Better.com’s Bitter Side | Murdoch’s New Mega Ranch | World's Most Expensive Villa

Plus: Meet The Billionaire Robot Overlord Reinventing Walmart’s Warehouses

Good morning.

The now infamous video of Better.com CEO Vishal Garg firing 9% of the mortgage lender’s workforce via a video call is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the company’s corporate governance problems. We’re also covering Rupert Murdoch’s latest addition to his sprawling property portfolio, and peeking inside an Italian villa that could become the most expensive home ever sold. Finally, don’t miss this story about why billionaire Rick Cohen is betting big on a robotics firm that’s building cutting-edge warehouses for mega-retailers like Walmart, Albertsons and Target.

In The News Today

The U.S. is fast approaching 800,000 Covid-19 deaths Monday, marking another grim milestone, with Mississippi and Alabama recording the two highest death rates in the country.

More than 90 workers of a Kentucky candle factory have been located alive after initial fears that they may have perished after their workplace was completely flattened by a tornado on Friday.

Top Take-Aways

A week after firing 900 employees during a Zoom call, Better.com CEO Vishal Garg has taken leave “effectively immediately,” according to an internal memo sent to employees Friday. But Garg was a controversial figure even before then, tangled in multiple legal liabilities, conflicts of interest, and corporate governance problems.

Billionaire Jeff Yass likes to stay out of the limelight, letting his political donations speak for themselves. Benefiting from almost all of his $7.5 million is the Club for Growth Action super-PAC, which advocates for policies such as shutting down the Department of Education.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his wife Jerry Hall have forked out $200 million for a Montana ranch that marks the latest addition to the billionaire’s already eye-popping portfolio of properties.

But no property carries a steeper price tag than the $532 million Villa Aurora, which sits in Rome’s city center, houses a Caravaggio-painted ceiling, and is being sold by a Texas-born heiress that married into Italian aristocracy.

A Delta Air Lines flight from D.C. to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City after a drunken passenger assaulted a flight attendant and a Federal Air Marshal who intervened, the latest in a string of incidents—more than 5,550 so far this year—involving disruptive passengers.

In just 12 months, Jack Harlow went from industry baby to 2 billion streams, 3 Grammy nominations and $5 million in 2021 earnings. Forbes spoke to the Kentucky native, an Under 30 class of 2022 honoree, about his rise to the upper echelons of rap music. 

Today's Must Read

In Case You Missed It

Oracle stock had a blowout Friday, jumping nearly 16% in a day after a strong quarterly earnings report. The stock jump added $15.1 billion to Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison’s fortune, pushing him past Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to make Ellison the No. 5 richest person in the world. 

Tips You Can Trust

Fully remote roles are becoming more popular across sectors. If that’s your preferred work arrangement, here are four ways to show hiring managers you can get results done without being in the office. 

Unhappy employees are quitting without another job lined up because, to them, staying in a toxic workplace is worse than being unemployed. These five types of toxic workplace will struggle to retain employees long term. 

Today's Must Watch

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