fighting in Gaza (and) surge much needed-humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians,” and noted the agreement was the result of extreme pressure on Hamas and “dogged and painstaking American diplomacy.” Biden said the plan is similar to the one he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/05/31/israel-offered-hamas-a-new-cease-fire-proposal-biden-says/">introduced</a>&nbsp;last May, and he is “deeply satisfied this day has” come, noting there was no way for this war to end other than with a hostage deal. Biden also acknowledged the “hell” Palestinians have gone through, saying, “too many innocent people have died, too many communities have been destroyed.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>“WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!” Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113833442957238587" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">posted on Truth Social</a>&nbsp;just after noon on Wednesday, confirming the deal. Members of Trump’s team have been involved in talks, including his incoming Middle East advisor Steve Witkoff.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Was Trump Involved In The Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal?</h2>



<p>Trump’s team&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/10/politics/gaza-israel-hamas-ceasefire-biden-trump-backing/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">worked alongside</a>&nbsp;Biden’s administration in its final push for a ceasefire, and members of Trump’s team were reportedly involved in talks, including his incoming Middle East advisor Steve Witkoff. The president-elect said&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113833531533520804" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on Truth Social</a>&nbsp;Wednesday his national security team, via Witkoff, “will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven.” Trump said in the post the agreement “could have only happened as a result of” him winning office in November, saying it “signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.” In his press conference Wednesday, Biden said that while his administration negotiated the terms of the ceasefire, it will be up to the Trump administration to ensure it’s implemented, saying they’re handing “the next team a real opportunity for a brighter future in the Middle East” and he hopes they take it. Biden added he directed his team to “coordinate closely” with Trump’s incoming administration to ensure “they’re all speaking with the same voice.” One diplomat&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/15/israel-war-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-news-hamas/#link-RO4YL25X2ZB6DJP3TWPCCUIFTE" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told The Washington Post</a>&nbsp;Trump’s influence put added pressure on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement, noting it was “the first time there has been real pressure on the Israeli side to accept a deal.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>When Biden was leaving his press conference, a reporter asked whether he or Trump should get credit for the deal, to which he said: “Is that a joke?” before leaving.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Background</h2>



<p>Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,000 people and taking about 240 people hostage, prompting a massive Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. The two sides have been in a nearly-constant war since then. There was a brief pause in fighting in November 2023 when Hamas and Israel agreed on a temporary ceasefire in which about 100 hostages were released, but they have not been able to agree to terms of another ceasefire in the last year. Since the Oct. 7 attack, more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2024/06/12/hamas-and-israel-accused-of-war-crimes-in-un-commissioned-report/">report</a>&nbsp;by a United Nations-created commission accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes and violating international law. As the war has gone on, Israel has also faced&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/10/world/israel-gaza-war-hamas-rafah" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">mounting criticisms</a>&nbsp;from other countries, including the U.S., for not allowing enough&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/06/16/israel-says-it-will-pause-daytime-fighting-near-gaza-border-to-allow-humanitarian-aid/">aid</a>&nbsp;into the Gaza Strip and for not taking adequate measures to avoid harming civilians.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



<p>98. That’s how many hostages officials believe remain in Gaza, and about 60 are expected to still be alive,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/15/israel-war-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-news-hamas/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">When Does The Ceasefire Take Effect?</h2>



<p>The first phase of the ceasefire will begin on Sunday, Jan. 19. Biden said as part of the first phase, negotiations will continue as to what the future of Gaza will look like.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/01/07/trump-warns-all-hell-will-break-out-if-hamas-doesnt-return-hostages-by-inauguration/">Trump Warns ‘All Hell Will Break Out’ If Hamas Doesn’t Return Hostages By Inauguration</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://apnews.com/live/israel-hamas-ceasefire-updates#00000194-6b63-ddb2-afb6-fffb740b0000" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Live updates: Israel and Hamas agree to a ceasefire in Gaza, multiple officials say&nbsp;</a>(Associated Press)</p>


Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Visits Berlin

Israel Government Approves Gaza Ceasefire And Hostage Deal


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The cancer burden in the United States is shifting towards women and younger people, a new American Cancer Society&nbsp;<a href="https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21871" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">study</a>&nbsp;released Thursday shows, with disease rates in one group—women aged 50 to 64—surpassing those of men for the first time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Cancer rates in women under 50 have soared when compared to their male counterparts, the study shows, and are now 82% higher than the rates seen in men, up from 51% in 2002.</p>



