The Lincoln Project’s Loyal Billionaires | All Apologies? | Eileen Gu’s Golden Opportunity

Plus: The Highest-Paid Entertainers 2022

Good morning.

Super-PAC the Lincoln Project attracted two dozen billionaire backers during the 2020 election season with its anti-Trump ethos. But only two tycoons have kept donating in the past year. After a week of high-profile apologies such as that from Spotify's Daniel Ek, we’re also looking into what makes expressions of regret feel genuine, and we continue our coverage of the Beijing Olympics by examining why skier Eileen Gu’s decision to compete for China over the U.S. will earn her more rewards than backlash. Speaking of earnings, check out this year’s list of the highest-paid entertainers. 

In The News Today

A geomagnetic storm has destroyed at least 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched last week.

Sweden lifted almost all of its pandemic restrictions and ended mass testing for Covid-19, joining a growing list of countries relaxing curbs despite high numbers of infections.   

Top Take-Aways

Anti-Trump super-PAC The Lincoln Project has seen donations from billionaires dwindle after the election of President Joe Biden—out of 24 backers in 2020, only two have made contributions in the past year. 

Despite the flurry of changes Peloton announced this week, including a new chief executive—former Spotify and Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy—one major thing remains exactly the same: cofounder John Foley, now executive chairman, is still in control.

American-born skier Eileen Gu decided to compete for China at the Beijing Winter Olympics. While some in the U.S. criticized the move, marketing experts say the gains from her popularity in China will more than offset any backlash she might face elsewhere.

Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, podcaster Joe Rogan, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, and Biden administration science adviser Eric Lander all had to offer apologies this week. But the reception to these claims of regret depends on how much responsibility the person takes—and increasingly important, who’s doing the listening.

Three-time Grammy-nominated artist Camila Cabello has joined the ranks of the celebrity investor, contributing to soda maker Olipop's $30 million Series B fundraising round, alongside A-list investors including Mindy Kaling, Gwenyth Paltrow, PepsiCo’s former CEO Indra Nooyi, and venture capital investors Anjula Acharia and Rocana Venture Partners.

An Israeli citizen fooled women he matched with on Tinder into believing he was the son of a diamond billionaire—and someone who needed money, fast. But while Simon Leviev wasn’t who he said he was, the Leviev fortune is real. Here's the 2003 Forbes cover story on the "King of Diamonds," featured in Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler.

Today's Must Read

In Case You Missed It

Nearly two years into the pandemic, weary politicians and governments are pushing to treat Covid-19 like any other problematic but manageable illness such as the seasonal flu, but experts warn the approach could be premature and paints an overly optimistic picture of what “living with Covid” actually means. 

Tips You Can Trust

Aggressive behavior in the workplace is more common than one may think, but it should never be tolerated. Here are three ways to best handle aggressive people in the workplace.

To increase the impact of your language and arguments, be concise. Here are three tips to help you be more succinct.

Today's Must Watch

Recommendations
From Beyond The Newsroom