Forbes - USA (December 2019)

THE GIANT-KILLER
Melanie Perkins


Canva’s CEO
Has Designs on

Adobe, Microsoft
—and the World







SPECIAL ISSUE



3O Under 3O

SHAPE YOUR






FINANCIAL FUTURE





WHILE SHAPING





THE FUTURE.





From international to sustainability, you can build a portfolio

with ETFs that target what matters most to you.






































Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives,
risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider careful-

ly before investing. Risks include principal loss. International investing involves risks, including risks related
to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political,
economic or other developments. These risks often are heightened for investments in emerging/developing markets and in concen-
trations of single countries. BlackRock Investments, LLC, distributor. The products referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed or
promoted by MSCI Inc. and MSCI Inc. bears no liability with respect to any such products or any index on which they are based. The
prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI Inc. has with BlackRock and any related products.
©2019 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries.

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ALL-STAR INVESTOR
Kevin Durant

The NBA Superstar

Shoots for Billionaire
Status






SPECIAL ISSUE



3O Under 3O

SHAPE YOUR






FINANCIAL FUTURE





WHILE SHAPING





THE FUTURE.





From international to sustainability, you can build a portfolio

with ETFs that target what matters most to you.






































Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives,
risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider careful-

ly before investing. Risks include principal loss. International investing involves risks, including risks related
to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political,
economic or other developments. These risks often are heightened for investments in emerging/developing markets and in concen-
trations of single countries. BlackRock Investments, LLC, distributor. The products referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed or
promoted by MSCI Inc. and MSCI Inc. bears no liability with respect to any such products or any index on which they are based. The
prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI Inc. has with BlackRock and any related products.
©2019 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries.

ƁƀƁƉ ŠƉƉƉƆƈƉ

SPIN MASTERS
The Chainsmokers

Cash Kings of
Dance Music








SPECIAL ISSUE



3O Under 3O

SHAPE YOUR






FINANCIAL FUTURE





WHILE SHAPING





THE FUTURE.





From international to sustainability, you can build a portfolio

with ETFs that target what matters most to you.






































Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives,
risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider careful-

ly before investing. Risks include principal loss. International investing involves risks, including risks related
to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political,
economic or other developments. These risks often are heightened for investments in emerging/developing markets and in concen-
trations of single countries. BlackRock Investments, LLC, distributor. The products referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed or
promoted by MSCI Inc. and MSCI Inc. bears no liability with respect to any such products or any index on which they are based. The
prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI Inc. has with BlackRock and any related products.
©2019 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries.

ƁƀƁƉ ŠƉƉƉƆƈƉ

CLASS ACT
Rachel Carlson

$100 Million to Educate

America’s Workers







SPECIAL ISSUE



3O Under 3O

SHAPE YOUR






FINANCIAL FUTURE





WHILE SHAPING





THE FUTURE.





From international to sustainability, you can build a portfolio

with ETFs that target what matters most to you.






































Visit www.iShares.com to view a prospectus, which includes investment objectives,
risks, fees, expenses and other information that you should read and consider careful-

ly before investing. Risks include principal loss. International investing involves risks, including risks related
to foreign currency, limited liquidity, less government regulation and the possibility of substantial volatility due to adverse political,
economic or other developments. These risks often are heightened for investments in emerging/developing markets and in concen-
trations of single countries. BlackRock Investments, LLC, distributor. The products referred to herein are not sponsored, endorsed or
promoted by MSCI Inc. and MSCI Inc. bears no liability with respect to any such products or any index on which they are based. The
prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship MSCI Inc. has with BlackRock and any related products.
©2019 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries.

ƁƀƁƉ ŠƉƉƉƆƈƉ

THE DREAMER
21 Savage

The New Voice of

Immigration Reform




SPECIAL ISSUE



3O Under 3O

TA R U N K A J E E P E TA


Founder, Condor Detroit

“ THE FUTURE






OF MOBILITY






IS BEING DECIDED






RIGHT HERE. ”

















If you do business in the mobility sector, you should be doing

business in Michigan. We’re known for moving the world, and


now we’re defining how people and products will move in the
future. Michigan’s mobility initiative, PlanetM, is where you can


make the connections, find the resources and get the grants
that will get your business—and the future of mobility—moving

forward. Don’t get left behind.



Visit planetm.com




















MICHIGAN.
PURE OPPORTUNITY.

December 31, 2019 Volume 202 | Number 10

INSIDE





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68 | Intelligent Design

From the unlikeliest of places, Melanie
Perkins grew design app Canva into
one of the most valuable software
startups in the world. Her digital tools
are populist, profitable and a potential
threat to Adobe and Microsoft.

By Alex Konrad

MEL PERKINS BY DEAN MACKENZIE/IDC FOR FORBES
Plus: KEVIN DURANT, CHAINSMOKERS, RACHEL CARLSON
The 30 Under 30 Class of 2020 AND 21 SAVAGE BY JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES



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78 | Kevin Durant’s Hardest Three-Point Play
The NBA superstar has come to New York with three goals in
34 | Smoking Sensations
mind: a return to dominance, a defining championship and a last-
ing business empire. They’re all interconnected. The Chainsmokers, the world’s highest-paid electronic-music
act, have a new identity offstage: formidable investors.
By Steven Bertoni
By Zack O’Malley Greenburg



84 | FORBES BRANDVOICE
With IWC Schaffhausen
Previous 30 Under 30 Listmakers Reflect on the Turning Points
That Defined Their Journeys to Success.































41 | Make the Colleges Pay
Most edtech startups are idealistic outfits with little revenue and
low valuations, but Rachel Romer Carlson’s Guild Education is 27 | Once Upon a Dreamer
worth $1 billion and is on track to book $100 million in sales. Its Rapper 21 Savage headlines a list of Forbes Under 30 alumni who
secret? Connecting workers who have tuition benefits to colleges grew up undocumented—and are now inspiring change to help
that will gladly pay to meet them. their peers.
By Alexandra Wilson and Susan Adams By Zack O’Malley Greenburg



F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9



126










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126 | Fintech’s Secret Bank
Many of the most popular finance apps are little more than glitzy loan pushers with a voracious appetite for risk.
Enabling them is a tiny bank in New Jersey with overinflated ambitions.

By Antoine Gara, Jeffrey Kauflin and Nathan Vardi



FRONTRUNNER
46 50
32 | Grand Slam
The Houston Astros are mired in controversy,
but owner Jim Crane is a new billionaire.

36 | World of Forbes
Around the globe with our 34 international
editions.

38 | The Luxe Life
Readers weigh in on our November cover:
Bernard Arnault, the $100 billion man.



CONTRARIAN

TECHNOLOGY

46 | Roku Redo
Anthony Wood became a billionaire with cheap
streaming gadgets. That business has never turned a
profit. Roku is now betting its future on a model as 20 32
old as TV: advertising.
By Angel Au -Yeung

INVESTING
50 | Connecting a Million Dots
EquBot is on a quixotic quest to prove that
computers can outsmart human stock pickers.
By William Baldwin
19 | FACT & COMMENT

Steve Forbes
International trade is good.

