A global job crisis is brewing, Singapore's president warned in a World Economic Forum panel.
About 1.2 billion new workers will be competing for 400 million jobs over the next decade, he said.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam called for an overhaul of education and labor force training to help workers.
Singapore's president says a global job crisis is looming, and tackling it will require governments around the world to reimagine how they educate, train, and care for their workers.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam sounded the alarm during a Wednesday panel titled "Closing the Jobs Gap" at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. He delivered a wide-ranging monologue in the session moderated by Business Insider's editor in chief, Jamie Heller.
Shanmugaratnam β an economist with degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics β said that roughly 1.2 billion people from developing and emerging nations are set to enter the global workforce over the next decade, but only 400 million new jobs are projected to be created in that period.
If another 800 million people wind up underemployed or fully unemployed, it won't just be an economic, social, and political nightmare β it will represent a "crisis of social compact" and a "crisis of hope, of self-belief and dignity, and a crisis of solidarity," he said.
Narrowing the jobs gap will require "shaping human potential through life," from the crucial first three years of a child's life to what they learn in school and at work, Shanmugaratnam said.
He flagged the mismatch between the overly academic and insufficiently technical education provided by many universities, and the skills that employers demand, which has left many graduates jobless and could leave a "whole generation feeling the system has failed them."
He also underscored the need to equip workers with the breadth of abilities and soft skills necessary to excel in their careers.
AI and informal work
Shanmugaratnam has held top-level government positions focused on human resources, education, finance, and economic and social policies during his career.
At Davos, he discussed the rise of artificial intelligence and the prospect that the technology could lead to mass displacement of workers.
He called for governments and employers to continually invest in workers to increase the chances that AI complements their skills instead of rendering them obsolete. He also urged authorities to take care of workers replaced by the tech.
Shanmugaratnam also flagged that the vast majority of workers in the developing world are in the informal sector, so they lack job security, have no opportunity to develop their skills, and are underemployed.
He called for other countries to follow Singapore's example and give gig workers benefits such as workplace injury compensation and social security,Β and ensure employers build up their workforce's skills over time.
Alessandro Palombo has lived in Dubai and he's launched two businesses in Singapore.
He said people in Dubai often display their wealth, while Singapore has billionaires in flip-flops.
The lifestyle in Dubai can be transient, meanwhile, Singapore can feel small, he said.
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Alessandro Palombo, 36, an entrepreneur based in Lisbon, about doing business in Dubai and Singapore. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
I lived in Dubai for around four years, and I have two businesses in Singapore.
I started my career in the legal field but pivoted into startups. I currently live in Lisbon and focus on running a fund advisor for a Golden Visa fund helping non-Europeans gain residency and citizenship in Portugal.
I first moved to Dubai in 2019. I used the city as my headquarters and often traveled from there for work and my startups. I had team members in Asia, so there was good connectivity from Dubai to them. I also frequently visited Singapore for business trips.
I launched two businesses, including a fund advisor, in Singapore in 2024. I travel frequently to manage both companies and plan to spend at least a quarter of my time there moving forward.
Having experienced life in both Dubai and Singapore, here is a comparison of what I think of both locations. Overall, I think they are both great places for doing business. Dubai is better suited for doing business with Europe or the US, and Singapore is a great place if you're doing business in Asia.
Displays of luxury are more understated in Singapore than in Dubai
People in Dubai often display their wealth, while in Singapore, there were billionaires in flip-flops β it's more understated.
In Dubai, you can get lost among hundreds of luxury shops at the Dubai Mall. It shows you the best of every luxury brand in one place.
While luxury is embedded into a holiday experience in Dubai, it isn't at the center of your experience when you live there. When visiting for a week, you're typically taken to high-end attractions and restaurants, but living in Dubai reveals its more grounded side. You can dine in more authentic Lebanese restaurants for 25 euros, around the same in dollars a head.
Meanwhile, in Singapore, I've personally met more wealthy and powerful people than I did in Dubai. This could be due to coincidences around my network, but I have a feeling it attracts more people who have already made it as opposed to people who are trying to make it. I've met several wealthy people who were dressed in ordinary clothes but had significant assets, including luxury cars.
