Forbes Daily Briefing

Episode

• 
  Meet Joe Strada, Florida HVAC Mogul Set To Become The Richest Member Of Congress 03.10.2026 6mnt

  Joe Strada is getting his picture taken and his employees are giving him a hard time about it. Professional photos are apparently not a common occurrence around the Strada Services warehouse in Sanford, Florida. Giving the boss a hard time is. The building is long and low, mostly concrete and metal, with loading doors punched into its sides and a wide slab of pavement out front. Company vans litter the lot. Inside, Strada is staring at a container of wire scraps, cut lengths tossed together until the pile looks like a snake pit. Strada wonders aloud whether anyone checked what they already had before buying more. Copper wire isn’t cheap. “I don’t have a job, but I walk around and I ask a lot of questions,” Strada says. “Like, why are we doing this?” Strada, 63, no longer runs the business day to day. A CEO does that. Strada Services installs and services electrical, air-conditioning, plumbing and security systems for homebuilders and homeowners. The company had $534 million in revenue in 2025 and has more than 4,000 employees across 13 states. Strada is executive chairman and owns 45% of the business. Forbes estimates his net worth at $800 million. While new-home construction remains well below its pandemic boom, a rebound in homebuilding would likely propel Strada into the ranks of self-made billionaires. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Mark Cuban Doubles Down On Criticism Of Humanoid Robots 02.10.2026 2mnt

  Billionaire Mark Cuban has emerged as one of the most prominent critics of humanoid robots for consumer households, repeating his criticism on Monday after previously predicting both robots and their manufacturers would “fail miserably” within five to ten years—contradicting the bets placed on the technology from other billionaires like Elon Musk. In an appearance on tech livestream show TBPN in March, Cuban first predicted a 5-10 year lifespan for both humanoid robots and their manufacturers, adding household robots would take more optimal shapes designed for their specific tasks. Cuban doubled down on that prediction on Monday in a post on X, noting that humanoid robots are large in size and difficult to make for multiple functions. “Would you rather have a roomba or a humanoid that pushes around a vacuum cleaner or broom?” Cuban asked. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  White House Releases ‘Accord’ Between Billionaire AI Execs: Here’s What It Says 01.10.2026 3mnt

  The White House released the text of an “accord” reached between billionaire AI titans who met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, an agreement the president labeled “morally binding” even as he stopped short of saying the government would support new guardrails. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/09/30/white-house-releases-accord-between-billionaire-ai-execs-heres-what-it-says/?streamIndex=0 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  How Martinelli’s Turned The Champagne Of Apple Cider Into A $500 Million Family Business 01.10.2026 6mnt

  For 158 years the Martinelli family has turned apples grown in Northern California orchards into a golden juice, and it's grown into a sweet family business.  The company had an estimated $175 million in 2025 revenue and has been increasing at 5% annually for the past five years. The business’s iconic champagne-style bottles of sparkling apple cider are today the top-seller in America and its apple-shaped juice jars are the second most sold apple juice in the country, after Mott’s. Martinelli’s products are now sold at 25,000 locations of every major retailer in America and in 38 countries. “Even though we're not a giant company, we know and have great relationships with every single retailer out there, given how important that hero product of sparkling cider is,” says Martinelli’s 56-year-old CEO Gun Ruder. “It gives us a power with these retailers that's disproportionate to ourselves.” Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2026/09/18/how-martinellis-turned-the-champagne-of-apple-cider-into-a-500-million-family-business/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Move Over STEM. Humanities Degrees Are Poised For A Comeback Thanks To AI. 30.09.2026 6mnt

  Both humanities’ decline and possible revival can, no surprise, be traced to concerns about career and financial security. For a time, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) majors had the golden ticket. Now some engineering specialties (including computer engineering) have seen a sharp decline in entry-level jobs, as artificial intelligence reduces the demand for junior workers in their fields. At the same time, those graduating with English and some other humanities degrees are finding that their versatile skills make it easier to get hired, even if they do still earn less than the engineers. The emerging conventional wisdom: In the age of AI, human skills such as creativity, communication and collaboration could provide a crucial professional edge, whatever the field. “We really believe that the humanities equal jobs,” says Matthew Mars, head of the University of Arizona’s 8-year-old Public and Applied Humanities program, which as of last spring had more than 400 majors. Students like Crider combine an applied humanities core with courses ranging from business and entrepreneurship to fashion studies and, most recently, astrobiology. They also complete a three-course career sequence with internship preparation, an internship and a course to help them explain what they’ve learned to prospective employers. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisachambers/2026/09/21/move-over-stem-humanities-degrees-are-poised-for-a-comeback-thanks-to-ai/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Trump Debuts New America.Gov Chatbot Ahead Of Meeting With Industry Execs 30.09.2026 2mnt