<p>The shift can be partially blamed on increasing trends for breast and thyroid cancers, the study says, which make up almost half of all cancers in people under 50 and mostly impact women.</p>



<p>At the same time, rates of common cancers like melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostate are decreasing in men under 50.</p>



<p>The lifetime probability of being diagnosed with an invasive cancer is now only slightly higher for men (39.9%) than for women (39%), the research shows, much lower than the 1.6% higher chance men had of being diagnosed than women in 1992.</p>



<p>The cancer burden is also shifting by age—new diagnoses in adults aged 65 and older decreased from 61% in 1995 to 59% in 2021, while people aged 50 to 64 and people younger than 50 saw increases in the cancer patient population.</p>



<p>Cancer rates are also on the rise among adolescents aged 15 to 19, but have declined in children ages 14 and below, while mortality rates for both groups have dropped significantly (by 63% and 70%, respectively) since 1970.</p>



<p>Overall, the cancer mortality rate declined by 34% between 1991 and 2022 in the United States, but incidents rates continue to rise in common cancers like breast, pancreatic, uterine corpus, melanoma, liver and some oral cancers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>Among those younger than 65 years, lung cancer incidence was higher in women than in men in 2021 for the first time ever, the study shows.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



<p>2,041,910. That&#8217;s how many cancer diagnoses are expected in 2025, according to the American Cancer Society. An estimated 988,660 of those cases will be in women, 294,220 of which are expected to die. Roughly 323,900 men are expected to die of cancer in 2025.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>The study also looked at cancer inequalities by race. Native Americans see rates of kidney, liver, stomach and cervical cancers two to three times higher than white people, and Black people are twice as likely to die of prostate, stomach and uterine corpus cancers when compared to white people. Black people are also 50% more likely to die from cervical cancer, which is preventable, the American Cancer Society says.</p>


Breast ultrasound exam

More Women And Young People Are Getting Cancer Than Before, New Report Shows


<p><strong>Ads for apps that use AI to create fake videos of people kissing anyone they want are flooding social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.</strong></p>



<p>M<strong>eta and TikTok</strong>&nbsp;have run thousands of ads for apps that use AI to generate fake kissing videos of people, allowing users to upload photos of any two people and let AI convert them into a video of them kissing. The apps are being marketed as tools that would allow you to instantly “kiss anyone you want”— no consent required.</p>



<p>Similar in concept to “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/04/17/google-hosted-over-100-youtube-videos-promoting-ai-deepfake-porn/">AI nudifier</a>” apps that produce nonconsensual deepfake pornography, these AI kissing apps create believable videos of people doing something they didn’t do. And the ease at which they do it is a concerning habitualization of deepfake imagery.</p>



<p>While the ads are not sexually explicit like the deluge of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2023/05/11/reddit-ai-generated-porn/">AI-generated pornographic content</a>&nbsp;that has engulfed social media platforms like Instagram, Reddit and YouTube, they can be equally dangerous, Haley McNamara, an executive at the National Center for Sexual Exploitation told&nbsp;<em>Forbes.</em></p>



<p>“It does not have to be explicit to be exploitative,” McNamara said. “If it&#8217;s crossing boundaries to do something offline to someone without their consent, kissing, undressing, et cetera, then it&#8217;s also crossing boundaries to do that online.”</p>



<p>Meta has displayed over 2,500 ads for “AI kissing” apps across Instagram and Facebook, a&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>review found. About 1,000 are currently active. TikTok has shown about 1,000 ads to millions of users in European countries, according to its ad library. (TikTok’s ad library doesn&#8217;t include ads shown to its U.S.-based users) Most of these ads depict celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Emma Watson and Gal Gadot kissing one another. Others show videos of random people kissing, touting that AI could let you “kiss your ex” and “kiss your crush.&#8221; It’s unclear whether the people in videos are real or generated by AI. Johansson, Watson and Gadot did not respond to requests for comment.</p>



