Forbes February/March 2022

As we mark two years of the pandemic, the state of the nation is … strained. Polarization worse than ever. The concept of facts under attack. Employees resigning at record rates. Mental health challenged in myriad ways. Then sprinkle in some historic inflation, democracy-rattling and supply-chain seizures for good measure. All of this reinforces the inherent human need for community—people you can lean on and learn from. It’s as true professionally as socially, and given this moment, we’re doubling down on it. At Forbes, communities come in two flavors. The first is our CxO networks, overseen by Diane Brady, a great mind who harnesses other great minds to lead each one. Sometimes it’s a journalist, such as Martin Giles, who adeptly convenes CIOs for roundtables, networking and leadership seminars. Increasingly, we’re interested…

“With all thy getting, get understanding” Will the Biden Administration impose price controls to fight inflation? To avoid blame for rising prices, President Biden and his team are faulting greedy businesses, primarily meat processors, oil-and-gas producers and pharmaceutical companies. There is growing talk that if inflation doesn’t ease soon, the White House may impose “temporary” price controls on voter-sensitive products such as beef, chicken, gasoline, heating oil and various prescription drugs. This would be disastrous. Several thousand years of experience have demonstrated that controls don’t work. They make things worse, because they attack the symptoms, not the underlying cause, which is the devaluing of the currency. Governments always look for inflation scapegoats: The Roman Empire blamed Christians; medieval Europe faulted witches; President Richard Nixon pointed his finger at currency speculators and Arab oil producers…

JoJo 160 East 64th Street (Tel.: 212-223-5656) JoJo has been a Three Star in our All-Star Eateries since Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened it in 1991. Due to a glitch, it was dropped from the magazine version this year but was promptly reinstated online. Our apologies to chef Steven Boutross, the talented staff and the wonderful management, who every night deliver a magical culinary experience. JoJo’s recent renovation has left it airy, light-filled and comfortable. Start with the delicate peekytoe crab dumplings or the spicy tuna tartare in lettuce cups. Then try two incomparable classics: the crispy-skin organic chicken surrounded by thin fried onion rings and potato skins, or the juicy, peppercorn-crusted beef tenderloin with potato gnocchi and Brussels sprouts. Don’t leave without tasting the delicious carrot cake or the butter scotch pudding with caramel…

Forty years ago, after returning from a two-year tour of the United States and Europe to support his first No. 1 album, The River, Bruce Springsteen arrived home at his rented New Jersey ranch house, not far from where he grew up in the blue-collar town of Freehold, and dropped $10,000 on his first extravagant purchase: a 1982 Chevy Z28 Camaro. “I’d never owned a new car in my life,” he wrote about the splurge in his 2016 autobiography, Born to Run. “I’d never spent $10,000 on myself. It felt as conspicuous as if I were driving a solid gold Rolls-Royce.” Today, the man who once sang of being haunted by the ghost of Tom Joad can afford a fleet of luxury cars. In December, the Boss sold the masters and publishing…

1. Peter Jackson • $580 mil The Lord of the Rings director became a billionaire in November when he sold part of his visual-effects firm, Weta Digital, to Unity Software for $1.6 billion, about 40% of it in cash. 2. Bruce Springsteen • $435 mil (See story, page 15.) 3. Jay-Z • $340 mil The hip-hop mogul cashed out stakes in music streamer Tidal and the Armand de Brignac champagne brand. 4. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson • $270 mil About 25% of his earnings came from starring roles in films like Jungle Cruise and Red Notice; most of the rest came from his buzzy tequila brand, Teremana. 5. Kanye West • $235 mil He earns most of his money from a multiyear deal to design Yeezy sneakers for Adidas. A jacket and hoodie designed for the Gap arrived last…

Fintech outfit Brex, which initially set out to make it easier for startups to get corporate credit cards, raised $300 million in January in a funding round that valued it at $12.3 billion—up from $7.4 billion just nine months ago. Brazilian cofounders and co-CEOs Henrique Dubugras, 26 (above left), and Pedro Franceschi, 25, each of whom holds an estimated 14% stake, are now worth about $1.5 billion apiece. The 1,000-person startup can credit its existence to a lively December 2012 Twitter exchange between the cofounders about the nuances of coding. At the time, Dubugras and Franceschi were high school students living in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, respectively. Twitter’s then-140-character tweet maximum hindered their debate, so the two teens hopped on Skype to discuss further. “On Skype, we couldn’t fight that…