
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/?sh=7717ecda689f">Bill Gates</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/melinda-gates/?sh=3f63649f7c2b">Melinda French Gates</a>&nbsp;are already divvying up their massive fortune, and in the process, Melinda has become a billionaire on her own.</p>



<p>Bill’s investment vehicle, Cascade Investment, transferred nearly $2.4 billion in securities to Melinda on Monday, May 3, the same day the pair announced their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissaholzberg/2021/05/03/bill-and-melinda-gates-announce-divorce/?sh=4f23e9b94272">surprise divorce</a>, according to SEC filings. That makes Melinda worth at least $2.4 billion, while the stock transfer puts a slight dent in Bill’s net worth, which fell to an estimated $128.1 billion, from $130.4 billion on Tuesday. Even after the ten-figure transfer, the Microsoft cofounder remains the fourth richest person in the world.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Melinda received 2.94 million shares of AutoNation and 14.1 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co., which are worth $309 million and $1.5 billion respectively. (Bloomberg News first reported the transfer.) Bill also gave Melinda 25.8 million shares of Mexico-based Coca-Cola Femsa worth $120 million and 155.4 million shares of Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa SA, which are worth $386 million, according to SEC filings. The Wall Street Journal first reported the latter transfer.</p>



<p>Bill uses Cascade Investment, a holding company based in Kirkland, Washington, to manage his money, including the proceeds from selling Microsoft shares. Bill at one point owned a significant slice of Microsoft, but has given away (to the Gates Foundation) or sold most of his stake over the years and now holds less than 1%.</p>



<p>The stock transfer is almost certainly part of Bill and Melinda’s divorce settlement. While it’s unclear if they signed a prenup, according to their divorce filing Bill and Melinda&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/05/03/how-the-gates-split-could-stack-up-against-the-biggest-billionaire-divorces/?sh=12b9b62e2841">asked</a>&nbsp;a judge in Washington state to divide their assets based on the terms of a separation contract—a document that is typically signed when spouses are living apart but have not yet divorced. The terms of the contract weren’t disclosed. Bill may have also transferred other assets to Melinda in non-public transactions.&nbsp;MORE FOR YOU<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2021/04/22/vc-firm-of-moderna-chairman-dumped-14-billion-of-stock-in-two-months/">VC Firm Of Moderna Chairman Sold $1.4 Billion Of Stock In Two Months</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/04/07/plaids-134-billion-valuation-makes-its-founders-fintechs-newest-billionaires/">Plaid’s $13.4 Billion Valuation Makes Its Founders Fintech’s Newest Billionaires</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/04/29/endeavor-lands-elusive-ipo-with-emanuel-and-whitesell-controlling-nearly-1-billion-in-shares/">Endeavor Lands Elusive IPO, With Emanuel And Whitesell Controlling Nearly $1 Billion In Shares</a></p>



<p><em>A spokesperson for Bill Gates did not reply to a request for comment.&nbsp;A spokesperson for Melinda did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</em></p>



<p><strong><em>By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


gettyimages-1156268280-594×594

Melinda French Gates Now A Billionaire After Stock Transfer From Bill Gates


<p>The man Warren Buffett expects to succeed him at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway is worth an estimated $484 million thanks to a stake in its privately held energy subsidiary, despite owning very little of Berkshire’s publicly traded stock.</p>



<p>At Berkshire’s annual meeting on Saturday, Buffett’s longtime lieutenant Charles Munger made an off-handed comment that “Greg will keep the culture” as Berkshire grows more decentralized, suggesting that the company’s vice chairman, Greg Abel, will succeed Buffett as CEO. Buffett later confirmed to CNBC that Abel is the current choice to take over, saying, “The directors are in agreement that if something were to happen to me tonight, it would be Greg who’d take over tomorrow morning.”</p>



<p>Abel has been a leader at Berkshire since the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate bought MidAmerican Energy in 2000 when he was its president. He became CEO of the company now named Berkshire Hathaway Energy in 2008 and served in that role until becoming Berkshire’s vice chairman in 2018.</p>



<p>Abel owns a 1% stake in Berkshire Hathaway Energy, billionaire Walter Scott owns 7.9% and Berkshire Hathaway owns the remaining 91.1% of the company, according to BHE’s 2020 annual report. Berkshire repurchased $126 million worth of shares from Scott on March 5, 2020, according to its latest proxy statement, valuing BHE at $53.4 billion. That makes Abel’s stake worth an estimated $480 million (Forbes discounts ownership stakes in privately held companies).</p>



<p>Abel’s piece of BHE makes up the vast majority of his net worth, Forbes estimates. He owns only five Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares in a trust and 2,363 Class B shares as a custodian for members of his family, according to the proxy statement. With Class A shares worth more than $400,000 per share and Class B shares trading at $280 for share as of Monday’s market close, that stake is worth about $2.8 million.</p>



<p>Abel and Ajit Jain were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2018/01/10/warren-buffett-adds-energy-head-greg-abel-and-insurance-maestro-ajit-jain-to-berkshires-board/?sh=5355b5717c73">named vice chairmen</a>&nbsp;at the same time in 2018, prompting speculation that both were in contention to move into the top job. Jain, a 35-year Berkshire veteran, manages its insurance operations, and Abel oversees everything else. Jain owns $185 million worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares, some of which are held by a private foundation. Abel, 58, is 11 years younger than Jain, which Buffett reportedly cited as a contributing factor to the decision. “They’re both wonderful guys. The likelihood of someone having a 20-year runway though makes a real difference,” Buffett told CNBC.</p>



