Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Swimming in cash

The richest Americans are swimming in a bigger pool of cash thanks to Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Revenue from the U.S. estate tax has been cut in half in just two years, the IRS reports, just as dynastic wealth has skyrocketed. Some $9.3 billion in estate taxes were paid by 1,275 wealthy families in 2020. As recently as 2018, that figure was more than $20 billion paid by nearly 5,500 families. It’s all largely the result of the 2017 tax overhaul pushed through by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was then majority leader, and signed by Trump. The package doubled the amount America’s rich can pass on to heirs without triggering the estate tax. In the last five years, U.S. billionaires have doubled their collective net worth to more than $5 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the coronavirus pandemic and the progress of global vaccination efforts.

While the 1% are keeping their money, the IRS may be more successful at seizing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency linked to tax fraud and other crimes, according to the agency’s head of criminal investigations. The IRS seized $3.5 billion worth of crypto during fiscal year 2021, a figure that accounted for 93% of all the assets seized by tax enforcement that year. The agency predicts the trend will only continue in 2022.

A more infectious version of Covid-19’s delta variant is spreading fast in the U.K., accounting for about 12% of the samples gathered in the most recent government survey. Still, the new sub-variant seemed less likely to cause symptomatic disease. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Getting inflation right is a make-or-break moment on Wall Street. For a generation of investing professionals, stable prices were a fact of life. Bloomberg Businessweek asks the question: What do you do when the old assumptions stop making sense?

Apple is pushing to accelerate development of its electric car and is refocusing the project around full self-driving capabilities, aiming to solve a technical challenge that has bedeviled the auto industry. 

Microsoft’s head of Xbox said he’s “evaluating all aspects of our relationship with Activision Blizzard” in light of recent revelations at the video game publisher. Phil Spencer said he’s “deeply troubled,” referring to allegations that CEO Bobby Kotick knew of sexual harassment at the company for years and that he mistreated women. 

Bobby Kotick  Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

U.S. President Joe Biden may have a plan to make daycare more affordable for parents, but first those providers must stay in business. Bloomberg Businessweek reports on how childcare became the most broken business in America.

Battling the political consequences of the strongest inflationary surge in decades, Biden has spent a month trying to talk down the price of oil, often not the most effective strategy. But for now, it strangely seems to be working.

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• Hedge fund Balyasny bans hiring from Ken Griffin’s Citadel unit.
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• Live Nation, Apple sued for $2 billion over Astroworld disaster.
• FedEx sees holiday package volume rise to record levels.
• Salad chain Sweetgreen doubles valuation in its trading debut.
• How to rent a home in the world’s craziest housing market.

The capital of Albania is getting a makeover intended to stop urban sprawl. But critics tell Bloomberg CityLab that Tirana’s plan could leave the city changed beyond recognition—and erase its history. 

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