Giacomo Tognini
@giacomotognini.bsky.social
1.3K followers 130 following 120 posts
Deputy editor, wealth @Forbes.com covering billionaires and the world’s richest people. Forbes Union. @columbiajournalism.bsky.social and UC Berkeley alum. Tips: [email protected] / [email protected]
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giacomotognini.bsky.social
Correction: the IPO minted two new billionaires, not 3.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
3/ Five of those eight are still billionaires, but they are now worth less than 1/3 of what they once were at $28.8 billion. And both firms are still heavily reliant on Covid-19 vaccines for the vast majority of their revenue--a big problem, given plunging vaccination rates.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
2/ At their peak in August 2021, the firms were worth a combined $304 billion. Forbes counted eight billionaires from the two companies at the time, worth a combined $116 billion. Four years later, Moderna and BioNTech now trade 95% and 78% below their peaks, respectively.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
1/ Shares in Moderna and BioNTech have imploded since their 2021 peaks, shaving billions of dollars from their founders’ fortunes. Growing anti-vax hysteria and RFK Jr.’s FDA will likely make the situation even worse.

Read at @forbes.com
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
Tanking Covid-19 Vaccine Sales Are Crushing Biotech Billionaire Fortunes
Shares in Moderna and BioNTech have imploded since their 2021 peaks, shaving billions of dollars from their founders’ fortunes.
www.forbes.com
Reposted by Giacomo Tognini
pheebini.bsky.social
New @forbes.com magazine cover story—from @rashis.bsky.social and me—is our take on #CoreWeave, one of the biggest beneficiaries of the #AI boom. It's a fascinating firm built on bold bets, complex risk & no shortage of luck. Would love to hear what you think:

www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
giacomotognini.bsky.social
This is a fabulously written, in-depth profile of Edwin Chen, the billionaire founder of Surge AI and one of the key people to watch in the AI revolution. Incredible reporting and a must-read story from @pheebini.bsky.social
pheebini.bsky.social
1/ My latest for @forbes.com is a profile of a founder who holds outsized influence in the race to improve AI models and hates Silicon Valley culture.

Edwin Chen on aliens and Eminem but also bootstrapping Surge AI, why he'd never go public and the future of AI:

www.forbes.com/sites/phoebe...
AI Founder Edwin Chen Shunned VC. Now He’s Worth $18 Billion
An alum of Google and Twitter, Edwin Chen built his data labeling company, Surge, in the shadows of the AI revolution. Now the 37-year-old wants to make his voice heard.
www.forbes.com
giacomotognini.bsky.social
3/Affinity has been ramping up its investments, deploying more than $2 billion since it launched in 2021 through April and on track to invest at least $1 billion in 2025 alone. Lately, it's been investing in AI and fintech, broadening its focus.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
2/Affinity is his second-largest asset, valued at $215 million. The largest remains his 20% stake in Kushner Companies, his family's real estate developer, worth $560 million. And he's benefited from rising values on Miami's Indian Creek island, where he and Ivanka own a home.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
Giorgio Armani’s will was unsealed on Thursday, a week after the iconic fashion designer’s death at the age of 91 on September 4. Here's how he divided up his $9.6 billion fortune among five heirs--all of whom are now billionaires.

Read here @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
Meet Giorgio Armani’s Billionaire Heirs
The unsealing of the fashion icon’s will shows he left nothing to chance, dividing his fortune among five now billionaires and naming potential buyers for his fashion house.
www.forbes.com
Reposted by Giacomo Tognini
forbesunion.bsky.social
Our fearless colleagues were outside the
@forbes.com Power Women’s Summit in the rain ☔ this morning with an important gut check.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
2/ Brain Co. launched today and recently closed a $30 million Series A funding round, led by Kushner's private equity firm Affinity Partners and Gil's Gil Capital, with participation from billionaire investors Brian Armstrong, Patrick Collison, Reid Hoffman and Nikesh Arora.
giacomotognini.bsky.social
1/ Jared Kushner founded a new AI startup, Brain Co., with prolific VC Elad Gil, former Mexican foreign minister Luis Videgaray and Opendoor cofounder Eric Wu. The firm aims to help large businesses and governments apply AI to their operations.

Read @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/giacom...
Meet Jared Kushner’s New AI Startup, Brain Co
Kushner teamed up with prolific solo investor Elad Gil and Luis Videgaray, the former Mexican foreign minister, to launch Brain Co., which helps businesses and governments apply AI to their operations...
www.forbes.com
Reposted by Giacomo Tognini
forbesunion.bsky.social
In honor of the #Forbes400, the Forbes Union is sharing some numbers of our own. @forbes.com has dragged its capitalist feet for far too long. It's time to give the newsroom a fair contract!! #union #journalismjobs
giacomotognini.bsky.social
8/ @danalexander21.bsky.social investigated the staggering growth in Donald Trump's fortune over the past year: a $3 billion gain, largely thanks to crypto, as well as a booming real estate licensing and management business. He's now worth a record $7.3 billion.
www.forbes.com/sites/danale...
Trump Jumps 118 Spots On The Forbes 400 List Thanks To Presidency
Donald Trump lost money during his first term. Out of office, he found a formula for profiting off politics—now he’s piling up billions.
www.forbes.com
giacomotognini.bsky.social
7/ America's wealthiest people are getting richer, but are they donating more? Not really. Ella Malmgren broke down the numbers, showing that they donated an aggregate $319 billion over their lifetimes--only $32 billion more than last year.
www.forbes.com/sites/ellama...
America’s Richest Billionaires Keep Getting Richer. They’re Not Donating Much More
The members of The Forbes 400 are $1.2 trillion wealthier than a year ago. But how much of their fortune have they given back?
www.forbes.com
giacomotognini.bsky.social
6/ @justbirny.bsky.social looked into the wealthiest sports team owners on the list. They range from Broadcom cofounder (and Anaheim Ducks owner) Henry Samueli to the Los Angeles Clippers' Steve Ballmer, the richest sports owner in the world at $153 billion.
www.forbes.com/sites/justin...
America’s Richest Sports Team Owners 2025
The top 20 owners on The Forbes 400 are worth $607 billion, up 20% from 2024. And with the cutoff rising to $10.1 billion, the club is more exclusive than ever.
www.forbes.com
giacomotognini.bsky.social
5/ The Forbes 400 list skews old and male, but Alicia Park dove into the women who made the list--just 15.5% this year, down from 17% last year. The wealthiest is Walmart heir Alice Walton at $106 billion, making her the 15th richest person in the U.S.
www.forbes.com/sites/alicia...
Alice Walton, Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott: The 10 Richest Women In America 2025
For the first time in six years, the number of women on The Forbes 400 list has slipped.
www.forbes.com
giacomotognini.bsky.social
4/ Martina Castellanos broke down the numbers on the youngest billionaires on the list: Edwin Chen of Surge AI is the youngest at 37, but Robinhood cofounder Vlad Tenev isn't far behind at age 38. (The oldest is lumber mogul Archie Aldis Emmerson at 96.)
www.forbes.com/sites/martin...
The Youngest Billionaires On The 2025 Forbes 400 List: Just 4 Under 40
Four of the ten youngest members of this year’s ranking made the list for the first time, including the youngest of all.
www.forbes.com