<p>Meta is also promoting “AI hugging” apps, ads for which show AI-generated videos of children hugging cartoon characters like Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry. Some, like a video showing a young girl hugging an older man, promise parents that AI-powered apps could allow their children to “hug grandparents they never met.” The social media giant has run about 1,200 AI hugging app ads, a&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;search found. Over 300 are still live.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“This trend is normalizing exploitative deepfakes and taking nonconsensual participation in intimate or sexualized images as a joke.”Haley McNamara, executive at the National Center On Sexual Exploitation.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>AI-generated videos of people kissing and hugging are already circulating across social media. A video depicting Taylor Swift hugging Kim Jong Un has about 30 million views on Instagram. In late December, a deepfake video of Elon Musk and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni kissing went viral on X.</p>



<p>Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;that these “AI kissing” ads do not violate the company’s policies. While nudity, sexually explicit and sexually suggestive content are against Meta’s&nbsp;<a href="https://transparency.meta.com/policies/ad-standards/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">advertising&nbsp;</a>standards and Meta does not permit ads that “display, advocate for, or coordinate sexual acts with non-consenting parties,” videos of kissing and hugging are permitted.</p>



<p>After being contacted by&nbsp;<em>Forbes,&nbsp;</em>TikTok removed the ads for violating its policies. The video sharing platform requires advertisers to get consent from public or private figures represented in their ads, even if the ads are AI-generated, TikTok spokesperson Ariane de Selliers told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>.</p>



<p>The companies behind these video generators appear to be based outside the United States in countries like the United Arab Emirates, Italy and China, according to their websites. The apps are available for free on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store and already have millions of downloads. The “AI kissing” feature is a part of a broader suite of AI-based photo editing capabilities across the apps, like touching up old photos, turning still images into videos and predicting what two people’s future babies would look like. Apple and Google did not respond to comment requests.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“It was incredibly creepy to encounter.”Alice Siregar, AI analyst and social media user.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>The spread of AI kissing apps, boosted by social media’s virality, illustrate a troubling mainstreaming of deepfakes in the age of generative AI. Use of these seemingly harmless apps could open the door to tools that could create more graphic imagery like deepfake porn and other types of image-based sexual abuse, McNamara said. “It&#8217;s just an absolute Pandora&#8217;s box,” she said.</p>



<p>“This trend is normalizing exploitative deepfakes and taking nonconsensual participation in intimate or sexualized images as a joke,” she said. “It&#8217;s the kind of thing that is easy to trivialize when you think about other people, but again, if you think about someone in your own sphere making images like this of yourself, someone who you wouldn&#8217;t want having images, I think everyone can recognize that that is a violation.”</p>



<p>That’s especially concerning when illegal AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is on an unprecedented&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2024/04/15/ai-is-creating-an-influx-of-child-sex-abuse-images-ncmec-data/">rise</a>. Over the last two years, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (<a href="https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2024/the-growing-concerns-of-generative-ai-and-child-sexual-exploitation" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NCMEC</a>) has received over 7,000 reports of generative AI-related child exploitation material. In one&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2024/08/30/pedophile-filmed-kids-at-disney-world-to-make-ai-child-abuse-images-cops-say/">case</a>, a pedophile allegedly filmed children at Disneyland and used popular AI tool Stable Diffusion to produce thousands of illegal images of them. And with unrestricted access to AI image generators, teenage high school students in multiple&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2024/03/13/teen-boys-deepfaked-her-daughter-then-the-school-made-it-worse-one-mom-says/">instances</a>&nbsp;have created deepfake nude imagery of their underage classmates, some resulting in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/cyrusfarivar/2024/12/11/almost-half-the-girls-at-this-school-were-targets-of-ai-porn-their-ex-classmates-have-now-been-indicted/">criminal charges</a>. Meta has also struggled to police ads for such AI “nudifying” sites, one of which has seen 90 percent of its traffic coming from Instagram and Facebook, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://fakedup.substack.com/p/ai-nudifiers-make-a-mockery-of-metas-moderation?ref=404media.co" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Faked Up</a>&nbsp;newsletter.</p>



<p>People who have encountered the AI kissing ads while scrolling through social media say they find them&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/comments/1fejz9m/this_ad_i_saw_today_may_be_one_of_the_creepiest/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">disturbing</a>. In December, Alice Siregar started seeing an uptick in ads for AI kissing apps on TikTok. An AI analyst at a tech consulting firm herself, she was dismayed to see the technology being used in a “deeply unethical” way.</p>