20 | THE FORBES 2019 ALL-STAR
EATERIES IN NEW YORK



F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9



Sidelines

The 30 Under 30


Excellence Squad
DECEMBER 31, 2019 | VOLUME 202 NUMBER 10
CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: STEVE FORBES; CEO AND PRESIDENT: MICHAEL FEDERLE
EDITORIAL When the Forbes 30 Under 30 list hits, the world no-
16 16 RANDALL LANE, Chief Content Officer tices—this year’s launch proved Twitter’s number one
Director, Editorial Operations: Caroline Howard; Executive Editors: Luisa Kroll, Kerry Lauerman, Michael Noer
trending topic. And we notice all the notice. We spend
Assistant Managing Editors: Frederick E. Allen, Jessica Bohrer (Editorial Counsel), Kerry A. Dolan, Rob
La Franco, Laura Mandaro, Janet Novack, Michael Ozanian, Matt Schifrin, Michael Solomon, Alex Wood
the entire year working to ensure, as much as is possible
S Senior Editors: Susan Adams, Dan Alexander, Kurt Badenhausen, Steven Bertoni, Abram Brown, Dawn
E Chmielewski, John Dobosz, Amy Feldman, Martin Giles, Christopher Helman, Alan Ohnsman, Zack O’Malley when you unearth 600 largely fresh stories, that the qual-
B Greenburg, Susan Radlauer (Research), Jennifer Rooney, Tina Russo McCarthy, Nathan Vardi, Merrill Vaughn
R Deputy Editors: Rob Berger, Jeremy Bogaisky, Anne Glusker, Brett Knight, Iain Martin, Andrea Murphy, Chase ity of honorees matches the outsize attention. It’s a four-
O Peterson-Withorn, Helen A.S. Popkin, Chuck Tannert, Halah Touryalai, Jennifer Wang, Taesik Yoon; Associate
F Editors: Thomas Brewster, Amy Danise, Ashlea Ebeling, Daphne Foreman, Antoine Gara, Julius Juenemann, step process, involving almost 200 people.
Alex Knapp, Alexander Konrad, Maggie McGrath, Ezequiel Minaya, Michael Nuñez, Vicky Valet
First, a team of two to three
Staff Writers: Angel Au-Yeung, Madeline Berg, Michael del Castillo, Lauren Debter, Jillian D’Onfro, Jeffrey
Kauflin, Carly Schaffner, Samantha Sharf, Chris Smith, KellyAnne Smith, Chloe Sorvino, Michela Tindera, Ruth
Umoh, Andrew Wendler, William Yakowicz reporters for each of the 20 cat-
Reporters: Noah Kirsch (Chief); Deniz Cam, Carter Coudriet, Hayley Cuccinello, Elizabeth Daffin, David egories spends the year collect-
Dawkins, Tanya Klich, Matthew Perez, Jonathan Ponciano, Rachel Sandler, Christina Settimi, Kristin Stoller,
Marty Swant, Glenda Toma, Lisette Voytko, Alexandra Wilson ing names from the top sources
Assistant Editors: Justin Conklin, Katherine Love (Associate Managers, Editorial Operations); Kellen Becoats,
Elisabeth Brier, Kenrick Cai, Marley Coyne, Brianne Garrett, Sarah Hansen, Christian Kreznar, Monica Melton, Sofia and leaders in their respective
Lotto Persio, Leah Rosenbaum, Ariel Shapiro, Alexandra Sternlicht, Kristin Tablang, Samantha Todd, Hank Tucker
fields and sifting through their
Art and Production: Bob Mansfield (Art and Design Director), Mark Decker (Production Chief), Clay Thurmond
(Copy Chief); Merrilee Barton, Charles Brucaliere, Sarkis Delimelkon, Richard Hyfler, Anton Klusener, Suzanne cut of the more than 15,000
O’Neill, Robin Regensburg, Robyn Selman, Jasmine Smith, Gail Toivanen, Elena Torres
Social Media: Shauna Gleason (Director); Caroline Dilone, Dario Foroutan, Natasha Lekwa, Baylee Mozjesik, nominations we receive over
Evan Spadaccini
the transom as well as those
Video: Tim Pierson (Director); Greg Andersson, Leah Bottone, Meghan Christensen, Ivan Clow, Julia Ferrier,
Marc Gomes, Nick Graham, Riley Hallaway, Matthew Kang, Kieran Krug-Meadows, Chad McClymonds, Juliet
Muir, Bernard Osei, Jonathan Palmer, Brian Petchers, Morgan Sun, Kirsten Taggart; Forbes Entertainment: recommended by CEOs, sena-
Travis Collins, Kyle Kramer tors and others trying valiantly The Forbes Under 30 team,
SALES AND MARKETING from left: Alexandra Wilson,
MARK HOWARD, Chief Revenue Officer but largely fruitlessly to put Marley Coyne, Steven Bertoni,
AD SALES: Jessica Sibley (Chief Sales Officer); Maria Aiza Contro, Aaron Andrews, Julia Aziz, Jake Bell, Jessica Alexandra Sternlicht.
Blitzer, Leann Bonanno, Marissa Brown, Shae Carroll, Andrea Celis, Samantha Charlino, Seema Chaudhari, their finger on the scale.
Julie Chisar, Ruth Chute-Manning, Alexandra Cohn, Jennifer Cooke, Jennifer Crowe, Sarah Curry, Hannah
Davidson, Leigh Day, Sean Downey, GEmilie Errante, Taylor Felgenhauer, Olivia Gelade, Louisa Goujon, Taylor Second, those reporting teams winnow their lists to 60
Green, Janett Haas, Shauna Haras, Megan Hennessey, Daniel Hennessy, Matthew Herrmann, William Hosinski,
Victoria Kreher, Martina Landeka, Jordan Loredo, Brian McLeod, Tara Michaels, Leah Monroe, Dana Moretti, to 100 semifinalists per category, each with numbers and
Matt Muszala, Ryan Queler, Paul Reiss, Melanie Ruderman, Jesse Silberfein, Abbey Smith, William Thompson,
Laura Villaraut, Kyle Vinansky, Adam Wallitt, Charles Yardley, Casey Zonfrilli narratives attached. The third step: outside judging. We
BRAND STRATEGY/MARKETING/PARTNERSHIPS: Rachel Aquino, Mary Baru, Kate Bishop, Erika Burho,
Brandon Bycer, Nicholas Clunn, James Colistra, Danielle Collins, Connor Davis, Krystle Davis, Tom Davis (Chief bring in legends and experts in each category as well as
Growth Officer), William Delehanty, Samantha Evans, Erica Ferraro, Moira Forbes (EVP, ForbesWomen), Kristine
Francisco, Ross Gagnon, Cara Gilmartin, Sahara Gipson, Ashley Grado, Matthew Haensly, Julie Hildenbrand, 30 Under 30 alumni. This year, for instance, featured Tory
Adelaide Hill, Olivia Hine, Merryl Holland, David Johnson, Kari Jones, Nicolette Jones, Evelyn Kanu, Juliana
Longo, Brian Lee, Douglas Lopenzina, Erika Maguire, Scott McGrath, James Mentzinger, Sophia Minassian, Burch (Art & Style) and Jean Case (Social Entrepreneurs)
Sade Muhammad, Alexis Murillo, Romy Oltuski, Jahcelyne Patton, Zehava Pasternak, Alexi Potter, Jennifer
Ramos, Allison Rickert, Claire Robinson, Joshua Robinson, Danielle Rubino, Claire Ryan, Robert Salgado, Peter and Katrina Lake (Retail & E-commerce). All category
Sarnoff, Lynn Schlesinger, Andrey Slivka, Allyson Souza, Gregory Spitz, Kara Stiles, Neha Tandon, Rashaad
Denzel Toney, Meenal Vamburkar, Liz Walsh, Jason Webster, Janet Yin judges review and debate each semifinalist, putting them
DIGITAL REVENUE OPERATIONS: Achir Kalra (SVP, Revenue Operations and Strategic Partnerships); Kazuki
Akiba, Gaston Alegre, Sergiu Bucur, Sal Cangeloso, Lisa Chiobi, Andrew Dizon, Danielle Gilman, Rachel all through the Forbes prism: entrepreneurship (founders
Goroff, Lauren Gurnee, Victor Lee, Emily Lewis, Nicole Lewitinn, Kelly Mui, Ryan Pearce, Casey Riordan,
Rebeca Solorzano, Steven Song, Jacqueline Subramaniam, Alyson Williams over ladder-climbers), innovation, growth and diversity.
FORBESLIVE: Sherry Phillips (SVP); Andrea Cantor, Jessica Charles, Chardia Christophe, Alex Engel, Lindsay
Ezykowich, Julieanna Gray, Nicole Kerno, Susan Kessler, Jessica Lantz, Michael Martin, Sydney Melin, Finally, after the lists of 30 have been chosen, we add in
Menaka Menon, Nicole Mittman, Jimmy Okuszka, Mary Margaret Soderquist, Elizabeth Strozier, Shelby
Tompkins, Blair Walther, Jessica Wolf an extra layer of due diligence—we catch age-fudgers and
DIGITAL revenue-exaggerators every year.
SALAH ZALATIMO, Chief Digital Officer
PRODUCT: Nina Gould; Terrence Agbi, Youssef Drihmi, Nina Foroutan, Kelly Hanshaw, Erica Ho, Mike Medric, “Each list brings a new crop of stars,” says Steven Ber-
Martin Navarrete, Dayne Richards, Ebony Shears, Nick Shippers, Rachel Thomas, Grant Tunkel, Katie Ward, Mila
Wentrys toni, who heads his full-time team of four that coordi-
CORPORATE TECH: Peter Hahm; Jiten Bhojwani, Christopher Frank, Justin Harris, Joshua Hartzog, Adaze
Idehen-Amadasun nates this massive editorial undertaking. “We’re able to
DESIGN: Dan Revitte; Sara Amato, Nick DeSantis, Andres Jauregui, Joy Hwang, Adrienne Michalski surface people who might not be nationally famous for
E-COMMERCE: Madeline Kaufman
ENGINEERING: Vadim Supitskiy (SVP); Adrian Ali, William Anderson, Ken Barney, Don Cao, Igor Carrasco, another year or two.”
Brian Chamberlain, Chris DeLeon, Mudit Dhawan, Philip Diaz, Stephen Dotz, Jaekyung Ha, Benjamin Harrigan,
Isabelle Ingato, Daryl Kang, Yanella Lopez, Johnny McCampbell, Marissa Orea, Drew Overcash, Sungmin Park, The final result reinforces the continuing primacy of
Sameer Patwardhan, Mads Pedersen, Joseph Pietruch, Ronak Ray, Charles Rea, Rodney Rodriguez, Kyle Rog-
ers, Aaron Romel, Kelly Sample, Alexander Shnayderman, Zachery Shuffield, Dmitri Slavinsky, Scott Warner, JD the American Dream: The vast majority of honorees have
Weiner, Forrest Whiting, Heath Woodson, Boris Yakubchik
CORPORATE blazed their own path (this year 20% are immigrants and
FINANCE/OPERATIONS: Michael York (Chief Financial Officer); Cristina Baluyut, Noemi Baraket, Oneil Brodie,
Adele Cassano, Rosa Colon, Chelsea Deluca, Mike Deochand, Cindy Eng, Jessica Feintisch, Nancy Garcia, Iris nearly 40% identify as first-generation residents). Once
Garcia, Christie Hansen, Giedre Kristahn, Christopher Labianca, Nina LaFrance (SVP, Consumer Marketing),
Jeffery Lamperti, Stephanie Lewis, Penina Littman, Jaclyn Liu, Christopher Lopiano, Andrea Maniscalco, the U.S. spotlight shifts, our global team repeats the pro-
Natalie Maquiling, Christine Martinez, Paul Motta, Nelson Osegueda, Willie Osegueda, Amanda Pasquarello,
Barbara Passarella, Jeanine Pecoraro, Gary Prasto, Ivette Reyes, Angel Sauri, Diane Schmid, Lisa Serapiglia, Wil- cess in Europe, in Asia, in Africa and in a few dozen other ANTON KLUSENER
liam Simmons, Vera Sit, Courtney Stanton, Parag Tolia, Buddy Trocchia, Donald Walsh
CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS: Peter Hung (Senior Liaison, Investment Group); Taha Ahmed, Greg Derby, Rich markets, a perpetual exercise in excellence that gives you
Karlgaard, Rupa Singh, Katya Soldak, Amanda Xiang the ultimate peek into the ideas of tomorrow, today.
COMMUNICATIONS: Matthew Hutchison (SVP); Laura Brusca, Susan Masula, Jocelyn Swift, Christina Vega
HUMAN RESOURCES: Margy Loftus (SVP); Ashley Abendschoen, Brooke Dunmore, Emanuel Joseph-Bain,
Amanda Sedlak, Rachel Shapiro, Mary Urum-Eke
LEGAL: MariaRosa Cartolano (General Counsel); Paul Anderson, Lindsey Datte, Susy Garcia, Nikki Koval,
Josephine Love-Loftin
FORBES ASIA: William Adamopoulos (CEO), Justin Doebele (Editor); FORBES CHINA: Sherman Lee (CEO),
Russell Flannery (Editor)
Founded in 1917 —RANDALL LANE, CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER
B.C. Forbes, Editor-in-Chief (1917–54) Malcolm S. Forbes, Editor-in-Chief (1954–90)
James W. Michaels, Editor (1961–99) William Baldwin, Editor (1999–2010)
F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