In Dubai, business meetings often happen in lavish offices, but in Singapore, I've seen more personal touches, like a CEO's private room with an extraordinary cigar collection and premium liquor β items that reflect wealth but aren't immediately visible.
Consider where your clients are based when deciding which city is best for your business
I think both locations are great for digital nomads and entrepreneurs.
In Dubai, the killer value proposition is 0% personal income tax. It's one of the very rare places in the world where your earnings, capital gains, and dividends are not taxed. It's a major advantage for people who have wealth to preserve and for digital nomads. However, there is a 5% VAT.
If you're doing business with Europe or the US, Dubai would be a better fit because of the time zone.
Meanwhile, Singapore offers an unmatched ease of doing business in Asia without the language barriers present in countries like China, where Mandarin is essential. However, if you have clients in Europe, the time difference can make things difficult.
In Singapore, personal income tax is reasonable, and there are thoughtful tax exemptions for startups. Plus, there is no capital gains tax or foreign-source income tax. Singapore is such an efficient city. Compared to Dubai, it's faster to open a bank account. The tax guidelines are clear, and they enable you to do business easily.
That said, there are challenges around entrepreneurship in both locations. In Dubai, pathways for securing a visa can involve establishing a company or obtaining a freelance license. While feasible, it's more complex than it appears, and it's often useful to have assistance from trusted local partners. In Singapore, incorporation is straightforward, but obtaining the required Employment Pass involves additional steps.
There are some potential downsides to life in both cities.
In Dubai, I think the lifestyle can be quite transient. There's a large expat population, and since many people see their time there as temporary, it can limit deep connections.
I'd avoid the hottest summer months in Dubai. If you open your door in July, it's like a huge hairdryer blowing hot air on you. Meanwhile, in Singapore, it's hot and humid all year round. In both places, expect to be spending a lot of time in buildings with air conditioning.
Both cities can be expensive, but I think Singapore is more expensive, particularly the cost of cars and real estate.
Singapore is also a very small city. In Lisbon, where I live now, I can drive to many beautiful places in my car like beaches and hiking spaces, but in Singapore, you don't have to drive for long before you've left Singapore and are entering Malaysia. In the medium to long term, you may feel the smallness of the space. I haven't lived in Singapore, but when I visit, I often end up in the same four or five streets.
Overall, Singapore and Dubai are great examples of international hubs, and I really like both cities.
Do you want to share a review of cities you've lived in for work and business purposes? Email [email protected]
Workers from Chinese EV company NIO inspect vehicles at the company's manufacturing hub in Hefei, China.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
CATL's co-chairman said EVs in China have gotten a new label: EIV.
The term stands for "electric intelligent vehicles," Pan Jian said at a Davos panel on Tuesday.
China's EV industry has seen an influx of affordable vehicles like the Xiaomi SU7 which are packed with AI technology.
There's a new buzzword in China's electric vehicle industry.
Pan Jian, the co-chairman of battery manufacturer and key Tesla supplier CATL, told a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday that China's automakers were shunning traditional EVs for "EIVs," or Electric Intelligent Vehicles.
"We actually no longer call it EV. We call it EIV. 'I' stands for intelligent," Pan said at a session moderated by Business Insider editor in chief Jamie Heller. Other speakers included Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm and South African science minister Bonginkosi Emmanuel "Blade" Nzimande.
Pan said the reason China's EV market is booming is because there's a "perfect marriage between E and I."
"E enables I, so that offers a whole suite of new features to consumers, which cannot be offered with traditional combustion engine cars," he said.
A spokesperson for CATL said that the term "EIV" was not yet widespread in China, but was growing in popularity.
China's booming EV market has seen an influx of affordable models that are packed with high-tech extras in recent years.
"I think more and more, the car manufacturers are going to be really competing over the user experience," said Zhang.
She said that Chinese automakers are investing heavily in making their EVs more intelligent and building their own hardware, such as chips.
"It's easier to incorporate those intelligent functions on EVs than traditional combustion engine vehicles because of the chips," Zhang said, adding that this was one of the reasons Chinese consumer electronics companies like Xiaomi and Huawei have pivoted into EVs.