<p>“It was incredibly creepy to encounter,” she said. </p>


Man and robot love

AI Kissing Apps Are Taking Deepfakes Mainstream


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Four disastrous wildfires were still burning across Los Angeles and Ventura counties in southern California on Tuesday, but it’s not yet clear what started the fires—as government officials, lawyers and experts weigh theories like electrical issues, embers from older fires and arson.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire both broke out on Jan. 7 and grew to more than 23,000 and 14,000 acres, respectively, destroying thousands of structures and leading to more than 100,000 evacuations throughout Los Angeles.</p>



<p>Several smaller fires—including the Hurst Fire and Auto Fire, which were both still active as of Tuesday—broke out after the Palisades and Eaton fires, and led to more evacuations.</p>



<p>The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection shows the causes of all four active fires are still under investigation, leading to unanswered questions about what could have caused some of California’s most destructive wildfires.</p>



<p>Anonymous officials involved with the investigation into the origin of the Palisades Fire told the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-12/on-an-ocean-view-trail-questions-swirl-about-what-and-who-started-palisades-fire" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a>&nbsp;it appears to have human origins, though they noted the investigation is ongoing.</p>



<p>Investigators are focusing on a “crime scene” area that sits above most of Los Angeles in a neighborhood with rocky bluffs and popular hiking trails as the potential ignition site of the Palisades Fire,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/us/palisades-fire-cause-ignition-point-site.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-arson">Arson</h2>



<p>Dominic Choi, the assistant Los Angeles police chief, said Monday officials are investigating every angle and not ruling out arson as the cause of either of the major fires, but he added there is “no definitive determination that it is arson.” The theory has drawn public attention after a spate of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/los-angeles-wildfires-palisades-eaton-california-01-14-25-hnk#cm5woa60c0005356oh3zuokrk" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">arson-related arrests</a>, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/01/10/alleged-arsonist-arrested-in-los-angeles-amid-deadly-california-wildfires-kenneth/">one arrest</a>&nbsp;of a man who was allegedly seen lighting a fire near the smaller Kenneth Fire last week—though police later said there wasn’t probable cause to charge him with arson, and they can’t confirm any link between the arrestee and the fires. Some experts are skeptical of the theory. A former battalion chief for the Los Angeles Fire Department told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/are-arsonists-responsible-los-angeles-wildfires-rcna186949" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NBC News</a>&nbsp;the area where the Palisades Fire began is “inaccessible, rugged terrain,” that typically wouldn’t draw an arsonist. Experts also told NBC natural causes are a more plausible theory because of the heavy wind conditions: “Most of the time, these fires are not arson … There is no data supporting winds bringing out arsonists,” a former detective with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office said. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/fire-prevention-education-mitigation/wildfire-investigation#arson" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">National Interagency Fire Center</a>&nbsp;says arson may account for more than 20% of human-caused wildland fires, but the actual number is unclear as arson fires may be misclassified for some time.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="704" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193935251.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64348" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193935251.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193935251-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2193935251-768x528.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em> (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)</em></strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-power-lines-and-electric-infrastructure">Power Lines And Electric Infrastructure</h2>



<p>Multiple residents of Altadena sued Southern California Edison on Monday, alleging the Eaton Fire was started by the company’s electrical equipment. The lawsuits cite&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/us/southern-california-edison-la-fires-lawsuit.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">eyewitness reports</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/13/business/edison-power-company-lawsuit-eaton-fire/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">of sparking power lines</a>. The company has pushed back against the theory, saying in a&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.edison.com/releases/edison-international-provides-latest-update-on-southern-california-wildfires-and-sce-power-outages" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement</a>&nbsp;Sunday its “analysis shows no interruptions or operational/electrical anomalies in the 12 hours prior to the fire’s reported start time until more than one hour after the reported start time of the fire.” One of the filed complaints&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-eaton-cause-utility-fireworks-eb0f4f71e437f1ba692f929e9633c856" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reportedly</a>&nbsp;alleged, “there is clear evidence from video footage, photographs, and witness accounts that the fire was caused by electrical equipment operated by Defendants Edison International and Southern California Edison.” Power infrastructure has been a leading cause of fires in California in the past—with eight of the state’s 20 most destructive fires having power-related causes—and the amount of fires started by equipment has grown recently,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/01/13/us/los-angeles-fires-cause.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-old-embers-or-fireworks">Old Embers—or Fireworks</h2>