<p>Although he is among the youngest members of Berkshire’s board of directors, Abel’s stake in the public company still stands out as strikingly small. Buffett’s 248,734 Class A shares make up the bulk of the Oracle of Omaha’s $106 billion fortune. Munger’s shares are worth $1.9 billion, and early investor David Gottesman owns a $2.6 billion stake. All but two others on Berkshire’s 14-member board have stakes worth much more than Abel’s. A company spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.</p>



<p>But as an added bonus to his lucrative Berkshire Hathaway Energy stake, Abel is paid handsomely in his role as vice chairman. His base salary was $16 million in each of the last three years, according to Berkshire’s proxy statement, and he received $3 million bonuses in 2020 and 2019 and a $2 million bonus in 2018. Buffett and Munger’s base salaries are a mere $100,000 annually.</p>



<p>Abel also serves on the board of Kraft Heinz and owns 40,036 shares individually, worth about $1.7 million. Berkshire Hathaway orchestrated the 2015 megamerger of Kraft and Heinz after buying both food companies with Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital and is Kraft Heinz’s largest shareholder with a 26.6% stake.</p>



<p><strong><em>By Hank Tucker, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Inside The Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Annual General Meeting

Just How Rich Is Warren Buffett Successor Greg Abel?


<p>During the abolitionist movement of the 19th century, journalists were among those leading the charge to eradicate slavery. Two centuries later, they’re continuing to inspire change, with leaders at the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research and the&nbsp;<em>Boston Globe</em>&nbsp;teaming up to apply the same pressure to ongoing racial injustice.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The result:&nbsp;<em>The Emancipator</em>, a platform cofounded by author, historian and Boston University Center for Antiracist Research director Ibram X. Kendi and&nbsp;<em>Boston Globe</em>&nbsp;editorial page editor Bina Venkataraman that will spotlight antiracism practices through the multimedia work of journalists, historians and scholars. Content will include written stories, research and interactive events like roundtables.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The idea for the initiative came to the cofounders in June, when, after discovering their shared interest in Boston-based, 19th-century antislavery publications, they started wondering, “Could we create a publication, a megaphone for leading thinkers, ideas and debates about bringing about a racially just society, in the same way that those abolitionists created a megaphone for thinkers who wanted to bring about the end of slavery?” says Venkataraman.</p>



<p>“In many ways, I have married scholarship and journalism in my own work, and what it’s allowed for is the ability to have the research techniques and methods and methodology combined with writing in a way that’s accessible for everyday people,” Kendi adds. “Putting both together under the same roof with [<em>The Emancipator</em>], I think it’s going to be quite effective. Quite impactful.”</p>



<p>Though the platform doesn’t officially launch until later this year, the cofounders are already establishing a team (they’re currently looking to hire two Boston-based co-editors-in-chief) and finalizing details. They’ve decided, for example, that all content will be free to the public. “We really believe that in order to move our society forward in this really ambitious way, we should be reaching as many people as possible,” says Venkataraman.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The team has also recruited an advisory board of journalists and scholars, including the&nbsp;<em>New York Times&nbsp;</em>Pulitzer Prize-winninginvestigative reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones, Harvard historian and author Annette Gordon-Reed, journalist and immigration rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas and The 19th CEO and editor-in-chief Emily Ramshaw. Members of the founding team also include Dr. Monica Wang, associate director of narrative for the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, and Kimberly Atkins,&nbsp;<em>Boston Globe&nbsp;</em>columnist and MSNBC contributor.</p>



<p>Joining the effort is a full-circle moment for Atkins, whose first journalism job was at the&nbsp;<em>Boston Globe</em>. Atkins will serve as&nbsp;<em>The Emancipator</em>’s lead columnist and will author its biweekly newsletter, Unbound.</p>



<p>“This will be something more than simply a news organization . . . it’s something bigger,” says Atkins. “I’ve been asked a lot over the last year, ‘What can I do? How can I help? How can I understand?’ And there&#8217;s no easy answer to that. . . . A lot of that understanding needs to be grounded in research; it needs to be grounded in study and analysis. I can direct people [to&nbsp;<em>The Emancipator</em>] and say, ‘If you want to understand more, this is a place to start.’”</p>



<p>Kendi hopes to grow<em>&nbsp;The Emancipator&nbsp;</em>into “the premiere vehicle for sort of data-driven, research-based, evidence-based journalism and scholarship and opinion on the most important racial issues of our time.”</p>



<p>“If we can get to a time in which we could say that we’ve abolished racism, people will look back on <em>The Emancipator</em> and see that this multimedia platform was critical in that work, just like when we reflect on the movement against slavery in the 19th century,” he says.</p>



<p><strong><em>By Brianne Garrett, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Celebrities Visit Build – March 10, 2020

‘It’s Something Bigger’: This New Platform Is Reimagining The Role Of News Media In Eradicating Racism


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it would attempt to ban menthol cigarettes nationwide, renewing a proposal that has long been pushed for by anti-tobacco groups and civil rights advocates.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-commits-evidence-based-actions-aimed-saving-lives-and-preventing-future-generations-smokers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announcement</a>&nbsp;marked the launch of a federal rule-making process that could take years and face challenges from the tobacco industry.</p>



<p>For decades, the tobacco industry has aggressively&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/content/what_we_do/industry_watch/menthol-report/2021_02_tfk-menthol-report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">marketed</a>&nbsp;menthol cigarettes to Black communities.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Nearly 85% of Black smokers smoke menthol cigarettes, according to the FDA.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>&nbsp;“For far too long, certain populations, including African Americans, have been targeted, and disproportionately impacted by tobacco use,” Mitch Zeller, the director of the Center for Tobacco Products at the FDA, said in a statement.&nbsp;“Despite the tremendous progress we’ve made in getting people to stop smoking over the past 55 years, that progress hasn’t been experienced by everyone equally.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>A court had ordered the FDA to respond by Thursday to a 2013 lawsuit that called for a ban on menthol cigarettes. The move would also prohibit flavors in mass-produced cigars and cigarillos.</p>