grand-seiko.com



“With all thy getting, get understanding”



FACT & COMMENT

By Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief



International Trade Is Good





19



International trade is in bad odor these wasn’t the result of trade but of bad govern-
days, being blamed for massive job losses ment policies regarding money, taxes and reg-
and draining wealth from the U.S. The rap ulations. Just look at how much better the U.S.
is wrong: Trade creates far more resources did when taxes were cut in late 2017 and suf-
and jobs than it destroys. focating regulations began to be peeled back.
Free markets are always changing, with The only thing holding us back now: the un-
businesses opening, closing, growing or certainty surrounding current trade disputes.
shrinking. New technologies upend exist-
ing ways of doing things. The “churn” in Well-Meant But Misplaced
the labor market is enormous, with literally
millions of jobs in a typical year being ex- Parochial Protectionism
tinguished and millions more being created.
The railroad industry, for example, was one Back in 1926 Governor Ralph Owen Brew-
of the U.S.’ largest employers after WWII, with more than ster of Maine fancied that a “Buy Maine Products” cam-
1.4 million workers. Today the total is around 170,000. In paign would invigorate his state’s troubled economy—and
the late 1940s there were 350,000 telephone operators. this was before the Great Depression. Hence this bro-
Automatic-switching equipment did in those jobs. Ditto the chure, published by the state. (A line runs at the bottom
once ubiquitous office typing pool. Yet, at the same time, the of each page, denoting from
number of jobs created burgeoned and wages rose. which Maine mill that particu-
But for very understandable emotional reasons, when lar page’s paper came.) Brew-
companies shut down or downsize facilities here and set ster and his colleagues argued
up similar ones in a foreign country, the political fallout that making an effort to buy
can be intense. “Benedict Arnolds” snarled the Democratic locally made products was not
presidential candidate, John Kerry, in 2004. The U.S. tex- parochial or protectionist but
tile industry employed hundreds of thousands of people in would save their constituents
the early 1900s, primarily in New England. Then those jobs money because of reduced
moved to southern states. The bitterness in the areas expe- distribution and transporta-
riencing plant closings was real, but there were no calls to tion costs—as if consumers
punish the companies that moved, as they were still with- couldn’t do their own comparison shopping. The booklet
in our nation’s borders. However, after WWII, when those lists literally hundreds of local businesses, ranging from
jobs began migrating overseas, primarily to Asia, the issue makers of barrels, bobbins, shoes, box shooks, saws and
of textile imports to the U.S. became a heated trade issue. sleighs to manufacturers of “proprietary medicines.”
To smooth political waters, “trade-adjustment” pro- The effort helped gain notoriety for Brewster, who later
grams were enacted for “displaced workers,” occasional im- became a U.S. senator. But, of course, the campaign did
port quotas were slapped on politically sensitive products, nothing to stimulate Maine’s economy, though it did no
and every once in awhile, a temporary tariff was imposed, harm, either, because the Constitution prohibits the states
particularly on items deemed to have been “dumped”—that from imposing tariffs and other restrictions on items of in-
is, sold here at prices below the cost of making them. The terstate commerce.
trend toward freer trade, though, was dominant. Sadly, the national government went protectionist, big-
Supply chains became more sophisticated, especially with time, four years later by enacting the devastating Smoot-
the creation of container ships, which drastically reduced Hawley Tariff Act, which played a critical role in destroying
shipping costs. Between 1985 and 2005, global trade qua- the stock market and bringing about the Great Depression.
drupled. Without trade, handheld devices, equal in capabil- Herbert Hoover’s presidency never recovered. F
ity to the supercomputers of a generation ago, would not be
possible and certainly not at today’s remarkably low prices. INTRODUCING What’s Ahead,
What made trade the target it is today is the economic the new podcast hosted by Steve Forbes.
stagnation that followed the 2008 crisis. But that slowdown Subscribe now on iTunes or GooglePlay Store.