  President Donald Trump unveiled a new government website powered by artificial intelligence ahead of his meeting with top AI executives—as he has contested slowing AI development amid dire warnings of the dangers it poses. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/09/29/trump-announcing-new-ai-powered-government-website-today-ahead-of-meeting-with-industry-execs/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Nvidia Launches New Safety Platform—Says It Can Prevent AI Agents From Going Rogue 29.09.2026 2mnt

  Nvidia on Monday launched a new security system that it claims can prevent AI agents breaching their testing environments and gain unauthorized access to outside systems, just weeks after the AI chipmaker’s billionaire CEO Jensen Huang downplayed alarm about recent safety breaches and pushed back on the need for an AI slowdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  These Fitness Fans Took Bootleg Peptides. It Landed Them In The Hospital. 29.09.2026 6mnt

  Peptides are a large category of amino acid-based drugs that include legal ones, like GLP-1 weight-loss medications and insulin. More and more people are experimenting with loosely regulated peptides like secretagogues, which have become a hit among workout enthusiasts looking for an edge to train harder and look better. But there’s little scientific data on their safety or efficacy, and the FDA has not approved them for weight loss or workout recovery. These drugs are now readily available on the internet from sketchy sellers who hawk them with little oversight. In this shadowy online bazaar, which could be worth as much as $4 billion, peddlers exploit a loophole in the law under which peptides can be sold for “research purposes.” Purchasing online peptides is a dice roll. Fitness enthusiasts who buy gray-market drugs online don't know what they're getting. The pharmaceutical ingredients in them are research-grade, meaning they're not permitted in human drugs. There’s no guarantee that what people are buying is what it claims to be, or whether they’re injecting themselves with concoctions laced with unknown and possibly dangerous ingredients. Making sense of their safety is even more complex for the peptide fans who take them “stacked,” using multiple gray-market drugs at the same time in the belief this will increase their benefits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Bill Gates Warns AI Is ‘Powerful’ Enough To ‘Cause A Billion Deaths’ 28.09.2026 3mnt

  Billionaire Bill Gates told “Meet the Press” that government regulation is needed for artificial intelligence and warned the technology is “powerful” enough to “cause a billion deaths” if used maliciously, as Washington and the AI industry consider how to move forward in light of dire warnings about AI’s potential effects. NBC News released a clip Friday of Gates’ interview with “Meet the Press,” in which the billionaire and philanthropist was asked about warnings from AI workers that the technology could potentially wipe out humanity. “AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that … cause a billion deaths,” Gates said, noting “there’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.” Gates was also asked about Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s recent essay calling for a slowdown on AI, which argued frontier labs should slow down the pace of their progress and “voluntarily work together to set standards” around artificial intelligence. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/09/25/bill-gates-warns-ai-is-powerful-enough-to-cause-a-billion-deaths/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  The Seller’s Market For Legal Stars Is Booming 28.09.2026 6mnt

  In the course of producing Forbes Top Lawyers, the yearlong research often reveals insights into the state of the legal profession. With this, our third-annual list, the trend was inescapable: The world’s leading law firms are in a race to position themselves for the future—and talent is becoming their most powerful competitive advantage. As the industry consolidates and rivalries intensify, firms are audaciously raiding rivals for marquee partners who can give them an edge. For star partners with the cachet, client relationships and “halo effect,” the ceiling seems limitless, including guaranteed compensation packages widely reported in the $20 to $40 million range, stratospheric signing bonuses and lavish equity shares—all at unprecedented levels. A decade ago, compensation packages for top rainmakers typically topped out at $10 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  21 Elite Colleges Where Middle Class Students Go For Free 27.09.2026 6mnt

  Free tuition guarantees have now been extended by 21 private schools that rank in the top 50 on Forbes’ list of America’s Top 500 Colleges. While the schools like to brag about the share of U.S. families that would qualify for free tuition under their guarantees–some say as high as 85%—their actual students bodies skew wealthy. That means many don’t qualify for any institutional aid at all, let alone free tuition. Even at generous Princeton, which brags that 25% of its incoming freshman class last year was eligible to receive federal Pell grants for low income families, an even greater 31% of that class got no financial aid at all. At some of the schools on our list, more than half of families have been paying full freight in recent years.  The elite schools with free tuition guarantees are listed below in alphabetical order, along with details and links to their offers, which are often only extended to U.S. (not foreign) students. Tuition and fees and total cost of attendance are for the current, 2026-2027 school year. Those prices, as well as details of the schools’ free offers are taken from their web sites. Admission rates are from the government’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and are for the 2024-2025 school year, the latest available. Below the list, you can read more about the information applicants need to submit to benefit from the free offers and about other colleges that make free offers and aren’t on our list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Why The Economy Looks Great To Boomers, But Miserable To Gen Z 26.09.2026 6mnt

  Talk of a “K-shaped economy” took off during the pandemic recovery. Economist Peter Atwater popularized the term in the spring of 2020 to describe an economy in which higher-income households and asset owners bounced back while lower-paid workers and struggling businesses fell further behind. Six years later, Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, sees another split, this one by age. Older people are richer than younger people. Of course they are. They’ve had more time to earn, save and buy things. What’s unusual now is how much the economy rewards having already done those things. Stocks are expensive, homes are expensive and the job market is getting tougher for people just entering it. Yardeni calls it the “gen-shaped economy.” Baby boomers have amassed a record $85.4 trillion in net worth, about half of all household wealth. Some of that is just what happens when people get old. But not all of it. The typical boomer household had $432,200 in wealth in 2022, nearly 30% more than a same-aged Silent Generation household had in 2001, even after adjusting for inflation according to the Pew Research Center. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonkochkodin/2026/09/19/why-the-economy-looks-great-to-boomers-but--miserable-to-gen-z/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Trump Wants Diesel Export Ban As Prices Hit Record High 25.09.2026 2mnt

  President Donald Trump said he has told “people” he supports a ban on diesel exports as the country faces record prices for the fuel used for trucking and agricultural equipment amid the ongoing war with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war, aligning himself with Republicans largely representing agricultural states hoping to ease prices for farmers. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2026/09/22/trump-wants-diesel-export-ban-as-prices-hit-record-high/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  A Chinese Hacker Used AI To Attack 100+ Companies In One Of Largest AI Hacks Yet 25.09.2026 6mnt

  Over just five days earlier this month, a Chinese-speaking hacker deployed AI agents to launch cyberattacks on as many as 100 organizations, stealing hundreds of thousands of credit card details. The hacker used Chinese models DeepSeek and Kimi as well as an older version of Anthropic’s Claude to automate their attacks, which cost just $8,000 in total. It’s one of “the most severe abuses of AI for exploitation seen so far,” says Eyal Sela, a cybersecurity researcher and director of threat intelligence at Gambit Security, who discovered the attack. “The human being is directing almost fully autonomous AI models, which are strong enough by now to do very sophisticated cyberattacks quickly with close to zero preparation and very high rate of success,” Sela says. Though the number of successful breaches out of the 100 companies is unclear, the hacker gained access to at least 30 websites between September 10 and 15, according to Gambit’s research. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Forbes’ Top 25 Public Colleges 24.09.2026 6mnt

  The long-feared college enrollment cliff—a product of the decline in U.S. births that began in 2008—is finally arriving. Yet many of America’s top public universities face a different challenge: The number of students who want to attend them is rising. Last spring, undergraduate enrollment at four-year public colleges was up 1.5% from a year earlier, to 5.4 million, while undergraduate enrollment at private not-for-profit colleges was a hair down at 2.4 million. Total applications to public colleges are also growing faster. It’s no mystery why. Over the past decade, adjusted for inflation, in-state tuition at four-year public universities has declined by 7%, compared to a 2% increase at private non-profit ones, according to the College Board. It calculates that tuition and fees for four-year public colleges last year averaged $11,950 for in-state students and $31,880 for those coming from out of state, versus $45,000 at private nonprofit colleges. (Keep in mind, those are list prices, which is why certain elite private colleges offering generous financial aid can end up being cheaper for middle-class students than out-of-state public schools.) Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2026/09/10/forbes-top-25-public-colleges/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  White House Launches 'Trump TV' After President's Press Ban 23.09.2026 2mnt