Speaking at Davos, CATL co-chairman Pan also hailed China's talent pool of software engineers, nurtured by homegrown companies like Xiaomi, Alibaba, and Tencent, saying it has given China's EV industry an edge.
His comments come as EV sales in China are set to rise 20% this year to more than 12 million, outpacing conventional car sales for the first time.
"I have no idea why liberals thought that Carrie Underwood was a liberal," Owens said during a livestream. "That's just the craziest thing I've ever heard."
Coach Javier Mendez said they would have changed their tactics if Umar Nurmagomedov had revealed he'd broken his hand during his loss to Merab Dvalishvili.
Dexter Zhuang, the founder of Money Abroad, has achieved what's known as "Coast FIRE."
Courtesy of Dexter Zhuang
Dexter Zhuang hit Coast FIRE, meaning he doesn't have to contribute any more money to his nest egg.
He still has to earn income to cover his daily living expenses and expects to work into his 60s.
Coast FIRE, which he hit with a simple strategy, has provided peace of mind and career flexibility.
Dexter Zhuang has achieved what's known as "Coast FIRE," an offshoot of the Financial Independence, Retire Early movement.
It's defined as having enough in your retirement accounts that you don't have to contribute any more money β the current amount will grow and compound enough over time, allowing you to "coast" into retirement.
Zhuang calculated his Coast FIRE number using an online calculator that allows you to input assumptions such as your current age, expected retirement age, annual spending in retirement, and invested assets. BI verified that he hit his six-figure number, which he prefers not to share, by looking at investment account screenshots and statements.
He still has to earn enough to cover his day-to-day expenses, but he doesn't mind working β and expects to do so well into his 60s.
"I don't see myself as someone who wants to retire early and stop working. The retirement age that I put into the Coast FIRE calculator is 67," said Zhuang, whose career has included a high-paying Silicon Valley job and working at growth-stage startups. He said his average cash compensation, including base salary and bonuses, was $133,000 between 2013 and 2022.
In 2023, he walked away from his 9-to-5 career to grow his newsletter, Money Abroad, and do freelance consulting for startup CEOs.
Zhuang and his wife reside in Mexico City.
Courtesy of Dexter Zhuang
For Zhuang, the appeal of Coast FIRE was the peace of mind and career flexibility that it provided. Knowing he didn't have to worry about retirement allowed him to "pursue a different type of work, career path, and to experiment with something different," he said.
The 33-year-old has lived in San Francisco and Singapore throughout his career and currently resides in Mexico City with his wife. He shared the investment strategy that's allowing him to coast into retirement.
Investing early and diversifying over time
Zhuang started putting his money to work in his early 20s after landing his first full-time job as a product manager. He kept things simple, he said: "When I started investing after college, I was mainly buying boring index funds through my 401(k) retirement account and my taxable brokerage account."
Over time, he diversified his portfolio and, as of January 2025, has his money spread across various asset classes.
His portfolio is, roughly, "15% cash, 65% public equities, 15% real estate and REITs, and 5% more high-risk assets," he said. "My current strategy isn't anything fancy. It's long-term orientation, so investing based on a 10 plus year time horizon. I consider myself moderately aggressive on the risk spectrum."
Cash
Zhuang keeps about 15% of his money in four-week Treasury bills or a high-yield savings account. This is emergency fund money and also, "a fund that my wife and I have saved for starting a family in the future," he said.
Stocks
Public equities make up the majority, 65%, of Zhuang's portfolio.
"My distribution is around 75% US stocks and 25% non-US stocks," he said. "On the US stock side, my portfolio's gotten a bit messier over the years, so it includes a number of different US stock indexes, like VTSAX, which is the total stock market index. I also have some VOO, which is the S&P 500, and VXF, which is the mid- and small-cap. So, what I try to do is diversify a mix of the large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap within US. Within non-US, I have funds like VTIAX, which is the international stock index, and the VXUS, which is similar; it's all the non-US international markets."
He prefers index fund investing over stock picking for a few reasons.