D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 F O R B E S . C O M

FACT & COMMENT




THE FORBES 2019 ALL-STAR


EATERIES IN NEW YORK




20 Impeachment, presidential politics, tariffs and trade, the Fed, Hong Kong demonstrations, Iran’s misbehaving
mullahs and North Korean missiles dominate the headlines, but as stocks go up, so does the quality—and the
number—of the Big Apple’s best places to dine. Never in the city’s history has there been such gastronomical
T


N creativity and innovation. Our stellar team of discerning tasters—Forbes’ chief content officer, Randall Lane,
E
M Forbes contributor Richard Nalley and preeminent media maven Monie Begley, as well as brothers Bob, Kip
M and Tim—herewith unveil their list of where you can enjoy the city’s most savory comestibles.
O
C

&
+ + + +
T
C Atera Daniel Le Bernardin The Modern
F A
Bâtard Del Posto The Grill Majorelle Momofuku Ko
Blue Hill Eleven Madison Park Jean-Georges Manhatta Per Se
Bouley at Home Gramercy Tavern La Grenouille Marea Shun


Shun is where French and Japanese cooking dazzlingly Worshipping at Atera, a tiny altar of gastronomical great-
come together in imaginative and incredible ways to create ness, doesn’t come cheaply. This multiple-installment
many new dishes. David Chang’s trophy, Momofuku Ko, is ritual, however, leaves one sublimely contented, the pas-
one of New York’s top dining experiences. Patrons sit and sage of time forgotten. Marea, Michael White’s Italian sea-
watch the cooking team put together the seemingly end- food flagship, sails serenely on. Veteran Four-Star Daniel


less set menu with peerless pacing and fluidity. No mat- continues to serve sublime meals in the grand French
ter how many superlatives a person hears about Eleven tradition infused with touches from around the world.
Madison Park, there is still no way to be prepared for this Le Bernardin’s theme is oceanic, but the experience is
awe-inspiring happening. Happily sated guests are pre- celestial. The founding chef of New York’s most sumptu-
sented with goodie bags—possibly to ease the pain of max- ous restaurant, Del Posto, left two years ago, but under
ing out their credit cards. If only there were Five Stars. . . . Melissa Rodriguez the beat of beautiful offerings goes on.


























CLASSICS Nippon: Beef negimayaki, a dish specially PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMEL TOPPIN, TIM PANNELL AND SUZANNE HALILLI
created for Malcolm Forbes

These epitomes of excellence have been crucial in establishing
New York as the cuisine capital of the world.


Aquavit Peter Luger Steak House
Keens Steakhouse The River Café
Nippon Shun Lee West

Nobu Downtown/Nobu 57 ‘21’ Club



F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9



2019 Restaurant Review Cont.



+ + +



ABC Kitchen Hutong NoMad
Ai Fiori JoJo Nur

Antonucci Cafe Junoon Pastis
22
Aretsky’s Patroon La Goulue Perry St

T Avra Madison L’Artusi Portale
N
E Café Boulud Le Coucou Porter House Bar and Grill
M
M Carbone Leonti The Simone
O
C Crown Shy Maialino Tocqueville

&
Frenchette The Mark Restaurant Union Square Cafe
T
C Gabriel Kreuther Michael’s Vaucluse
F A
Gem Misi Wayan



Crown Shy: Grilled pear salad, Nur: Jerusalem sesame bagel with cumin and
Meredith feta, pistachio lima bean messabaha with shipka peppers




















Crown Shy, arguably New York City’s best new restaurant
of 2019, made a lot of sure-footed decisions with its eclectic
menu and soaring, light-filled spaces. Another noteworthy
newbie is Portale, an outstanding American-Italian eat-
ery created by much acclaimed chef Alfred Portale and
ensconced in a renovated carriage house. At the finest
Chinese restaurants there had traditionally been a re-
strained elegance, but with the arrival of Hutong from
Hong Kong, all of that has been replaced with excit-
ing excess. Theatrical magic abounds, with dishes to
match. Pastis, a former Meatpacking District bistro, is
Maialino: Lamb chop Scottadita with
back with a bang, its fare beyond fabulous. At French- charred fennel and green onion agrodolce
ette, a casual setting is coupled with outstandingly
prepared dishes. Avra Madison is packed—and de- Portale: Carpaccio short rib,
servedly so. Perry St’s fantastic food just seems to get arugula Pecorino Pepato and
anchovy caper emulsion
better and better. Renowned for its classic red-sauce
Italian cooking and outsize portions, Carbone contin-
ues to deliver the goods with efficiently brusque wait-
ers and movie-perfect “Little Italy” decor. The veal
Parmesan is perfection. Gabriel Kreuther’s haute cui-
sine has a distinctive Alsatian flavor and is impeccably
served in a casually elegant, modern setting. Vaucluse
successfully recreates the kind of French restaurant
that was once so prevalent with its flawless service, ex-
quisite offerings and reassuringly refined atmosphere.


D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 F O R B E S . C O M

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2019 Restaurant Review Cont.



SPECIAL



abcV with Jean-Georges—In vogue with vegans, vegetar- evocative of a lodge, the other a night club) restaurant at
ians and everyone else who craves creative, appetizing Saks is infinitely more than a place to grab a bite while
plant-based meals. shopping. The menu is filled with such enticements as a
24 Al Vaporetto—Venetian fare that will have you floating on luscious lobster pasta and a spicy Thai beef filet with a sa-
a sea of satisfaction. vory ginger-sesame dipping sauce.
BEAUTIFUL BURGERS: Au Cheval / BK Jani / Café Le Jardinier—
T
N Altro Paradiso / Corner Bistro / 4 Charles Prime Rib Wayla: Pork meatballs Steeped in the luxu-
E in crispy noodles
M / The Happiest Hour / Jeepney / J.G. Melon / Minetta ry food traditions of
M Tavern / Shake Shack. France and Japan,
O BEST BBQ: Fette Sau / Hill Country / Hometown Bar- chef Alain Verzero-
C
B-Que / John Brown Smokehouse / Mighty Quinn’s. li’s offerings are al-
&