<p>Some experts and residents believe the Palisades Fire may have been started by the remnants of a fire from New Year’s Day that began after fireworks were set off. The Jan. 1 fire broke out in the same place as the Palisades Fire and burned about three to four acres before fire officials said it was contained about five hours later, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-wildfires-eaton-cause-utility-fireworks-eb0f4f71e437f1ba692f929e9633c856" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>&nbsp;reported. Michael Gollner, a fire scientist and University of California at Berkeley professor,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/01/12/palisades-fire-origin-new-years-eve-fire/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told The Washington Post</a>&nbsp;“it’s certainly possible that something from that previous fire, within a week, had rekindled and caused the ignition” of the Palisades Fire. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed the department does not typically patrol past fire sites for still burning embers. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/us/palisades-fire-cause-ignition-point-site.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times notes</a>&nbsp;a number of past major fires were determined to be started by old blazes that officials believed were put out, including the 2023 wildfire in Maui that killed 102 people and a deadly 1991 firestorm in northern California.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-other-human-causes">Other Human Causes</h2>



<p>Cal Fire said 95% of California&#8217;s past wildfires have been caused by humans, but the agency noted human causes range from intentional arson to accidental situations, like campfires or discarded cigarette butts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/weather/live-news/los-angeles-wildfires-palisades-eaton-california-01-14-25-hnk?t=1736873475204" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CNN</a>&nbsp;reported.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lightning">Lightning</h2>



<p>Officials were able to rule out lightning as a potential cause for the Palisades or Eaton fires as the area didn’t have stormy weather in the week the fires began,&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ignited-deadly-california-wildfires-investigators-array-possibilities-117539585" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ABC News</a>&nbsp;reported on Jan. 9. Lightning is a common cause of wildfires, though, and led to 174 wildfires in southern California in 2023, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information/statistics/lightning-caused" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">National Interagency Fire Center</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-many-other-fires-were-there-in-los-angeles">How Many Other Fires Were There In Los Angeles?</h2>



<p>In addition to four active wildfires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, there were at least four other fires that are now contained, including the Sunset Fire that burned through the Hollywood Hills and Runyon Canyon, the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills Area, the Lidia Fire in the Angeles National Forest and the Woodley Fire.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">What To Watch For</h2>



<p>More information from investigators. The process to identify the cause of a fire begins with pinpointing the fire’s starting point, then investigators will usually search the scene on their hands and knees looking for clues to what could have started it, which could take days,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/are-arsonists-responsible-los-angeles-wildfires-rcna186949" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NBC News</a>&nbsp;reported. If they find evidence it was started by a person, investigators must then determine whether it was intentional arson or accidental negligence, but NBC reported that process could take months or years.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Whatever the cause of the fires, experts seem to agree the conditions for the fires to spread easily were worsened by climate change. The California Air Resources Board&nbsp;<a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/wildfires-climate-change" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;the area burned by wildfires in the state has been increasing each year since 1950, and unusually warm temperatures combined with very low precipitation create “conditions for extreme, high severity wildfires that spread rapidly.” Last summer was particularly hot in California and across the West, while there was very little rainfall: The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ewe4p9128o" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">BBC</a>&nbsp;reported downtown Los Angeles has gotten just 0.16 inches of rain since October.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/01/14/california-wildfire-live-updates-new-auto-fire-breaks-out-in-ventura-county-as-particularly-dangerous-situation-red-flag-warning-goes-into-effect/">California Wildfire Live Updates: New ‘Auto Fire’ Breaks Out</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/wildfires/are-arsonists-responsible-los-angeles-wildfires-rcna186949" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Are arsonists responsible for the Los Angeles wildfires?</a>&nbsp;(NBC News)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ewe4p9128o" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Climate change: What role is it playing in the California fires</a>&nbsp;(BBC)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-12/on-an-ocean-view-trail-questions-swirl-about-what-and-who-started-palisades-fire" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">What sparked the Palisades fire? A beloved hiking trail may hold the grim answers</a>&nbsp;(Los Angeles Times)</p>


Author: Forbes

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA