America’s Most Generous Billionaires | CEOs Vs. Politicians | Vaccine Lattes

Plus: Tech’s buzziest IPO? As dating app Bumble files to go public, will investors end up getting stung?

A surreal start to 2021. We anxiously awaited the end of 2020, but the new year has delivered a seditious attack on Capitol Hill sparked by President Donald Trump, tragic new records of Covid-19 cases and deaths and a financial market that, despite the news, remains strong.

Trying to keep tabs and keep up on everything the news cycle delivers has become an endurance sport. And there will be more big news tomorrow, when Joe Biden is officially sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. He brings with him a bold plan to remedy the pandemic, unemployment, shuttered schools and a fraught immigration system. To implement the plan, he has recruited experienced government veterans and the most diverse cabinet in U.S. history.

Hopefully the new plan and management team can steer us out of this dangerous time. We are rooting for astonishing success—bold plans and creative public/private partnerships have never been needed more.

Must Reads

The rich have never been richer—or most generous. To count all the donations, the Forbes wealth team created the 2021 list of America’s Top Givers. Check out the illuminating and inspiring read. 

In CEOs we trust: Kristen Stoller has the details on the recent Edelman Trust Barometer showing that both Trump and Biden supporters trust corporate CEOs more than government leaders. Read the fascinating report here. 

Vente vaccines: The U.S. vaccine distribution program is a mess. Washington state has tapped logistic and design experts from hometown coffee titan Starbucks—which serves 100 million people a week—to help streamline the state's rollout. Rachel Sandler has the story of the caffeinated public/private partnership. 

CEO Profile

Data Point

242,000

That’s the number of acres of farmland owned by Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates. With 242,000 acres, Gates is the largest owner of farmland in America. Ariel Shapiro has the story of why Gates is betting big on farmland, as well as a run down of the rest of the biggest landowners in the country. Who owns the most? It’s not Gates, and the answer will surprise you.

Check List

Howie Liu, the perfectionist CEO of billion-dollar startup Airtable, just created a new C-suite made up of outside tech veterans. Intrigued by how a leader assembles a new leadership team, gives up some control and adjusts the company culture, I reached out to Liu. The profile offers a deep look into how tech startups, and their leaders, can mature and grow. 

Meanwhile another founder and CEO is reaching new heights—Virgin’s iconoclastic founder Richard Branson successfully tested his new company Virgin Orbit, which aims to cheaply launch satellites via a tricked-out 747 airplane. David Dawkins reports on Branson’s $1 billion bet, and how he is juggling the literal moonshots as more earthly Virgin Atlantic suffers amid Covid-19. 

One potential Virgin Orbit client: Capella Space, the maker of high-resolution image satellites that can see through clouds. Alex Knapp has the story of Capella Space CEO Payam Banazadeh, a Forbes 30 Under 30 alumnus, who has raised more than $100 million from venture capitalists.