One, he'll probably get better returns than he would if he attempted to pick individual stocks, he said: "I don't think I'm going to succeed where professional, active investors have failed in terms of stock picking."
Two, he prefers the passive, hands-off approach that index fund investing allows.
Even if he could beat the market picking stocks, "I wouldn't want to spend the time really diving into individual stocks," he said. "I see money as a tool so that I don't have to spend a whole lot of time in the spreadsheet. I value the balance of building wealth for the future versus enjoying my current lifestyle."
Real estate
Zhuang doesn't want to own and operate properties but recognizes the benefit of having real estate make up a portion of his portfolio.
He owns REITs β real estate investment trusts β which are companies that own real estate. Like stock, investors can purchase shares in REITs.
"My preference is to not have to own the actual, physical property, so I don't have to manage it," Zhuang said. "That's why I prefer to go with the REITs approach, for diversification purposes."
High-risk investments
A small percentage of his portfolio is invested in startups and crypto. Zhuang calls this his "fun money bucket," and keeps it at about 5% of his portfolio.
"In 2021, during the crypto boom, I did allocate a bit more toward crypto," he said. "But since then I've reduced my holdings to this small portion of my portfolio because I realized this is an incredibly volatile asset and, ultimately, I was just speculating."
I loved living in Portland but eventually had to leave. Now, I'm much happier in a smaller Oregon town.
Francois Laborde/Shutterstock
I loved living in Portland, Oregon, in college and my early 20s β I thought I'd stay there forever.
However, a temporary move to Baker City, a small town in rural Oregon, shifted my mindset.
I moved there once I'd had enough of Portland's noise, big-city vibes, and cost of living.
I grew up in a small town in Oregon and couldn't wait to pack my bags and head to Portland for college.
The city seemed to have everything I could need: bustling streets, museums, art, culture, and an abundance of good food.
And for years, Portland was the perfect lively place for a young adult like me. I enjoyed living there while attending Portland State University, a campus in the heart of downtown surrounded by both trees and skyscrapers.
I spent most mornings jogging along the Willamette River and across the city's many bridges. On weekends, I could tour the local farmers market, visit a botanical garden, eat at tons of different food trucks, or even head to popular spots like Powell's City of Books or chains like Voodoo Doughnut.
I swore I'd never leave my beloved city, but I later realized doing so was the best option for me.
At first, I thought I just needed a temporary break from Portland
So many things I loved about Portland were now not so appealing to me.
miroslav_1/Getty Images
The summer after I graduated from college, I needed some time to regroup without feeling rushed to decide my next step.
The go-getter in me wasΒ feeling burned out,Β I missed my family, and I knew I couldn't slow down and just breathe while living in Portland.
The city felt so busy, and the high cost of living was tough to manage as a single person living on my own. I'd have to work full-time β and maybe even take on another job β just to make ends meet.
So, I packed my bags and headed five hours east to Baker City, a small town in rural Oregon where members of my family lived.
Affordable, quaint, and quiet, Baker City was just the break I needed. Soon enough, though, I missed the buzz of Portland and the convenience of having a wide variety of shops and restaurants at my fingertips.
After a few months, I returned to Portland to start graduate school.
However, my mental health took a turn when I returned to Portland
Although I was surrounded by people in the city, I felt incredibly lonely. My anxiety and depression were worsening by the day, and I was battling panic attacks, paranoia, and suicidal ideations.
Therapy wasn't helping, and neither were the antidepressants. Most days, I struggled to get dressed and leave my apartment.
I craved community, less noise, and more peace. Soon, I realized I only experienced those things when I was visiting family in Baker City.
Unlike before, the small town's slow pace seemed appealing to me. Plus, the lower cost of living could help alleviate some of my stress.
I knew I had to make a change to improve my well-being, so I left Portland for good and moved to Baker City.
My small town allows me to live the life of simplicity I desire
I've found a lot of peace living in a small town.
Carly Newberg
I now live in Baker City with my partner and pet Husky and work as a full-time yoga teacher and writer.
As I've gotten older, I realized I no longer want to be around crowds β and having too many choices for restaurants, shops, and events feels more overwhelming than desirable.