<p><strong><em>By Gina Heeb, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Health Campaigners Call For A Tobacco Levy To Help Smokers Quit

FDA Proposes Menthol Cigarette Ban


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Facebook, the world&#8217;s largest social media company, posted its strongest first-quarter earnings yet Wednesday afternoon, shattering Wall Street expectations thanks to surging advertising revenues despite heightened competition from the likes of Google and threats on the regulatory front.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Menlo Park, Calif.-based Facebook <a href="https://investor.fb.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2021/Facebook-Reports-First-Quarter-2021-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> revenue of $26.1 billion in the first quarter, 48% more than the $17.7 billion it pulled in the first quarter of last year and nearly $3 billion more than analysts expected.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Net income also smashed expectations, hitting $9.5 billion, or $3.30 per share—well above average analyst expectations of $2.33 per share and nearly double income of $4.9 billion in the first quarter of last year.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Facebook’s monthly active users jumped about 50 million, meaning a record-breaking 2.85 billion people used the social network in the last month of the quarter. </li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>A slew of analysts upped their Facebook price targets this week in anticipation of the better-than-expected earnings report, with Credit Suisse&#8217;s Stephen Ju on Monday saying improving ad trends should bode well for Facebook and Instagram&#8217;s bottom lines.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Facebook stock futures jumped 7% within minutes of the announcement; shares closed up 1.2% on Wednesday and have climbed about 14% for the year—better than the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 11% increase.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



<p>$341.50. That&#8217;s how high analysts think Facebook shares can go over the next year, according to Bloomberg data, giving the stock about 11% upside to Wednesday’s closing price of $307.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h3>



<p>Facebook&#8217;s third-quarter&nbsp;<a href="https://investor.fb.com/investor-events/event-details/2021/Facebook-Q1-2021-Earnings-/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earnings call</a>&nbsp;is at 5 p.m. EDT Wednesday.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE&nbsp;</h3>



<p>&#8220;We had a strong quarter as we helped people stay connected and businesses grow,&#8221; said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/">Mark Zuckerberg</a>, Facebook’s billionaire founder and CEO. &#8220;We will continue to invest aggressively to deliver new and meaningful experiences for years to come, including in newer areas like augmented and virtual reality, commerce, and the creator economy.&#8221;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>Founded in 2004 by a group of Harvard College classmates including Zuckerberg and fellow billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/dustin-moskovitz/">Dustin Moskovitz</a>, Facebook is now the fifth-largest U.S. company by market cap, worth a staggering $862 billion. More than 95% of the company&#8217;s revenue comes from advertising, with about 50% of sales saturated in the U.S. and Canada. Though Bank of America expects the stock could soar another 20% in the next three years, the biggest risks to watch for include declines in user activity, privacy issues, big-tech regulation and any adverse impact on advertising prices.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2021/04/27/facebooks-stock-to-grow-as-earnings-expected-to-beat-market-estimates/">Facebook&#8217;s Stock To Grow As Earnings Expected To Beat Market Estimates?</a>&nbsp;<em>(Forbes)</em></p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/04/28/why-mark-zuckerberg-wants-influencers-to-get-rich/">Why Mark Zuckerberg Wants Influencers To Get Rich</a>&nbsp;<em>(Forbes)</em></p>



<p><strong><em>By Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


In this photo illustration, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook Posts $26 Billion In Revenue, Shattering Wall Street Expectations As Income Nearly Doubles


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Apple reported a profit of $23.6 billion in its second quarter, up twofold from a year ago, on record sales of $89.6 billion, blowing past analysts’ expectations as iPhone sales remained strong after a record end to 2020.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Apple’s sales were up 53.7% jump from the same quarter last year, exceeding the $77.4 billion <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/analysis?p=AAPL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected by analysts</a>.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Net earnings were $1.40 per share, also well ahead of the consensus analyst expectation of 99 cents per share.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>iPhone sales totaled $47.9 billion, accounting for 53% of Apple’s total revenue, far surpassing the $29 billion reported in the first quarter of 2020 and the $41.7 billion predicted by Wall Street analysts.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Revenue from services like iTunes and the App Store grew 27% to $16.9 billion, and sales of Mac computers, iPads and accessories like AirPods and watches also increased from last year.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>“Success was broadly distributed across our product categories,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a Wednesday evening conference call.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>In the final three months of last year, Apple logged the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2021/01/27/apples-biggest-quarter-ever-all-the-insane-numbers/">best quarter</a>&nbsp;in its 45-year history, topping $100 billion in total sales and growing revenue for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/apple-aapl-earnings-q1-2021.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">virtually every product line</a>. Over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/q4fy15datasum.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the last</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/Q1FY17DataSummary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decade</a>, iPhones have served as the Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s largest driver of revenue. Some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/timbajarin/2020/11/01/will-5g-kick-off-a-smartphone-upgrade-supercycle/?sh=9fcbe876fd2b">observers</a>&nbsp;expected iPhone sales to remain fairly strong at the start of this year, as consumers continue&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-aapl-2q-earnings-report-2021-11619572929" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">upgrading to pricier</a>&nbsp;5G-enabled smartphones. But the company has also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/Q1FY17DataSummary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rapidly</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/FY21%20Q1%20Consolidated%20Financial%20Statements.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">increased</a>&nbsp;the share of its revenue from online services, and sales have grown for accessories like watches and AirPods.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>It’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2021/04/28/the-two-most-important-numbers-in-apples-earnings-announcement/?sh=6df247e93b49">not unusual</a>&nbsp;for Apple’s revenue to drop significantly from the end of one year to the beginning of the next, as holiday shopping brings&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/01/apple-reports-first-quarter-results/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consumers into stores</a>&nbsp;and drives&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/06/apple-app-store-customers-spent-record-540-million-on-new-years-day.html#:~:text=On%20top%20of%20that%2C%20Apple,for%20its%20Apple%20Books%20app." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">digital sales</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2021/04/28/the-two-most-important-numbers-in-apples-earnings-announcement/?sh=6df247e93b49">The Two Most Important Numbers In Apple’s Earnings Announcement (Forbes)</a></p>