T Bistrot Leo—Close your eyes and the fantastic food will luring. The desserts
C have you thinking you’re in Paris. are sensational.
F A Brasserie Cognac East—Classic French brasserie serving Llama San—Pe-
sublime traditional fare, with 50-plus cognacs to choose ruvian-Japanese
from. Vive la France! is definitely a new
Café Centro—Ideal category for us, and, happily, this fusion fare is fabulous.
Midtown locale for a Marc Forgione—Tribeca’s dimly lit, hearty commissary
fine breakfast. for connoisseurs with big wallets. Worth a visit just for the
Canal Street Oys- lobster festooned with chili sauce served over Texas toast.
ters—The fresh oys- Milk Bar—Be prepared to wait on long lines to enter this
ters (13 or so varieties huge haven on Broadway for heavenly desserts that you
on offer) deliver on can precisely personalize.
their plump, briny PIZZA PERFECTION: Bleecker Street Pizza / Di Fara
promise, and the Cote: Korean BBQ / Emily / Joe’s / John’s of Bleecker Street / Kesté /
wine list is a wine- Lions & Tigers &
Hudson Yards Grill:
lover’s delight. Hasselback potatoes Squares / Nu-
Cote—A “scene” restaurant in the Flatiron district, this mero 28 Pizzeria /
Korean steak house offers all kinds of steak, from hanger to Prince Street Pizza
110-day-plus aged cuts, cooked for you at your table’s grill. / Roberta’s / Rubi-
E.A.T.—Thank heavens this excellent old-world deli never rosa / San Matteo
changes. / Scarr’s Pizza.
The Fulton—Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first seafood The Polo Bar—Fine
restaurant, occupying two glass-enclosed floors on the tip setting for first-class
of the pier at the new South Street Seaport development, is food and drink.
a real catch. Uncle Boons—Get a culinary high on this version of Thai
GupShup—“Hip” and “cool” are not usually associated fare in a supercool, seductive setting.
with Indian eateries, nor are bold-toned, multicolored Wayla—This way cool Lower East Side eatery serves up
walls. Best of all is the creative menu offering a delightful, delicious, self-described “Homestyle Thai Food” in a casual
delicious evening. yet stylish setting.
Lamalo—Fans love the $25 Daily Spread, which starts HUDSON YARDS:
with a colossal piece of laffa, a blistery Middle Eastern flat- Hudson Yards Grill—Perfect American brasserie in the
bread strewn with savory spices, and is followed by many midst of Hudson Yards’ recently opened, dizzying 20 new
small, sensational dishes from a rotating menu. All of these restaurants and food shops. Michael Lomonaco’s entry has
keep coming until you tell them to stop. something for everyone, all at reasonable prices.
L’Amico—Created by the world-renowned Laurent Tou- Mercado Little Spain—Famed chef José Andrés’ panoram-
rondel, this eatery offers uniquely prepared Italian fare, ic tribute to the multifaceted glories of Spanish cuisine. Go
especially impeccable pizzas. and sample!
La Vara—A cross-pollination of Moorish, Jewish and Span- Momofuku Kāwi—Located in the Yard’s farthest inner
ish cuisines may sound like the end result of a culinary reaches, Kāwi goes all the way on Korean influences, espe-
shotgun wedding, but this hot spot puts out an arresting cially the kimbap.
array of unfussy comfort food with a Mediterranean twist. Wild ink—The setting is sleek and modern, the menu stim-
L’Avenue—This new, eye-popping, two-story (one floor ulating. The perfect finish: pineapple upside-down cake.


F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

Reinventing business.







Pioneering possibilities.


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All funds are subject to market risk, including possible loss of principal.
T. Rowe Price Investment Services, Inc., Distributor.

WH AT ’S W HO ’ S
NE W NE XT




19

By Zack O’Malley Greenburg Photograph by Jamel Toppin for Forbes





















Music



Rapper
21 Savage
headlines a
formidable
list of Forbes
Under 30 alumni
who grew up
undocumented—
and are now
inspiring change
to help their
peers.

Once Upon 21 SAVAGE WEARS A SHIRT, JACKET AND SHOES BY SAINT LAURENT. STYLING: FATIMA B. HAIR AND MAKEUP: SUZANA HALLILI (TEMPTU AND MARIO BADESCU).










A Dreamer


























D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 F O R B E S . C O M

Music Cont.


A week after taking THE DREAM TEAM

shots at President
Book Value Trump’s immigration
Leaders from the worlds policies on Jimmy UNDER 30
of business, academia, CLASS OF 2019
entertainment and Fallon’s Tonight Show VANESSA LUNA
politics share what’s on last January, Grammy-nominated COFOUNDER, IMMSCHOOLS
28
their bedside table.
rapper She’yaa “21 Savage” Bin This Teach for America veteran’s
startup, which currently operates
Abraham-Joseph was detained for in Texas and New York, has
R ten days by U.S. Immigration & trained nearly 2,000 educators
E to help support 60,000 undoc-
N Customs Enforcement. Born in the
N U.K., Abraham-Joseph moved to umented students in those two
U immigrant-heavy states.
R Atlanta at age 7 with his family and
T
N had overstayed his original visa by CLASS OF 2018
O Michael Milken many years. “He’s a gangster,” the REYNA MONTOYA
R FOUNDER AND CEO, ALIENTO
F Founder of the Milken 27-year-old performer said of the
Institute; Forbes 400 member A founding member of Teach
president in an October interview for America’s DACA Advisory
FACTFULNESS: with Forbes. “He don’t give a damn.” Board, Montoya created
TEN REASONS WE’RE WRONG ABOUT 21 Savage, a member of the 2019 Phoenix-based Aliento (Spanish
THE WORLD—AND WHY THINGS ARE Forbes Under 30, is a “Dreamer”—one for “breath”) to support Dreamers
BETTER THAN YOU THINK of an estimated 3.6 million people via extracurricular educational
workshops and arts programs.
by Hans Rosling
living in the U.S. after having arrived
undocumented as a youth. Among
them are nearly 800,000 who, by
meeting any of a number of crite-
ria (military service, a high-school
diploma, no criminal record and more),
were approved for President Obama’s
Deferred Action for Childhood Arriv-
als program (DACA)—an initiative
CLASS OF 2017
that Trump, who recently called some
DENISSE ROJAS MARQUEZ AND
Dreamers “no longer very young” and JIRAYUT “NEW” LATTHIVONGSKORN
Feeling down about reports of “very tough, hardened criminals,” wants
terrorism, disease outbreaks, COFOUNDERS, PRE-HEALTH DREAMERS

armed conflicts or natural di- to shut down. The Supreme Court The duo’s organization pairs undocumented students with

sasters? Take a break from the will likely decide their fate next year. jobs in a variety of medical professions. Latthivongskorn,

news to read Factfulness: Ten “Despite the fact that so many originally from Thailand, is one of six plaintiffs in the DACA
Reasons We’re Wrong About suit currently before the Supreme Court.
the World—and Why Things Are people want to see us fail, we are
Better Than You Think (Flatiron thriving,” says Sarahi Espinoza CLASS OF 2016

Books, 2018), by the late Swed- Salamanca, 30, a Dreamer from SARAHI ESPINOZA
ish physician Hans Rosling, SALAMANCA

who wrote the book after the Forbes Under 30 class of 2016.
being diagnosed with terminal “We are becoming doctors, teachers, FOUNDER AND CEO,
pancreatic cancer in 2016. Fa- DREAMERS ROADMAP
mous for his TED talks, Rosling lawyers, engineers, entrepreneurs The app she created helps
distills insights from his work in and so many other amazing things.” undocumented students
global health and regional de- Including hip-hop stars. For sure, with admissions, scholarships

velopment into a celebration and financial aid. It has been
of “the secret silent miracle of 21 Savage has it better than most of downloaded nearly 40,000
human progress.” He refuses his cohort. His average nightly concert times since its release in 2016.
to divide the world into devel- gross was about $50,000 around the
oped and developing nations. CLASS OF 2015
Instead, he describes four time of his detention; it has doubled MARIA GABRIELA
more-nuanced income strata, since, as he has become a cause célèbre. PACHECO
each continuously advancing.
According to Rosling, we fail to “I’m an example,” 21 Savage says. DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY,
see these positive trends be- “People who didn’t think it affected DEVELOPMENT AND

cause of human instincts that certain people can say, ‘Wow, it affected COMMUNICATION,

blind us. His conclusion: Deploy THEDREAM.US
facts, not fear. “When we have him. Who would’ve ever thought that?’ ” In 2013, Pacheco became the BY ZACK O’MALLEY GREENBURG ILLUSTRATIONS BY AARON SACCO

a fact-based worldview we can Shown at right are a handful of first undocumented Latina
see that the world is not as bad Forbes Under 30 alumni who grew to testify before Congress,
as it seems—and we can see discussing U.S. immigration
what we have to do to keep up undocumented—and what they’re policy. She now helps run the largest college-access

making it better.” doing to elevate Dreamers nationwide. organization for undocumented youth.