There are more small businesses than there are chains here, but I love it. Most of the local business owners know me by name and often ask how I'm doing.
Restaurant options are limited, but I still eat well. We have several ranches and farms we can locally source food from. Plus, I've started gardening and enjoy growing my own food.
Although Baker City's population of about 10,000 is a far cry from the over half a million people in Portland, my smaller community feels much tighter.
I can't remember the last time I felt lonely. Of all the years I lived in Portland, I never had as easy of a time making friends as I have here.
We have a large art and music community, many outdoor activities, and annual events. Baker City also gets lots of sunshine and less rain than Portland, which has also been beneficial to my mental health.
Portland will forever have a piece of my heart, but not like Baker City does. I love the simple yet beautiful life I've cultivated here over the past three years and wouldn't trade it for the world.
The author's tween (not pictured) takes the train alone.
StockPlanets/Getty Images
My family moved from the US to Barcelona six years ago.
I went from being a helicopter parent to letting my child explore the world independently.
I went from asking where my kid was to does my kid know where I am?
When I lived in the United States, I was a helicopter mom. At the park, I followed my preschooler like a linebacker, ready to catch him if he fell. If I lost sight of him, I'd panic.
That changed six years ago when my family moved to Barcelona. During our first spring here, we attended a Catalan calçotada, a community gathering where you barbecue green onions.
My son's friends were climbing a tree. Naturally, my then-5-year-old joined in. Once he reached the top, the local parents started clapping. But they weren't clapping for my kid. They were clapping for me. For once, I hadn't intervened. I let my kid be a kid.
This hands-off parenting has endured. Today, my 11-year-old son picks up groceries, plays in the park, and commutes 30 minutes from school β all without adult supervision. But this shift didn't happen overnight. Spain's social climate and infrastructure provided us the opportunities to grow.
Independence is fostered from an early age
Restaurants here often have playgrounds or open squares nearby, with outdoor seating so parents can socialize while their kids play. When an American friend asked who watches the kids, I joked, "They run feral."
In Spain, I don't ask: "Where's my kid?" Instead, I ask: "Does my kid know where I am?" The restaurant table is the hub. If my son gets hurt, another child will run and find me. Otherwise, the kids sort issues out by themselves while we sip wine.
Schools here encourage independence early with annual multi-day rural trips for students starting at ages 5 or 6. When my son first went, I was nervous β who would remind him to pee or comfort him at night? I over-prepared, packing labeled outfits, only to find he wore the same clothes for three days. Did he reek? Yes. Did he survive? Also yes.
To be sure, this independence hasn't turned my son into an angel. He still complains when we ask him to set the table and would happily choose his iPad over park time, but independent actions give him a sense of agency.
Me being overprotective wasn't helping my kid
Since age 10, he has taken the city train home from school by himself. My American sisters (also moms) are shocked. "How brave," they told me. But here, it's normal thanks to supportive infrastructure like the FGC transportation system, which dedicates specific public train carriages to school children during rush hour. After a few months of practice in this train cocoon, he now takes the train alone whenever and wherever he needs it.
"One of the reasons it's easier in Spain is because the social norm is, obviously, to put your kid on the train," Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence, told Business Insider.
This overprotectiveness leads to learned helplessness. Previously, my son would zone out during our train journeys together. Since he started commuting on his own, he's become more vigilant. Now, when we travel together, he's the one making sure we don't miss our stop.
"The only thing I've seen that changes parents here in America is not statistics," Skenazy said. "It's simply seeing their kid has done something without them."
Skenazy suggests coordinating with schools to adopt the Let Grow Project, a homework assignment that asks kids to do one thing by themselves (from frying an egg to biking solo to school). The children document this on a leaf-shaped paper, which is displayed publicly.
My son's journey toward independence began with a tree. Collect enough leaves, and soon, your children could have a tree of their own.
Good morning. Hallam Bullock here, writing to you from London. President Donald Trump has ordered staff members overseeing DEI efforts to be placed on leave by 5 p.m. ET today while he dismantles their departments.
Trump wasted no time establishing the "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE).