  The White House launched “Trump TV” on Monday, revealing a 24/7 platform streaming old Trump administration events after President Donald Trump revoked White House press credentials from reporters with CNN, MS NOW and Politico. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/09/21/white-house-launches-trump-tv-after-presidents-press-ban/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Ramaswamy Would Be The Third-Richest Elected U.S. Official If He Wins Ohio 23.09.2026 6mnt

  On the Ohio campaign trail, Democrat Amy Acton has turned her opponent Vivek Ramaswamy’s fortune into a line of attack. She calls the Republican nominee her “self-funding billionaire” opponent, contrasting his private-jet travel with her old Jeep and arguing that he is out of touch with families squeezed by rising costs. Ramaswamy has leaned into it. “I believe in celebrating success,” he said after winning May’s Republican primary. “I was not born a billionaire. I was not born a millionaire. I was not born an anything-aire.” He now has more to celebrate with. Ramaswamy is worth an estimated $2.3 billion, up from $1.8 billion a year ago and up from just $1 billion in March 2025. If elected in November, the 41-year-old businessman-turned-politician would become America’s second-richest governor and third-wealthiest elected official in the U.S., behind only President Donald Trump (now worth $7 billion), and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune worth $4.2 billion. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2026/09/20/ohio-governor-ramaswamy-would-be-americas-third-richest-elected-official/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  States Settle Paramount-Warner Bros. Lawsuit—Clearing Way For Merger To Go Through 22.09.2026 2mnt

  State attorneys general have reached a settlement with Paramount Skydance in their lawsuit over Paramount’s planned merger with Warner Bros., multiple outlets report, likely paving the way for the deal to go through—even as critics have warned the reported settlement terms do not adequately address concerns about the Hollywood giants joining forces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Inside Pocket FM’s $400 Million Content Farm 22.09.2026 6mnt

  In a dystopian world ravaged by alien war, a boy who has been bullied at school discovers an ancient book left by the parents he never knew. It turns him into a vampire. And that’s only the first 10 minutes of My Vampire System, the most popular audio drama on Pocket FM, with more than 1.5 billion plays since it debuted four years ago. The story continues for another 4,192 plot-packed and cliffhanger-filled episodes. But if you want to listen to all of them, you’d better to get out your wallet. An India-based audio entertainment company, Pocket makes its money almost entirely through microtransactions, charging users on a per-episode basis after an initial 30 minutes free each day. Theoretically, a user could listen to My Vampire System entirely for free, if they used their full allotment every single day for four years straight—or they could purchase Pocket “coins” and unlock episodes costing anywhere from just a few pennies to more than $3 each, depending on packages, promotions and episode demand. With no subscription or all-access options, some users pay several hundred, perhaps even more than a thousand dollars for the complete story. And they have—Forbes estimates the series has grossed nearly $90 million in total. Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2026/09/21/states-settle-paramount-warner-bros-lawsuit-report-says-paving-way-for-merger-to-go-through/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
• 
  Why Africa’s Richest Man Aliko Dangote Is Now Worth Over $50 Billion 21.09.2026 6mnt

  Africa’s richest person Aliko Dangote, is opening up his privately controlled oil refinery to public shareholders on Monday, September 14 for the first time in what is expected to be the biggest IPO in the continent’s history. The cement magnate is offering individual investors up to 4.1 billion shares (or 3.3% of the company) at 40 cents each (525 Nigerian Naira), with the order book closing on October 13 at a 10-share buy minimum, an exceptionally low entry requirement of roughly $4. The stock is expected to start trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in November. “We have D-Day on Monday,” Dangote recently told Forbes, explaining how he didn’t know until very late when exactly the IPO would get underway so will now be late to an investment summit in Canada that he promised Prime Minister Mark Carney he’d attend. He wouldn’t miss this historic day in Nigeria for anything. As Dangote tells it, this milestone is as much about boosting the wealth of local Africans as it is about raising money. (According to the 2026 UBS Global Wealth Report, Africa has the smallest share of global wealth.) “Selling these shares now is us making sure that we create wealth for other people,” says Dangote, “Just like what Amazon and Microsoft have done. That kind of thing but for an African company.” Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/gigizamora/2026/09/14/d-day-for-dangote-africas-richest-man-is-20-billion-richer-as-refinery-ipo-gets-underway/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices