Forbes May 2020

we’re here for you

We recognize that the coronavirus pandemic represents extraordinarily serious challenges in two coverage areas central to why readers turn to Forbes: science and business. We also know that as advocates for positive disruption, innovation and change, we ourselves must nimbly adapt when the times call for it. Accordingly, as when America’s factories transformed from making cars to tanks during World War II, we’ve reengineered our entire newsroom of more than 150 full-time journalists and 3,000 expert contributors to provide you with the most current, authoritative, reliable and thought-provoking journalism possible across every platform as we weather this storm together. Among these moves, we’ve: • More than doubled our Forbes.com breaking-news team, to 15 journalists, so you get reliable information in real time.• Conceived daily newsletters on working remotely and navigating the pandemic…

less can be more—much more

“With all thy getting, get understanding” The coming question is what should be done once the coronavirus crisis abates and the kick wears off from Washington’s rescue efforts. For answers, we should—but won’t—heed some of the key lessons of the 1920–1921 depression. After World War I, the U.S. experienced a torrid inflationary boom. But the bubble burst, especially after the Federal Reserve sharply raised interest rates. The economy crashed, and unemployment soared to around 20% (recordkeeping in those days was haphazard). How did the federal government react? As recounted in James Grant’s definitive history of that contraction, The Forgotten Depression—1921: The Crash That Cured Itself, Washington did the opposite of what economists would counsel today. Spending was slashed from wartime levels; taxes were cut; regulations that had been piled on during the conflict…

the world’s richest

The richest people on Earth are not immune to the coronavirus. As the pandemic tightened its grip on Europe and America, global equity markets imploded, tanking many fortunes. As of March 18, when we finalized this list, Forbes counted 2,095 billionaires, 58 fewer than a year ago and 226 fewer than just 12 days earlier, when we initially calculated these net worths. Of the billionaires who remain, 51% are poorer than they were last year. In raw terms, the world’s billionaires are worth $8 trillion, down $700 billion from 2019. For many more details about the world’s wealthiest, please visit forbes.com/billionaires. CHANGE IN WEALTH KEY: ▴ UP ▾ DOWN ◂▸ UNCHANGED RETURNEE 1. JEFF BEZOS $113 billion ▾ AGE: 56 U.S. SOURCE: Amazon In mid-March Amazon announced it would hire 100,000 full-time and part-time workers at its delivery networks…

and away they go

Little Big Picture DROPOFFS BY COUNTRY March’s pandemic crash erased nearly all the stock-market gains enjoyed by billionaires over the past year. It also knocked many from the billionaire ranks entirely. Altogether, 267 from last year’s list of 2,153 (12.4%) fell below the $1 billion threshold this year, including 127 who tumbled off in early March. Twenty-one others died. Even before COVID-19 crushed retail, Do Won and Jin Sook Chang’s apparel chain, Forever 21, had fallen out of fashion. Sales dropped significantly at its mall-based stores, pushing it into bankruptcy in September 2019. The couple agreed in February to sell the closely held company for $81 million to a group that includes mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties. It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the two, who emigrated to…

baby docs

Alpha Lee | 25 GROUP LEADER, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE Putting his machine-learning expertise to work, Lee cofounded PostEra, an international nonprofit consortium, to find a drug to treat COVID-19. They’ve pinpointed 1,900 promising molecule compounds as of late March. Catherine Freije | 28 & Cameron Myhrvold | 30 RESEARCHERS, BROAD INSTITUTE Harvard virology researchers use CRISPR gene editing to detect and destroy viruses. The two have published almost 30 research papers—and yes, Myhrvold is that Myhrvold (he’s Nathan’s son). Janice Chen | 28 & Lucas Harrington | 29 COFOUNDERS, MAMMOTH BIOSCIENCES With $68 million in funding for their CRISPR diagnostic tools, Chen, Harrington and Trevor Martin have now set their sights on an urgent challenge: rapid detection of the coronavirus’s exact composition. Connall Laverty | 30 FOUNDER, WIA Nearly 1 million coronavirus patients worldwide might need ventilators,…

braiding sweetgrass

Leaders from the worlds of business, academia, entertainment and politics share what’s on their bedside table. Kit Crawford Co-owner and co-CEO, Clif Bar My youngest daughter gave me this book (Milkweed Editions, 2014) for my birthday. One chapter I found moving was “A Mother’s Work.” Kimmerer weaves a beautiful story about the restoration of her pond and what it means to be a good mother. She spends years cleaning up the pond so her daughter can swim in it—“but the pond has shown me that being a good mother doesn’t end with creating a home where just my children can flourish. A good mother grows into a richly eutrophic old woman, knowing that her work doesn’t end until she creates a home where all of life’s beings can flourish.”…