Announced after his win in November, DOGE promised to "provide advice and guidance from outside of government" to help roll back bad regulations and slash government spending. It would also be helmed by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The pair had big plans.
But the DOGE that was signed into life via executive order on Monday is markedly different, BI's Jack Newsham, Alice Tecotzky, and Brent Griffiths write. It's now officially part of the White House, rather than operating as an outside advisory committee.
The executive order also didn't create a new department, but rather renamed another β DOGE will replace the Obama-era US Digital Service (USDS), a unit that primarily works on improving government websites and tech. The USDS's unit had grown to more than 200 people, while Musk's new team is reported to consist of 20 staff.
Oh, and Ramaswamy is no longer a co-leader. Instead of running the group with Musk, he's expected to run for governor of Ohio, according to various media reports.
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in November.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
So, why all the changes?
Experts said bringing DOGE inside the federal government could avoid legal headaches (minutes after Trump became president, DOGE was hit with three lawsuits). But it also raises new issues. DOGE is now subject to new transparency and ethical rules, particularly around public information laws.
Being part of the government also means Musk can't use his private fortune to fund DOGE's operations β though one expert told BI that there would likely be easy ways for Musk to get around those limits.
DOGE's mission, per the executive order, is now to "implement the President's DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
Meanwhile, Trump's Office of Personnel Management is making moves reminiscent of DOGE's initial goals: asking federal agencies to put together lists of workers they could easily fire.
Dan in Davos
GrΓΌezi! With the US presidential inauguration behind us, things are definitely in full swing here in Davos, Switzerland. (Although Washington continues to turn heads back west thanks to the latest announcement about investing in AI infrastructure.)
The streets are filling up and some high-profile guests are arriving, either to conduct business, make appearances, or do a little bit of both.
My colleague Spriha Srivastava met David Beckham, who was in town to receive an award for his philanthropic work. Meanwhile, I had the chance to moderate a roundtable hosted by Mastercard that included McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris and McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown.
Fresh off winning the 2024 Constructors' Cup Championship, McLaren's first since 1998, Brown talked about the work done to bring the team back to the top of the podium.
Naturally, we had to touch on AI. (This is Davos, after all.) And while McLaren continues to look at ways to use the tech, Brown made clear the human touch remains key for critical, split-second decisions. In short, you won't see Norris subbed out for an autonomous car anytime soon.
It hasn't all been about AI. I also had an interesting chat with Lisa Stevens, Aon's chief administrative officer, who is passionate about the benefits of companies making GLP-1's more accessible to their workers.
Stevens' hypothesis is employee access to GLP-1s would reduce absenteeism and increase productivity and engagement. (She'll get a first-hand view this year as Aon offers GLP-1s and a complimentary program to its North American employees at a reduced rate.)
Many companies find the cost of the drug deterring, but Stevens believes that the other benefits will actually reduce those expenses over time.
"Because now you're not dealing with all sorts of other health issues that will come into play," Stevens told me. "So that's what we're trying to demonstrate and prove."
1. The SEC launches a crypto task force. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced it's rolling out a crypto task force, which will help "draw clear regulatory lines" in the space. It'll be led by Hester Peirce, the SEC Commissioner Trump appointed in his first term. Digital assets saw a nice bump on Tuesday afternoon as the market responded to the news.
2. A famed bubble-spotter predicts the year in real estate. Last year was the toughest for first-time home buyers since the 1980s, but analyst Ivy Zelman thinks there are a few reasons to be hopeful in 2025. (Just don't get too excited about mortgage rates β they're unlikely to come down anytime soon.)
1. Big Tech's TikTok turmoil. TikTok is back β but not for all US app stores, despite Trump's executive order delaying the sell-or-ban law. He's promised tech giants like Apple and Google that he won't enforce it, seemingly making them choose between trusting the president or following the law. Meanwhile, legal analysts say Trump's order might not be enough to return TikTok to app stores.
2. Trump goes big on AI. The president announced on Tuesday an up to $500 billion AI infrastructure investment involving OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The trio will work together to create a venture named Stargate, which Trump called: "the largest AI infrastructure project in history." But he'll need chips, talent, and fuel to make it work.
