The Daily Valet. - 10/6/21, Wednesday

✔️ That's Rich

Wednesday, October 6th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Thinking about running for office? Open up Snapchat.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

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Today’s Big Story

That’s Rich

There were some big changes in this year’s Fortune 400

The 400 richest Americans added $4.5 trillion to their wealth last year, a 40% rise, even as the pandemic shuttered large parts of the U.S., according to Forbes’ annual tally of the country’s richest people.

Or as the magazine put it: “It has been a terrible year for many, but the good times keep on rolling for the nation’s richest—nearly all are wealthier than they were a year ago.”

For the fourth year in a row, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (even post-divorce) topped the list as the wealthiest person in America with a net worth estimated at $201 billion. Elon Musk of Tesla followed closely behind with $190.5 billion.

The minimum net worth required in order to make the 2021 list was a staggering $2.9 billion—which is up from the $2.1 billion cutoff amount of the previous three years. That knocked 51 billionaires off of the Forbes 400 in 2021, including Oprah Winfrey and former President Donald Trump.

Trump fell off the list for the first time in 25 years, coming up $400 million short with a net worth of $2.5 billion. The publication noted that he was No. 399 on the list last year, but his fortune has fallen more than $600 million since the tail end of his presidency and the start of the pandemic.

Another thing that’s fallen? The generosity of these rich folks. The annual list of also features a “Philanthropy score” where very few wealthy people excel. Those who gave away more than 20% of their net worth since last year’s list dropped from ten to eight. And those who gave away less than 1% of their wealth actually rose from 127 to 156. C’mon, share the wealth, will ya?

↦ FYI: Only 56 of the 400 people on the list are women (Walmart’s Alice Walton is the highest at #12).

Facebook Whistleblower Testifies to Congress

And Mark Zuckerberg breaks his silence

A former Facebook data scientist told Congress Tuesday that the company prioritized “astronomical profits” over the wellbeing of its users—and believes stricter government oversight could alleviate the dangers the company poses, from harming children to inciting political violence to fueling misinformation.

Frances Haugen, testifying to the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, said congressional action is needed to force Facebook to ensure its algorithm doesn't instigate hate and/or violence. A bipartisan group of senators appeared to agree, but we don't know what (if any) action will be taken legislatively.

Haugen said she believes Facebook would still be a profitable company if it did away with engagement-based ranking, which prioritizes content that users are most likely to click on or react to.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had remained quiet until late Tuesday when he broke his silence, refuting many of Haugen's allegations, adding “the argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical.” But he may not get off the hook with just a Facebook post. Congress still wants to hear from him.

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Snapchatting Into Public Office

Snapchat introduces a tool to help young people get into politics

How many apps can you name that offer both an avenue to send scandalous pics and a pathway to achieve your political dreams? Well, now there's one ... Snapchat announced a new feature on Tuesday designed to help young people run for office.

Aptly known as “Run For Office,” Snapchat's new in-app initiative is designed to help Gen Z chart a course towards their political aspirations and “engage with democracy in an easy, native-to-mobile way.” It's a wide reach, too. Snapchat currently reaches 90% of all 13- to 24-year-olds in the U.S.

The tool, powered by the nonpartisan resource BallotReady, will map out more than 75,000 upcoming elections on the federal, state and local level that young people may be eligible to run in, provide resources to help would-be candidates understand the necessary steps to take to kickstart their campaigns. It also allows users to nominate friends to run for office.

Of course, this isn't Snapchat's first foray into get-out-the-vote efforts; in 2018, it added voter registration within its app, and in 2020, the company introduced more in-app features, including a voter guide and voting checklist.

↦ FYI: Young people in the U.S. made history in the 2020 elections, voting at a record high rate.

Driverless Ride-Shares Are Coming

Take a peek at future Lyft rides in Motional’s self-driving EVs

Some Lyft ride requests in Las Vegas are already autonomous (although, currently, there's a safety driver), but starting in 2023, the fully autonomous rides powered by autonomous company Motional will come in a futuristic new electronic vehicle.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 will be transformed into a robo-taxi for Lyft ride requests in Las Vegas and other other cities Motional will be adding to its self-driving network.

Once the fully autonomous EVs launch, it'll mean ordering a car through the Lyft app (like normal) but then communicating with the car through the app and screens in the backseat.

According to Mashable, the app will allow you to unlock and lock the doors, perform safety checks and even have the car flash its lights or honk the horn to help you locate it.

↦ FYI: Motional's operations in Nevada extend beyond its partnership with Lyft. The company also tests on public roads on an ongoing basis.

In Other News

↦ Congress Is at an Impasse on the Debt Limit. Here Are 5 Ways It Could End.

↦ How mRNA Vaccine Platforms Unlocks the Potential for Universal Vaccines

↦ Tom Cruise Lost the $200M Cinematic Space Race to the Russians

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Handling burnout

Chipotle’s lost desserts

This moody, rustic ranch house

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