F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9
O
F
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R
S
E
O
M
.
C

A N A D V E N T U R E



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Inspired to produce an even


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bodies everything we stand for. With a water-resistant stain- pect from us, our engineers and watchmakers developed a
less-steel case, it is the first sporty and elegant timepiece by tailor-made, self-winding movement from the ground up: the
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hand signs. Neither the
Astros nor Crane would
New Billionaire
comment for this story.
There’s no need to cry for
GRAND SLAM Crane: The Astros’ value has

nearly quadrupled, to $1.8
billion, since the Houston
32 The Houston Astros are being investigated by Major League Baseball over entrepreneur led a group
the team’s conduct, but the sport has made owner Jim Crane a billionaire.
that acquired the club in
2011. His estimated 40%
R
E stake is worth $600 million,
N pushing his net worth to
N
U $1.3 billion. Baseball has
R
T been a staple in his life: At
N Central Missouri State, now
O
R known as the University
F
of Central Missouri, Crane
pitched and earned a
degree in industrial safety
in 1976. After a stint in
the insurance business, he
borrowed $10,000 from
his sister and launched an
air-freight logistics business,
EGL, in 1984. He pocketed
more than $300 million
(pretax) selling EGL to
Apollo Global Management
for $2 billion in 2007,
and soon after reportedly
took three unsuccessful
swings at buying a Major

League franchise. He finally
Jim Crane sat atop a nightmare: Houston not charged in 2018 and was connected in 2011, securing
the baseball world three only lost the World Series suspended by the league the Astros—“a dream come
months ago. His Houston in a heartbreaking Game for 75 games; the charges, true,” he said at the time.
Astros were the World 7 but also endured a pair which he denied, were Crane, 65, also owns the
Series favorite after racking of PR disasters. A team later dropped). Then, in Floridian National Golf
up an MLB-best 107 wins executive had reportedly November, MLB opened a Club and has launched a

during the regular season. taunted female journalists wide-ranging investigation new firm, Crane Worldwide
A second title in three years during the playoffs about triggered by a report that Logistics, which operates

would cement them as a the Astros’ acquisition of a the Astros had set up a in 30 countries and had

modern-day dynasty. player accused of domestic camera in center field to estimated revenue of $900
That dream turned into violence (he had been steal the opposing catcher’s million-plus last year.




Trend Lines
TOP OF THE POPS

A BRIEF GUIDE TO BLANC NEW BILLIONAIRE BY KURT BADENHAUSEN. SPIRITS EDITOR: KARLA ALINDAHAO
DE BLANCS CHAMPAGNE
Want to elevate your Champagne game
in 2020? Blanc de Blancs—or “white
from whites”—are made exclusively from
white grapes, typically Chardonnay.
The result is a versatile Champagne that LESLIE PLAZA JOHNSON/GETTY IMAGES
pairs beautifully with food (particularly
PERRIER-JOUËT LAURENT-PERRIER POL ROGER KRUG
BLANC DE BLANCS BLANC DE BLANCS seafood and strong cheeses) and ages BLANC DE BLANCS CLOS DU MESNIL
NV BRUT NATURE nicely. Whether vintage or nonvintage, 2009 2003
($80) ($90) everything else just pales. ($130) ($999)


F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9
D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9
F O R B E S . C O M

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arising from pricing or other errors. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Copyright © 2019 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell Technologies, Dell, EMC, Dell EMC
and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. 320564

Entertainment
Book Value
Leaders from the worlds
of business, academia, SMOKING
entertainment and
34 politics share what’s on
SENSATIONS
their bedside table.


R
E
N
N
U
R
T
N
O Emily Weiss
R
F Founder and CEO of
Glossier; Forbes
Under 30 alumna


SHE SAID
by Jodi Kantor and
Megan Twohey

















When New York Times
reporters Kantor and
Twohey broke the
Harvey Weinstein story
in 2017, they opened

the floodgates for a
deluge of previously
suppressed stories of
sexual harassment and
the broader #MeToo
movement. She Said he two DJs who make up the world’s highest-earning electronic-music act
(Penguin Press, 2019) T have spun themselves a pair of new identities: onstage, as a formidable arena-
presents a behind-the- rock band; offstage, as equally formidable investors.

scenes look at the in- DREW TAGGART WEARS A WOOL SUIT AND COTTON SHIRT BY LOUIS VUITTON. HAIR AND MAKEUP: SUZANA HALLILI (TEMPTU AND MARIO BADESCU).
vestigative journalism Moments before igniting a crowd of nearly 12,000 at Nashville’s Bridgestone
process and the gut- Arena in late October, the Chainsmokers—Alex Pall, 34 (above, left), and Drew
wrenching bravery of Taggart, 29, who was honored as part of the Forbes Under 30 Class of 2017—check off the final


the women who came PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES; ALEX PALL WEARS A WOOL SUIT AND COTTON SHIRT BY DOLCE & GABBANA.

forward. The thing that items on their greenroom to-do list. In order: a run-through of the first song’s chorus, a round
struck me most was of tequila shots (a fiduciary duty, as you’ll see) and a jokey command for Pall’s golden retriever,

how entrenched the

legal and corporate loafing nearby. “Mooshu!” Pall hollers. “Take care of the house!”
power structures are Their 90-minute set is a contrast to the more intimate Las Vegas shows that helped the
that protect predatory pair earn some $46 million (pretax) in 2019. (Those concerts were part of a recently extended
behavior. Those of us
trying to build enlight- three-year deal with Wynn Nightlife.) They spread the love—the Nashville gig featured fellow
ened and inclusive Under 30 alumni Kelsea Ballerini and 5 Seconds of Summer. More shots, too: The Chain-
organizations can’t smokers are the two biggest nonfounding stakeholders in JaJa Tequila, a two-year-old brand
ignore the systemic

realities we need to out of New York. It’s one component of a financial strategy through which the duo shun
address. She Said is a typical endorsements in favor of investments in Uber, Los Angeles–based motorized-scooter BY ZACK O’MALLEY GREENBURG
must-read for those

who want to change maker Wheels and a company called Ember, which makes “smart mugs” for coffee and tea
an unacceptable obsessives. Don’t expect to see one onstage, though. “You want the product to stand up on its
status quo. own two feet, and I think long-term,” Taggart says. “That’s what we’re in this for.”



F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9
F
E
S
R
B
O
O
M
.
C

Income meets







performance.









Fidelity Total Bond Fund seeks to deliver dividend income to investors
and outperform the benchmark over time. 1

If you’re looking for income and a measure of protection from stock market volatility, this fund
presents a great opportunity.


Growth of $100K investment in Fidelity® Total Bond Fund $240,000
Since 10/15/2002
$226,721
$220,000
Fidelity® Total Bond Fund
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index $200,000 $205,418


$180,000

$160,000


$140,000

$120,000


$100,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Average Annual Total Returns Life of Fund
as of 09/30/2019 1 year 3 year 5 year 10 year Since 10/15/2002 Expense Ratio
Fidelity® Total Bond Fund 9.59% 3.42% 3.81% 4.65% 4.94% 0.45% 2
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index 10.30% 2.92% 3.38% 3.75% 4.33%

Performance data shown represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results.

Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, so investors may have a gain or loss when shares
are sold. Current performance may be higher or lower than what is quoted, and investors should visit
Fidelity.com/performance for most recent month-end performance.





Invest today at Fidelity.com/totalbond



FIDELITY TOTAL BOND FUND FIDELITY TOTAL BOND ETF Fidelity.com/totalbond
FTBFX FBND 800.FIDELITY or call your advisor.