3. Layoffs most fowl. Payments platform Stripe laid off 300 employees, or about 3.5% of its staff, according to a leaked internal memo obtained by BI. Some of those axed got a "quack" surprise in their layoff emails thanks to an unfortunate admin flub.
3 things in business
Mario Tama/Getty Images
1. Netflix knocks it out of the park. The streamer added 19 million paid subscribers in Q4, the most in its history, and exceeded earnings expectations. Netflix's shares rose as much as 15% in after-hours trading as investors celebrated. It's not all rainbows and sunshine for subscribers, though β the streaming service also announced it's raising prices immediately.
2. Wall Street shake-ups. Goldman Sachs announced a series of leadership changes, including expanding the size of its management committee and elevating several executives to its top ranks. Similarly, Citigroup also recently announced changes to its technology and "crown jewel" service divisions, as two key executives are set to leave the bank.
3. So long, faux-zempic. Americans who have relied on cheap weight-loss drugs are about to face a harsh reality. The FDA is taking those drugs off its shortage list, which means it's about to get a lot harder to get off-brand Ozempic or Zepbound.settling for lower-paying jobs to pay the bills.
What's happening now
Samsung's "Galaxy Unpacked" product launch event showcases new Galaxy devices.
Discover, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble report earnings.
The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Ella Hopkins, associate editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, was unconditionally pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Free Ross Ulbricht
President Donald Trump granted Ross Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon on Tuesday.
Ulbricht was the founder of Silk Road, the online drug marketplace.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015.
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of online drug marketplace Silk Road, received a full and unconditional pardon on Tuesday from President Donald Trump, who announced the move in a Truth Social post.
Ulbricht has been held at the US Penitentiary in Tucson since the FBI arrested him in 2013.
The FBI described Silk Road as a "digital bazaar" for illegal goods and services that buyers and sellers accessed through Tor β a network designed to conceal its users' identity and location.
The FBI said it generated hundreds of millions of dollars in sales, as well as more than $13 million in commissions.
In 2015, a judge sentenced Ulbricht, now 40, to life in prison for drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering without the possibility of parole, ruling that Silk Road was "destructive to our social fabric."
The Libertarian Party, which has long supported criminal justice reform and drug legalization, has continuously pushed for his release, viewing his life sentence as an example of government overreach.
In a speech at the Libertarian National Convention in May 2024, Trump pledged to commute Ulbricht's sentence on the first day of his administration if he was reelected president.
Trump said in his post on Tuesday that he granted Ulbricht's pardon in honor of Ulbricht's mother "and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly."
According to a 2015 Wired report, Ulbricht developed an interest inΒ libertarian economic theoryΒ while at university and embraced the political philosophy of Ludwig von Mises, a staunch opponent of interventionism and advocate for the moral purpose of free-market capitalism.
In a letter he wrote to the trial judge in 2015, he said he created Silk Road not to seek financial gain but because he "believed at the time that people should have the right to buy and sell whatever they wanted so long as they weren't hurting anyone else."
"Silk Road was supposed to be about giving people the freedom to make their own choices, to pursue their own happiness," he added.
Ulbricht also said, "While I still don't think people should be denied this right, I never sought to create a site that would provide another avenue for people to feed their addictions."
However, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the "vast" majority of goods sold on Silk Road were illegal drugs.
Preet Bharara, the then-US Attorney for Manhattan, said at the time that: "Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people's addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people."
Ulbricht was convicted of seven offenses after a four-week jury trial and sentenced to life in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit $183,961,921.
Trump's pardoning power
In his Truth Social post, Trump called Ulbricht's sentences "ridiculous."
In a statement on Tuesday, Angela McArdle, the Libertarian National Committee Chair, thanked Trump for following through on his promise.
"I'm proud to say that saving his life has been one of our top priorities, and that has finally paid off," she said.
"This is an incredible moment in Libertarian history," McArdle added.
On Monday, Trump also issued sweeping pardons for roughly 1,500 people related to the January 6 Capitol riot, fulfilling a campaign promise to wipe clean the records of most people connected with the riot.