<p><em><strong>By Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


Apple_announce-iphone12pro_10132020

Apple Profit Doubles On Record Revenue In Second Quarter As iPhone Sales Beat Expectations


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Google parent Alphabet posted first quarter earnings Tuesday of $26.29 per share (versus Wall Street expectations of $15.82 per share) on revenues of $55.31 billion (versus expectations of $51.7 billion), boosted by surge in ad revenues.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Alphabet’s reported fiscal first quarter net income of $17.93 billion, or $26.29 a share, almost tripled the net income of $6.84 billion, or $9.87 a share, in the year-ago period.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The first quarter revenues of $55.2 billion represented a 34% jump from the first quarter of 2020.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Google’s total advertising revenues soared by 32% year-over-year to $44.6 billion.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Revenues at Google’s Cloud unit amounted to $4.05 billion (a 46% surge over last year), but slightly below analyst estimates of $4.07 billion, according to financial date firm FactSet.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>But ads generated by the YouTube unit totaled $6.01 billion, above expectations of $5.70 billion (according to FactSet unit StreetAccount) and a 49% surge over the prior year, </li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Traffic acquisition costs (which are payments made to affiliates and online companies for directing traffic to their websites) came in at $9.71 billion versus expectations of $9.25 billion, according to FactSet estimates.</li></ul>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



<p>Total revenues in the first quarter “reflect elevated consumer activity online and broad-based growth in advertiser revenue. We’re very pleased with the ongoing momentum in Google Cloud, with revenues of $4 billion in the quarter reflecting strength and opportunity in both [Google Cloud Platform] and [Google Workspace computing software],” said Ruth Porat CFO of Google and Alphabet.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



<p>Alphabet shares climbed about 4% in post-close trading. Google’s Cloud platform, which competes with rivals Microsoft’s Azure and Amazon’s AWS (Amazon Web Services), posted a $974 million operating loss for the quarter, but that compared to a $1.7 billion loss in the prior year. &#8220;In the FAANG [Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet] group Amazon is the only competitor against Alphabet on more than one front and whilst Amazon has a large cloud service in AWS, Google’s ad business dwarfs its rival,&#8221;<a href="https://news.yahoo.com/alphabet-google-youtube-reports-q1-earnings-results-150238095.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Tom Johnson</a>, chief transformation officer at marketing agency WPP Mindshare, told Yahoo Finance. &#8220;As brands accelerate out of the pandemic, Alphabet’s combined offering… is likely to become even more attractive as more businesses move to direct-to-consumer or hybrid business models leveraging Alphabet’s advertising and cloud services.&#8221;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h4>



<p>32%. That’s how much Alphabet shares have surged year-to-date, well above the S&amp;P 500&#8217;s return of 11.5%.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h3>



<p>While Alphabet jumped by 30.9% in pandemic-afflicted 2020, it underperformed some of its FAANG peers: Apple soared 85%, and Amazon surged about 76%.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>In March,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/18/google-to-spend-7-billion-in-data-centers-and-office-space-in-2021.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google said</a>&nbsp;it would spend $7 billion to expand offices and data centers across 19 states, creating at least 10,000 full-time jobs.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/13/google-parent-alphabet-set-to-hit-1-trillion-in-market-value/">Google Parent Alphabet Is No Longer A $1 Trillion Company After Latest Earnings Miss</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/02/04/google-parent-alphabet-is-no-longer-a-1-trillion-company-after-latest-earnings-miss/">Google Parent Alphabet Passes $1 Trillion In Market Value</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2020/01/13/google-parent-alphabet-set-to-hit-1-trillion-in-market-value/">Google Cofounders Are $14 Billion Richer After Stellar Earnings Report </a>(Forbes)</p>



<p><strong><em>By Palash Ghosh, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


In this photo illustration the American multinational

Google’s Quarterly Results Smash Expectations


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> The abrupt ending to the Oscars, which saw the late Chadwick Boseman—the favorite to win the Best Actor prize—&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chadwick-boseman-snubbed-for-best-actor-oscar/?sh=3e94f2076de6">lose out</a>&nbsp;to Anthony Hopkins, has drawn confused and angry reactions from viewers on social media in what is the latest instance of an Academy Awards ceremony failing to pull off a satisfying ending.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50966" width="436" height="654" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-200x300.jpg 200w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1314484181-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 436px) 100vw, 436px" /><figcaption>LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., a general view of the trophies during the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Troy Harvey/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The decision by the Oscars producers to switch the traditional order of the awards—choosing to end with the Best Actress and Best Actor prize instead of the Best Picture—had raised hopes for a memorable posthumous win for Boseman to close out the show.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>However, Boseman’s performance in&nbsp;<em>Ma Rainey&#8217;s Black Bottom</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chadwick-boseman-snubbed-for-best-actor-oscar/?sh=3e94f2076de6">lost out</a>&nbsp;to Hopkins’ role in&nbsp;<em>The Father</em>.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>As Hopkins was not in attendance to accept the award, the ceremony ended abruptly after his name was announced, prompting confusion among viewers on Twitter who compared it to other botched finales, like ones from&nbsp;<em>The Sopranos</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/1386520116016320513" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Game Of Throne</em>s</a>.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>It’s unclear if Steven Soderbergh, who produced this year’s awards, made the decision to switch the order of things expecting an emotional win for Boseman—who had won the top prize at this year’s Golden Globes and SAG Awards.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Viewers on Twitter were&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/mikeryan/status/1386519697412214787" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">annoyed</a>&nbsp;that the ceremony failed to deliver after it seemed like things were building up to a memorable win for Boseman, and many also&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/davidehrlich/status/1386520238095749129" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slammed</a>&nbsp;the snafu for taking away from Hopkins’ big moment as well.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>If things had played out in the traditional order, the show would have ended with Chloé Zhao’s&nbsp;<em>Nomadland</em>&nbsp;winning Best Picture, which many&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/leestorrow/status/1386520909222195208" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">argued</a>&nbsp;would have been a more historic and celebratory moment.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h3>



<p>Chloé Zhao won the Oscar for Best Director&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chlo-zhao-becomes-first-woman-of-color-to-win-best-director-oscar/?sh=3231e9605a40">becoming</a>&nbsp;only the second woman to win the category in 93 years, and the first woman of color to do so.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>Sunday’s botched ending to the ceremony has drawn comparisons to the 89th Academy Awards, where presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty incorrectly announced that&nbsp;<em>La La Land</em>&nbsp;had won the Best Picture awards. The mistake was fixed several minutes later—after&nbsp;<em>La La Land</em>’s cast and crew had come up to the stage, and a few of them had already delivered their speeches. The film&nbsp;<em>Moonlight&nbsp;</em>was then announced as the actual winner. Apart from the controversial final award, Sunday’s ceremony was swept by Chloe Zhao’s&nbsp;<em>Nomadland</em>, which won the Best Picture prize, along with Zhao winning Best Director and Frances McDormand winning Best Actress for her role in the film.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>Things weren’t entirely gloomy on social media, as Glenn Close won instant accolades for immediately recognizing the dance single “Da Butt” and doing a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/laceygilleran/status/1386512616256901123" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">little jig</a>&nbsp;to it during the ceremony. In a skit during the ceremony, comedian Lil Rel Howery walked around asking a few actors to identify Oscar-nominated songs. When Howery walked up to Close, DJ Questlove played 1988’s “Da Butt” by the Washington D.C. go-go band Experience Unlimited. The song had been featured in one of Spike Lee’s early films,&nbsp;<em>School Daze</em>, a musical set at a fictional historically Black university. Close seemed to recognize the song instantly, and followed it up by&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/laceygilleran/status/1386512616256901123" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">twerking</a>&nbsp;to the song. The&nbsp;<em>Los Angeles Times</em>&nbsp;has since&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-04-25/oscars-2021-glenn-close-da-butt-dance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">confirmed</a>&nbsp;that the moment was scripted for laughs. But it seems to have done its trick and has garnered near-universal approval on social media.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chadwick-boseman-snubbed-for-best-actor-oscar/?sh=3e94f2076de6">Chadwick Boseman Loses Best Actor Oscar To Anthony Hopkins</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2021/04/25/chlo-zhao-becomes-first-woman-of-color-to-win-best-director-oscar/?sh=3231e9605a40">Chloé Zhao Becomes First Woman Of Color To Win Best Director Oscar</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/04/26/netflix-once-again-loses-out-in-best-picture-sweepstakes/?sh=78a2982842eb">Netflix Once Again Loses Out In Best Picture Sweepstakes</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dawnchmielewski/2021/04/25/oscars-2021-the-live-winners-list/?sh=128f9bcb9e23">Oscars 2021: The Full Winners List</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><em><strong>By <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/">Siladitya Ray</a>, Forbes Staff</strong></em></p>


91st Annual Academy Awards – Arrivals

Oscars 2021: Switched Ending And Surprise Chadwick Boseman Loss Prompts Confusion And Anger


<p id="h-topline"><strong>TOPLINE</strong> Swedish billionaire and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is launching a bid to take over the English soccer club Arsenal with support from three major former stars of the London-based team, the&nbsp;<em>Telegraph</em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/04/26/exclusive-spotify-founder-launch-arsenal-takeover-bid-three/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>, just days after Ek&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2021/04/23/spotifys-daniel-ek-says-he-would-buy-arsenal-if-billionaire-stan-kroenke-agreed-to-sell/?sh=310146166daf">expressed interes</a>t on Twitter in buying the club from its increasingly unpopular American owners.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>According to the&nbsp;<em>Telegraph</em>, Ek is teaming up with Arsenal legends Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira—who were part of the famous ‘Invincible’ team that won the Premier League title in 2004—to make the bid.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>If Ek’s bid is successful the three former Arsenal stars could return to the club and be part of a new administrative setup, leveraging their knowledge of the club and its fan base, the report adds.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The reported bid comes at a time when the club’s American owner—billionaire Stanley Kroenke—has faced anger from fans for his apparent involvement in the failed attempt to set up the breakaway European Super League.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>While Kroenke’s son Josh insisted last week that the club wasn’t for sale, the report suggests that the involvement of three popular club legends in the bid would put pressure on him to at least listen to Ek’s offer.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li><em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;has reached out to Ek and Spotify for a comment.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



