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Good morning,
We’ve all been there: trying to talk to people at a networking event, but it can feel awkward and unnatural, especially if you’re alone.
Rather than trying to meet everyone, take the time to meaningfully connect with fewer people. Make a strategic list of three to five individuals you’d like to connect with, but don’t just fixate on those you’re most eager to meet. Be open to meeting other interesting people—you never know when those connections could come in handy.
BREAKING NEWS
Gaza’s largest medical facility Al-Shifa is no longer functioning after it has endured three days of no electricity or water, as well as constant bombings and gunfire, according to WHO, while Israeli officials insisted on Hamas’ presence in a network of tunnels under the hospital. The Biden administration has warned that it will not publicly back Israel in the coming weeks if many civilian casualties occur.
After 36 days of fighting, more than 11,000 have been killed in Gaza, and around 1,200 in southern Israel in a revised death toll of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. The UN reports that 1.5 million have been internally displaced in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at a possible deal for hostages, which there are believed to be about 240. Netanyahu would not commit to calls for the Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza after the war ends.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
Ratings firm Moody’s lowered its assessment of U.S. credit outlook from “stable” to “negative” last week, underscoring America’s increasingly polarized political environment—including infighting among House Republicans, a messy speaker fight and an increasing debt load. Congress faces a deadline of this coming Friday to pass a budget and avert a government shutdown.
Surprisingly, some analysts say the surging popularity of weight-loss drugs could be a boon for fitness stocks, as takers of these drugs likely will invest further in their appearance and wellness. Soaring sales of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have weighed on grocery and packaged food stocks, but a Morgan Stanley survey last month found a twofold increase in weekly exercise for individuals after beginning their weight-loss drug regimen.
WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Jeff Greene started investing in real estate as a side hustle in college and survived a downturn in the 1990s before making his first billion betting against the housing market in 2008. Now worth an estimated $7.5 billion, he says he’s not willing to take risks like he once was, and he advises investors to be as liquid as possible and diversify.
Bernie Marcus, the 94-year-old cofounder of Home Depot, has endorsed Donald Trump’s campaign for reelection, a win for the embattled ex-president’s bid to woo back the Republican party megadonors who have abandoned him. Marcus, who is worth over $8 billion and has donated tens of millions of dollars to Republican politicians and causes, had remained on the sidelines for 2024 until his endorsement.
TECH + INNOVATION
For more than a decade, Omegle—a platform that paired strangers in video chats—paired a lot of children with predators, and last week, it finally shut down following scores of lawsuits over alleged child grooming on the app. In 2022, Omegle reported more than half a million cases of child sexual abuse material to the nonprofit National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, more than the volume found on other major sites like TikTok, Snapchat and Discord.
MONEY + POLITICS
The FBI seized New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ electronic devices last week amid an investigation into whether his mayoral campaign knowingly received illegal donations from Turkish nationals. The New York Times previously reported that there was no indication the investigation was targeting Adams, who has yet to be accused of any wrongdoing.
SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Next Saturday, Formula 1 racing will return to Sin City after a 40-year hiatus with the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, with drivers whizzing past the city’s most iconic landmarks along the 3.8-mile street circuit. F1 owner Liberty Media projected its expense for the event would be $400 million, with the price tag continuing to rise. “Vegas is going to be the biggest sporting event on the planet this year,” says Christian Horner, team principal of series champion Red Bull Racing.
MORE: Just in time for the F1 event, Las Vegas hospitality workers reached a tentative agreement with Wynn Resorts on Friday, averting a strike just hours before the deadline. It was the last of the major casinos to do so, after Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International reached agreements with the Culinary and Bartenders Unions earlier this week.
Grammy nominations were announced Friday, and “Barbie” notched 11 nominations in seven categories after its smashing box office success. While country music had a blockbuster year, the genre failed to earn top Grammy nominations.
TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
Air travel generates a lot of carbon pollution, contributing to a climate crisis that itself is worsening weather and can make air travel more turbulent and unpleasant. Research suggests high-speed trains could be a resilient alternative, but they don’t exist in the U.S. “There’s an opportunity cost for the U.S. of not building a high-speed rail system,” said Zhenhua Chen, a professor of urban planning at the Ohio State University.
DAILY COVER STORY
Nurse Turned Billionaire: This Subway Heir Is One Of The Biggest Philanthropists You’ve Never Heard Of
TOPLINE Subway heir and former nurse Elisabeth DeLuca is one of the richest women in the world, worth an estimated $8.2 billion. But she’s far from a household name.
Behind the scenes, the Florida-based DeLuca has quietly been forging a legacy separate from Subway and from that of her late husband, Subway cofounder Fred DeLuca, who died of leukemia in 2015—largely through giving away the fortune he built. For example, DeLuca donated $40 million to her alma mater the University of Connecticut, its single biggest gift ever, to build a new nursing school facility.
DeLuca and her son Jonathan inherited the fortune including her husband’s stake in the business and billions in cash, according to Forbes’ reporting. Then in August, she and the family of deceased Subway cofounder Peter Buck agreed to sell the sandwich chain to private equity firm Roark Capital in a $9.7 billion deal that will put another estimated $3.4 billion in cash into her family’s pockets.
The record-breaking gift to UConn is just the latest gift. DeLuca already funneled at least $710 million of cash and stock into two family foundations between 2015 and 2021, per an analysis of the most recent available IRS filings. While most of the money was put into a foundation set up by her husband in 1997, Elisabeth incorporated another one in her name in December 2020 and moved $250 million into it the next year.
As of 2021, the foundations had doled out $100 million to mostly Florida- and Connecticut area charities that support education and youth groups like Boys and Girls clubs.
WHY IT MATTERS DeLuca’s style of philanthropy falls in line with a new cohort of women quietly giving away their fortunes, with none of the pomp and flash that some donors lean into, including philanthropists like Lynn Schusterman, Laurene Powell Jobs, and perhaps the best known, MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos.
MORE This Super Private Heir Will Bag Billions From Subway’s Sale
FACTS AND COMMENTS
The Beatles released their latest and last song together, “Now And Then,” on Nov. 2 with the help of AI, and it’s now topped the charts in the U.K. The song broke the record for the largest gap between No. 1 singles in the U.K., according to the Official Charts Company:
1969: The year of the band’s last No. 1 single “The Ballad of John and Yoko”
Around 5 million: The number of streams “Now And Then” reached in the U.K., becoming the most-streamed Beatles song in one week
More than 60 years: The amount of time that’s passed since the band’s first No. 1 single “From Me To You”
STRATEGY AND SUCCESS
If you’re looking to make a major shift in your career, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. The discomfort that comes with learning new skills and being in new spaces is normal, and don’t delay decisions because you’re waiting for the perfect timing. Take baby steps to gain perspective, whether it’s calling a recruiter or chatting with someone over coffee.
VIDEO
QUIZ
A lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail will go to trial, a U.K. judge ruled Friday, which accuses them of obtaining information about the celebrities through unlawful means. Who among the following celebrities is one who brought the suit?
- Prince Harry
- Kate Moss
- Christian Bale
- Emma Watson
Check your answer.
ACROSS THE NEWSROOM
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