<p>“As a kid growing up, I’ve cheered for Arsenal as long as I can remember,” Ek tweeted last week while fans were protesting against Kroenke&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/eldsjal/status/1385667437929062403?s=20+" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">outside</a>&nbsp;the club’s stadium. “If KSE [Kroenke Sports &amp; Entertainment] would like to sell Arsenal I&#8217;d be happy to throw my hat in the ring.”</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



<p>$2.8 billion. That’s the amount the London-based soccer club was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2021/04/12/the-worlds-most-valuable-soccer-teams-barcelona-on-top-at-48-billion/?sh=434fc0ae16ac">valued</a>&nbsp;at by&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;earlier this month, and it ranked eighth on the list of the world’s most valuable soccer clubs for 2021. Ek, whose fortune comes from his 9% stake in music streaming giant Spotify—which he co-founded in 2006—has a net worth of $4.7 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/daniel-ek/?sh=1a2efab846ab">according to</a>&nbsp;<em>Forbes’</em>&nbsp;calculations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">CONTRA</h3>



<p>Josh Kroenke, a director at the club, spoke at an Arsenal fans’ forum last week where he apologized to angry supporters for Arsenal’s involvement in the breakaway European Soccer League—which the club has since withdrawn from. But despite demands for them to do so, Kroenke insisted that his family was not looking to sell the club. “When are we going to sell? I am not willing to answer that question because we have no intention of selling,” he said.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



<p>Last week, a group of Europe’s twelve biggest soccer clubs announced their plans to start a breakaway European Super League. Soccer fans across Europe—including fans of the clubs involved in the planned competition—<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2021/04/20/billionaire-roman-abramovich-pulls-chelsea-out-of-super-league/?sh=47b5928a1a7a">rose up in revolt</a>&nbsp;against the plan. The most vocal opposition came from fans of the six English clubs who had signed up for the league, including Arsenal. The planned league&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/04/21/shares-tumble-as-europes-soccer-super-league-crumbles-amid-widespread-outrage/?sh=4cf604e13a01">unraveled</a>&nbsp;just 48 hours after it was announced as the six founding English clubs announced their exit following the fan revolt and legislative threats from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Fans have continued to denounce the team owners for their involvement in formulating this competition with most of the wrath being directed at American owners of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool. #KroenkeOut was trending on Twitter last week as fans demanded Kroenke divest his ownership of Arsenal. In an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/04/24/thierry-henry-speaks-arsenal-protests-fans-will-decide-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a>&nbsp;with the&nbsp;<em>Telegraph</em>&nbsp;last week, Theirry Henry—Arsenal’s all-time top goalscorer—criticized Stan Kroenke and the KSE and said he doesn&#8217;t recognize his club anymore after their involvement in the Super League fiasco. Henry, however, made no mention of his involvement in Ek’s bid at the time.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



<p>Arsenal owner Stanley Kroenke built a fortune in real estate—much of it from shopping plazas near Walmart stores—and is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/stanley-kroenke/?sh=48321581742c">worth</a>&nbsp;$8.2 billion, according to&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>. Kroenke runs a global sports empire that also includes the NFL team Los Angeles Rams and the NBA team Denver Nuggets.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/04/26/exclusive-spotify-founder-launch-arsenal-takeover-bid-three/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spotify founder to launch Arsenal takeover bid with three former &#8216;Invincibles&#8217;</a>&nbsp;(The Telegraph)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2021/04/23/spotifys-daniel-ek-says-he-would-buy-arsenal-if-billionaire-stan-kroenke-agreed-to-sell/?sh=310146166daf">Spotify’s Daniel Ek Says He Would Buy Arsenal If Billionaire Stan Kroenke Agreed To Sell</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Samsung Unveils New Galaxy Note Smart Phone

Spotify’s CEO Is Reportedly Teaming Up With Three Arsenal Legends To Make A Bid For English Soccer Club

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<p>Simone Biles is a four-time Olympic gold medal winner and a 10-time world championship gold medal winner, making her one of the most decorated U.S. women&#8217;s gymnasts ever and an instant sensation. She has endorsement deals with Nike, Kellogg&#8217;s, Hershey&#8217;s and even has her own line of gymnastic equipment. </p>
<p>The 23-year-old has also faced incredible setbacks; she’s a survivor of child molestation by now-imprisoned former USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar and grew up in foster care. Striving to be a champion—of the mind and the mat—Biles has dedicated herself to therapy and practicing self-care. She joined the 2020 Forbes Power Women&#8217;s Summit to discuss her road to success and how she’s channeling her resilience to create and drive change.</p>
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Simone Biles On How She’s Grown Throughout Her Career | Forbes

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<p>Today when you get vaccinated, you receive a sheet of paper from your provider. But big tech is trailing with a formal digital vaccine passport that would take things a step further. Should vaccine passports be issued to people who have received Covid-19 shots? Steve Forbes on the serious privacy risks of a vaccine passport app and why the idea should be stamped out immediately. </p>
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Vaccine Passports & Big Tech: Why Your Privacy Is At Serious Risk – Steve Forbes | Forbes


<p><strong>The five top-earning Oscar nominated actors earned a combined $41 million over the past 12 months—less than half the $87.5 million the Rock made last year as the world’s highest-paid actor</strong>.</p>



<p>Make art or make money — that’s been the conundrum for A-list actors going back to the days of the first talkies. And unlike the tumult that has rocked the movie business in the past year, that is one Hollywood tradition that has remained entrenched and unmovable.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>The five top-earning Oscar nominated actors this year made a combined $41 million over the past 12 months—less than half of the $87.5 million&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/08/11/the-highest-paid-actors-of-2020-dwayne-johnson-ryan-reynolds/?sh=2daa50ec112b">the highest-paid actor</a>&nbsp;Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) earned last year. Only one of them, Viola Davis, made last year’s lists of top-earning actors or&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/10/02/the-highest-paid-actresses-2020-small-screen-stars-like-sofia-vergara-ellen-pompeo-and-elisabeth-moss-shine/">actresses</a>, and it was thanks to her television role on&nbsp;<em>How To Get Away With Murder</em>, not her nominated starturn in&nbsp;<em>Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.</em></p>



<p>“In a world where accomplished performers have decent choices, the material and the talented director often mean more than the money,” says Ken Ziffren, a partner at leading entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham. “To get nominated, even though they may not win, by SAG or for the Oscars, can also materially improve economics in the future.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>The top-earning Oscar contender, Sacha Baron Cohen, illustrates the dichotomy between the popular and the films deemed award-worthy. He is nominated for two Academy Awards on Sunday night: One for his role as political activist Abbie Hoffman in the drama <em>The Trial of the Chicago 7, </em>andthe other for writing the adapted screenplay for <em>Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, </em>a sequel to the hit 2006 comedy, <em>Borat,</em> which Amazon acquired for $80 million. </p>



<p>The statuettes he’s up for may look the same, but the money he made doing the two films couldn’t be more different: He earned about $20 million for&nbsp;<em>Borat —&nbsp;</em>twenty times the $1 million he received for&nbsp;<em>Trial.&nbsp;</em>The yawning pay discrepancy illustrates the choice that industry players have had to make for decades: do a big-budget blockbuster for fat cash or a prestige film for acclaim and, less cynically, the love of the craft. In rare cases, as with&nbsp;<em>Borat</em>, the two can overlap, but more often than not, the performers vying for an Oscar aren’t taking those roles for the money.</p>



<p>That said, an Oscar win is often the right mix of publicity and validation to help increase future earnings potential. Take Angelina Jolie, who was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/10/02/the-highest-paid-actresses-2020-small-screen-stars-like-sofia-vergara-ellen-pompeo-and-elisabeth-moss-shine/">the world’s second highest-paid actress</a>&nbsp;last year with $35.5 million in earnings. Prior to her Academy Award-winning performance in&nbsp;<em>Girl, Interrupted</em>, Jolie had mainly acted in independent films that failed to garner a wide audience—or big paychecks. Her supporting actress win in 1999 changed her fortunes: She landed the titular character in the 2001 video-game inspired adventure film&nbsp;<em>Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.&nbsp;</em>By 2004, she was commanding $10 million per role, plus backend, for big budget flicks, and that number has only gone up since.&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;estimates she received $20 million for her recent starturn in&nbsp;<em>Maleficent 2.&nbsp;</em>More recently, 20016 Oscar winner Brie Larson moved on from smaller budget fare to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain Marvel. Her first starturn as the superhero, 2019’s&nbsp;<em>Captain Marvel</em>, was the first female-led superhero film to gross over $1 billion at the box office.&nbsp;<em>Forbes&nbsp;</em>estimates she made more than $10 million in total for the film.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Here’s a look at this year’s Oscar paydays:</p>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-5-daniel-kaluuya-3-million"><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-amber-color">#5 | Daniel Kaluuya: <strong>$3 million</strong></span></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50907" width="622" height="349" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1313212178-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 622px) 100vw, 622px" /><figcaption> (Photo by GALECA.org/via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>After earning his first Oscar nomination in 2018 for starring in <em>Get Out</em>, Kaluuya is the favorite to win the award for best supporting actor this year for his role in <em>Judas and the Black Messiah. </em>While he and co-star LaKeith Stanfield earned the same amount of money for their work on the project, Kaluuya collected an extra check for an XBox ad based on his <em>Get Out </em>role.</p>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-4-glenn-close-4-5-million"><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-amber-color">#4 | Glenn Close: <strong>$4.5 million</strong></span></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50908" width="690" height="388" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1310835879-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px" /><figcaption>. (Photo by 27th Annual SAG Awards/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>While <em>Hillbilly Elegy </em>may have failed to be a critical favorite as Netflix hoped<em>, </em>one of the film’s stars, Glenn Close, still got her Oscar nomination. Fees for the eight-time Oscar nominee and her co-star Amy Adams likely commanded about 10% of the film’s $45 million budget. Indie flick <em>Four Good Days</em> also contributed to her payday.</p>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-3-chadwick-boseman-5-million"><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-amber-color">#3 | Chadwick Boseman: <strong>$5 million</strong></span></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-47417" width="741" height="494" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-scaled-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-scaled-600x400.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/GettyImages-915935210-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 741px) 100vw, 741px" /><figcaption>  (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>The late star, who died in August 2020 from colon cancer at age 43, worked until his final days and was nominated for his portrayal of Levee, an ambitious horn player in <em>Ma Rainney’s Black Bottom, </em>which was released posthumously. A certified commercial star after his role as T’Challa in <em>Black Panther, </em>this is his first Academy Award nomination. Boseman also collected a check for a supporting role in Spike Lee’s <em>Da 5 Bloods. </em></p>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-2-viola-davis-7-million"><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-amber-color">#2 | Viola Davis: <strong>$7 million</strong></span></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50909" width="661" height="371" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1311362100-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 661px) 100vw, 661px" /><figcaption>. (Photo by AAFCA 2021 via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Davis can command top dollar for buzzy television roles—like that of Annalise Keating in <em>How to Get Away with Murder</em>—and her L’Oreal campaign but takes smaller checks for passion projects. That said, after winning an Oscar in 2017 for her last role in another August Wilson adaptation, <em>Fences,</em> she was likely able to negotiate a raise for her nominated role in <em>Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Forbes </em>estimates her paycheck for that film to be $3 million. </p>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center wp-block-heading" id="h-1-sacha-baron-cohen-22-million"><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-amber-color">#1 | Sacha Baron Cohen: <strong>$22 Million</strong></span></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-50910" width="717" height="403" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/GettyImages-1312531620.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" /><figcaption> (Photo by The Hollywood Reporter LLC via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Amazon reportedly shelled out more than $70 million for the mockumentary <em>Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, </em>and as the star, producer and writer, Baron Cohen got an impressive cut of the profits. For Aaron Sorkin’s highbrow drama about the trial of a group of Vietnam War protesters accused of inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago<em>, </em>meanwhile, “everyone worked for a fraction of what they are usually paid,” one top entertainment agent said.</p>



<p><strong><em>METHODOLOGY:</em></strong><em> The earnings above are pretax and fees, and reflect all projects that have been released in the past 12 months. Earnings estimates are based on data from MRC Data, Box Office Mojo and IMDB, as well as interviews with industry insiders</em></p>



<p><strong><em>By Madeline Berg, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>



<p><strong><em>By Dawn Chmielewski, Forbes Staff</em></strong></p>


Untitled-1

The Highest-Paid Oscar Nominees 2021

<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m1zLlfirAhU" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>What’s the price tag for keeping a roster of global superstars happy these days? For Hybe Corp., more than $230 million, the value of shares the South Korean music juggernaut has pledged to BTS, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, in addition to more than $100 million the K-Pop sensation has earned from music sales and touring. The shares, which Hybe says are for “inspiring morale,” have almost doubled since the Seoul-based company went public in October as Big Hit Entertainment. </p>
<p>Big Hit, which was founded by billionaire Bang Shi-hyuk, set a precedent by offering equity to the seven members of the boy-band powerhouse that is now valued at more than $107 million. That puts the band’s total take as a Hybe group at more than $214 million, including $107 million of pretax earnings Forbes estimates the group has earned since 2018, when they blew up on the global music scene. For Bang, who has a net worth of $2.8 billion, it’s money well spent. BTS represented 87% of the KRW 290 billion ($260 million) Hybe reported for the first half of 2020. </p>
<p>That reliance on one group is a key reason for Hybe’s $1.05 billion purchase of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, which manages Grande and Bieber, and owns the record company, Big Machine Label Group that is home to Rascal Flatts, Sheryl Crow and Tim McGraw. The deal, which closes May 7, will bring Braun’s shares valued more than $103 million plus an undisclosed amount of cash. It’s the second big payout in just five months for the impresario, who recouped the cost of buying Big Machine by selling its ownership of Taylor Swift’s master recordings last fall, triggering a bitter public feud with the singer. </p>
<p>A previous version of this video was uploaded that showed K-Pop group NCT instead of BTS.</p>
<p>Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielshapiro/2021/04/15/bts-made-200-million-with-hybe-now-ariana-grande-and-justin-bieber-are-cashing-in-on-scooter-braun-deal/?sh=56fbb2964e50</p>
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Why Ariana Grande And Justin Bieber Will Get A Stake In BTS’ Record Label | Forbes

<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MYFIsKMGjQQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>What’s the price tag for keeping a roster of global superstars happy these days? For Hybe Corp., more than $230 million, the value of shares the South Korean music juggernaut has pledged to BTS, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, in addition to more than $100 million the K-Pop sensation has earned from music sales and touring.</p>
<p>The shares, which Hybe says are for “inspiring morale,” have almost doubled since the Seoul-based company went public in October as Big Hit Entertainment. Big Hit, which was founded by billionaire Bang Shi-hyuk, set a precedent by offering equity to the seven members of the boy-band powerhouse that is now valued at more than $107 million. That puts the band’s total take as a Hybe group at more than $214 million, including $107 million of pretax earnings Forbes estimates the group has earned since 2018, when they blew up on the global music scene.</p>
<p>For Bang, who has a net worth of $2.8 billion, it’s money well spent. BTS represented 87% of the KRW 290 billion ($260 million) Hybe reported for the first half of 2020. That reliance on one group is a key reason for Hybe’s $1.05 billion purchase of Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings, which manages Grande and Bieber, and owns the record company, Big Machine Label Group that is home to Rascal Flatts, Sheryl Crow and Tim McGraw. </p>
<p>The deal, which closes May 7, will bring Braun’s shares valued more than $103 million plus an undisclosed amount of cash. It’s the second big payout in just five months for the impresario, who recouped the cost of buying Big Machine by selling its ownership of Taylor Swift’s master recordings last fall, triggering a bitter public feud with the singer. </p>
<p>Read the full profile on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielshapiro/2021/04/15/bts-made-200-million-with-hybe-now-ariana-grande-and-justin-bieber-are-cashing-in-on-scooter-braun-deal/?sh=56fbb2964e50</p>
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<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lP3dEJTU_Sk" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>Stock indexes continue to set records, but with government spending on a tear and tax increases coming, the market gravy train is sure to derail. Steve Forbes on whether investors should look to gold, oil or energy equities as the Fed continues to print money and inflation looms. </p>
<p>What&#8217;s Ahead featuring Steve Forbes provides his insights and perspective, to stay on top of what&#8217;s happening in this ever-turbulent world with glimpses into the future. What’s Ahead airs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.<br />
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