Total returns are historical and include change in share value and reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, if any. Life-of-fund figures are reported as of the
commencement date to the period indicated.

In general, the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is


usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk, liquidity risk, call risk, and credit and default risks for both issuers

and counterparties. Lower-quality fixed income securities involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer.

Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so holding them until maturity to avoid osses caused by price volatility is not possible.
l
ETFs are subject to market fluctuation and the risks of their underlying investments. ETFs are subject to management fees and other expenses. Unlike mutual funds,

ETF shares are bought and sold at market price, which may be higher or lower than their NAV, and are not individually redeemed from the fund.
1 The Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged broad-based, market value–weighted benchmark that measures the performance of

the investment-grade, U.S. dollar–denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market. Sectors in the index include Treasuries, government-related and corporate
securities, MBS (agency fixed-rate and hybrid ARM pass-throughs), ABS, and CMBS. It is not possible to nvest directly in an index.

i
2 Expense ratio is the total annual fund operating expense ratio from the fund’s most recent prospectus. Expense ratio as of 10/30/2018.
Before investing in any mutual fund or exchange-traded fund, you should consider its investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses.

Contact Fidelity for a prospectus, offering circular, or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC. © 2019 FMR LLC. All rights reserved. 833628.8.0

ANGOLA ARGENTINA BOLIVIA
Diego Fenoglio’s fam-
ily is chocolate royalty in
Argentina, where they’ve
been in the industry since
the 1940s. His Rapanui ice
cream and chocolate have
grown to a nearly $800 mil-
lion business—and he’s the
rare Argentine with a sweet
W O R L D “When there is a crisis, the
36 outlook on the country:
Argentine eats ice cream.
When he is happy, he eats
chocolate.”
R OF
E
N Life in Bolivia this autumn
N Maria Borges made a “was completely halted
U F O R B E S name for herself as a for three weeks by mostly
R supermodel—appearing peaceful civic protests”
T five times in the Victoria’s over elections, says Forbes
N Secret Fashion Show—and Bolivia publisher Fred
O now wants to become Breede. “Friends and fami-
R Across the planet, these 34 licensed a real estate investor, lies gathered in every cor-
F ner. No business opened—
editions span five continents, 27 starting in the capital
only banks, grocery stores
languages and 24 time zones. city of Luanda. and gas stations during the
They all share the same mission: morning.”
celebrating entrepreneurial capitalism CHINA
in all its guises.


CYPRUS


CZECH REPUBLIC DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

BRAZIL

The new Impact Entre-
preneurs Fund—launched All success takes place
during the recent Slum in the “past tense,” says
Summit on combating Zhang Ruimin, the ap-
poverty—will support pliance king of China.
economic development Thus, Haier Group, the
in Brazil’s impoverished manufacturing company
Former NHL player favelas. he runs, is focused solely
Jaromir Jagr, 47, is still Medical tourism abounds on the future—and the key
lacing ’em up, playing for in the region, but experts to that, he says, is unleash-
the Klando Knights in the warn that the industry will FRANCE ing the power of individual
Czech Republic, which likely face a tough dose of employees.
recently rejoined the consolidation and a push
league’s top tier. toward better procedures.
GEORGIA After conquering Cyprus’
local insurance market,
GREECE DUBAI Christos Christodoulou,
CEO of Trust Insurance,
intends to look beyond
the island.

GERMANY




“We are promoting
women as subjects, not When the Soviet Union
A Forbes Middle East objects,” vows Laurent collapsed, Tamaz Daush-
Since 2016, Vodafone package on the top real Milchior, cochairman vili cornered the market
Greece has invested nearly estate companies is led by of lingerie maker for a basic home good:
$550 million to upgrade Wasl Asset Management, Etam Group. window blinds.
the country’s which controls 40,000
telecom infrastructure. residences in Dubai.

INDONESIA

The country’s startup
HUNGARY scene is thriving—with five
unicorns already and sev- At 15, Tarek Mueller started
Few people under 35 drink the eral more promising young his first business, an online
herbal digestif Unicum anymore, leaving companies, such as John shop that sold poker
centuries-old beverage maker Zwack Marco Rasjid’s Sociolla. accessories. Today his
searching for a new product. e-commerce startup,
About You, is Hamburg’s
first unicorn.


F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

ISRAEL ITALY JAPAN
If everything Colmar’s down jackets The best-dressed men
goes accord- have been mainstays already wear Kashiyama’s
ing to plan on European slopes for custom suits. Now it’s
for Amnon generations. “Decades of making custom women’s
Shashua, whose history have allowed us to shoes as well.
company, Mo- create a clear DNA,” says
bileye, supplies Mario Colombo, company
autonomous- president.
driving tech,
Israel will see its KAZAKHSTAN 37
first robo-taxi
INDIA by 2022. When Ashkat Omarov
launched his online airfare
“I have a strong instinct site, Santufei, in 2014, it
. . . [and] most of the crashed on day one. Five F
R
time it will be backed by years later, it’s one O
some solid work,” says of the country’s largest N
IT billionaire Shiv Nadar, KOREA such sites, with close to T
who has grown increas- $20 million in revenue. R
ingly interested in U
philanthropy as his net N
worth more than tripled MONGOLIA N
in the past decade. E
R
KENYA
The emergence of mobile
banking in Kenya—led by
M-Pesa, a fintech startup—
is a boon for customers LATVIA MEXICO
(who get easier access to
Three Latvian twenty-
banks and safer transac- somethings have created Mexico City faces a pro-
tions) and for companies found water crisis. Water
(who get an entirely new what they call a “Tinder for tanks from Rotoplas ($450 Mining-dependent Mon-
loans”: an app called Jeff.
million in sales) are now
customer base). The lenses made by Eun Their first market? A world a ubiquitous sight on the golia is under pressure to
boost its output of high-
Gyeong Park’s Sekonix away in Vietnam. metropolis’ skyline. quality coal.
power the cameras going
into cars from Hyundai,
Kia and others, enabling SLOVAKIA
them to judge distance
and traffic conditions.
In America, Marian
PORTUGAL Hossa was a hockey
star, winning three
On Forbes Portugal’s ROMANIA Stanley Cups. In
Power Women list: Paula his native Slovakia,
Amorim. She runs a $5 billion his frozen-food
empire that includes energy, company, HO&PE,
fashion and more. has become a major
maker of pierogi
and dumplings.




THAILAND
Energy mogul Augustin
POLAND Oancea follows a “golden Known in Thai fi-
Businesses in conservative rule that . . . is according to nancial circles as
Poland are tapping a new a Romanian saying: Never the “Stock Market
customer base: LGBTQ con- follow the path beaten Goddess,” Pattera
sumers, who tend to have by others if you want to Dilokrungthirapop
more disposable income. succeed.” is the CEO of DBS
Vickers Securities.
EDITED BY ELISABETH BRIER, ABRAM BROWN AND JUSTIN CONKLIN
RUSSIA SOUTH AFRICA SPAIN

A new ranking of Mos-
cow’s most successful
restaurants includes high-
end staples like White
Rabbit and Selfie, as well
as lower-end fare, such
as Boston Seafood & Bar VIETNAM
near the Begovoy District.
Quách Thái Công
is the toast of
Ho Chi Minh City,
“Every book tells a story,” one of the town’s
says Katherine Munro, a hottest interior
74-year-old South African designers. His
whose six-figure library recent fee for
landed her on a new Forbes Que rico! No. 1 on Forbes making over
Africa list of the continent’s Spain’s list of the 100 a 3,700-square-
largest and most unusual richest: Zara founder foot pad?
collections. Amancio Ortega. $1.5 million.


D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 F O R B E S . C O M

J U ST THE WAY T HE Y A R E
Some of the CEOs and companies lauded
on this year’s third annual “Just 100” list
of America’s best corporate citizens made
sure their social-media fans knew all about it.
38

@JULIESWEET, CEO, ACCENTURE:
“JUST business is better business.
R
E We are proud to be recognized on this
N year’s #AmericasMostJUST Companies
N list. Thank you @justcapital_ and
U @Forbes for the honor.”
R
T
N
O @TOMLEIGHTONAKAM,
R CEO, AKAMAI:
F Conversation “@justcapital_ & @Forbes
rank @Akamai #33 out of DAN SCHULMAN, CEO,
922 U.S. publicly traded
THE LUXE LIFE balance, equal opportunity, Almost five years ago, we
PAYPAL: “I’m so honored.
cos. for fair pay, work-life
ethical leadership, customer set out to create the new
PayPal to have a clear
treatment & privacy, vision, inspiring mission and
he impeccably tailored Bernard Arnault, chief
T executive of French luxury powerhouse LVMH, graced sustainability and delivering strong values. It’s amazing
community support,
to see the return this
shareholder return.”
the cover of our November 30 issue, newly enshrined
company and the world.”
as the world’s third-richest man, with a $100 billion investment has had on our
fortune. Famed and disdained in equal measure for his
often predatory business instincts, the family man— @JGSILVERMAN,
CEO, ETSY:
four of Arnault’s five children work under him, by all accounts harmoni- “We’re working hard
ously—has spent the last several years engaging in a variety of corporate at @Etsy to prove we
can be a great citizen
partnerships and acquisitions that have helped LVMH’s stock, along @FDESOUZA,
and a great company
CEO, ILLUMINA:
with his own net worth, soar. Famed: “Absolutely genius and deserving at the same time! “We’re committed
of his success,” wrote reader Stanley Lam on Facebook. “Inherits and Amazing to see the to just business and
recognition this week
sells the family construction business to reinvent himself into a fashion in @FastCo and doing right by all our
powerhouse.” And disdained: “Bank your own hustle . . . don’t bank his,” @Forbes.” stakeholders. Honored
to be included in the 2020
wrote Stephanie SH, also on Facebook. “Nothing [Arnault] sells is a rankings of America’s most
necessity for the middle class, or anyone, really. His products have huge JUST companies. Thank
you @Forbes, @justcapital_
carbon footprints. Nothing to celebrate here except his hustle. He’s not and all our employees for
leaving the world a better place.” making @illumina a special
place. #JUST100”

THE IN TE R EST GR APH

148,828 views The Just 100


97,555 Bigelow Tea Has Steadfastly Stayed Upscale in a Down-Market World. All It Took Was Bagging the Family Drama


76,712 The $100 Billion Man: How Bernard Arnault Stitched Together the World’s Third-Biggest Fortune

@HERSHEYCOMPANY:
52,152 How Clever New Deals and an Unknown Tax Dodge Are Creating Buyout Billionaires by the Dozen “So proud to have
@Forbes name us as a
Just 100 company! We’re
51,296 Nipsey’s Never-Ending Hustle: Inside the Rapper’s $11 Million Payday honored to be recognized
among other leading
companies for our
28,727 Dawn of the Neobank: The Fintechs Trying to Kill the Corner Bank
commitment to our
BY KRISTIN STOLLER
employees and the
environment.”
24,697 What Trade War? Meet the Brilliant Quant Who’s Bullish on China

7,978 THE BOMB: A Star Professor and Her Radical, AI-Powered Plan to Discover New Drugs



F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

CALIBER RM 07-03








RICHARD MILLE BOUTIQUES

ASPEN BAL HARBOUR BEVERLY HILLS BOSTON BUENOS AIRES CHICAGO
LAS VEGAS MIAMI NEW YORK ST. BARTH TORONTO VANCOUVER

www.richardmille.com

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By Nathan VardiWilson Phot Photograph by Levon Biss for Forbess
B
e
and Susan Adams
Make the
Colleges Pay
Most edtech startups are idealistic
outfits with little revenue and low
valuations, but Rachel Romer
Carlson’s Guild Education is worth
$1 billion and is on track to book
$100 million in sales. Her secret?
Connecting workers who have
tuition benefits to colleges that will
gladly pay to meet them.


























O
R
D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9 F F O R B E S . C O M
M
B
O
S
.
C
E

Guild Education Cont. nonselective online programs spend more than



I $3,000 to attract each new student. Carlson


charges schools a finder’s fee (she won’t say
how much) for the students she delivers from
her corporate partners.
So far Guild has signed up more than 20
42 companies, including Disney and Taco Bell.


S HOW TO PLAY IT Guild gets paid only if students complete their
R By Jon D. coursework, so a full 150 of the company’s 415
U Markman
E staffers serve as coaches who help employees
N Pluralsight is a apply to degree programs and plan how to bal-
E
R great way to play ance their studies with work and family. When
P the rise of online
E It’s 9 a.m. two days be- education. The a company like Walmart requests a customized
R
T fore Thanksgiving in Arkansas, and Walmart company sells training course, Guild solicits proposals from
N subscriptions as many as 100 education providers (nearly all
E executives are dragging their suitcases around to firms looking


• a windowless office building in search of a to onboard new of them online) and recommends the programs

N large conference room. They settle on an in- hires or upgrade it deems best. It also negotiates tuition dis-
A the skills of exist-
I terior lunchroom with dull gray carpet, claim- ing technology counts and facilitates direct payments between
R
A ing one side of a long table in the corner and workers. And with employers and schools, a big plus for workers
R online courses in
T gesturing for their guests to sit opposite them. cloud comput- who would otherwise have to wait months to
N Ellie Bertani, Walmart’s director of workforce be reimbursed.
O ing architecture,
C strategy, says she’s struggling to find quali- cybersecurity, Carlson, an alumna of the 2017 Forbes 30
mobile, design
fied people to staff the company’s expanding and data science, Under 30 list and a judge on the 2020 list, says
network of 5,000 pharmacies and 3,400 vi- its services are she has already channeled $100 million in tu-
sion centers. Her fellow Walmart execs are si- in high demand. ition benefits to workers. She expects 2019
During the
lent, but Rachel Romer Carlson, 31, cofound- quarter ended revenue to top $50 million, and Guild inves-
er and CEO of Guild Education, sees her open- September 30, tor Byron Deeter of Bessemer Venture Part-
sales grew 34%
ing. Without hesitation she says her team can ners predicts 2020 revenue of more than $100
year-over-year,
work with Walmart and find a solution fast. to $82.6 million. million. In mid-November Carlson closed her
“You guys and us,” she says, “let’s do it!” Pluralsight went fifth round of financing, led by General Cat-
public at $15 in
Carlson flew to Bentonville from Guild’s May 2018. Shares alyst, bringing her total money raised to $228
Denver headquarters the day before. Dressed zoomed to $38 million at a $1 billion valuation. In the sleepy,
in a sensible navy blazer and black slacks, by September. well-intentioned world of edtech, Guild is
Since then the
she hasn’t bothered with makeup. Since 7:30 stock has slipped one of only a few startups whose values have
that morning she’s been huddling with teams to about $16.45. soared, says Daniel Pianko, a New York-based
The decline looks
of Walmart brass, going over options to train edtech investor with no stake in the company.
like an excellent
workers for those new jobs. They range from a longer-term buy- “I can see a path for Guild to be a $100 bil-
one-year pharmacy technician certificate pro- ing opportunity. lion company,” says Paul Freedman, CEO of
gram offered by a for-profit online outfit called Jon D. Markman San Francisco venture firm Entangled Group,
is president of
Penn Foster to an online bachelor’s degree in Markman Capital who has known Carlson since she was in busi-
healthcare administration at nonprofit South- Insight and ness school and was one of Guild’s earliest
ern New Hampshire University. author of investors.
Fast Forward
Carlson’s groundbreaking idea when she Investing. When asked to detail Guild’s inner workings,
launched Guild four years ago: help compa- like its strategy for soliciting custom courses,
nies offer education benefits that employ- Carlson eschews specifics and delivers what
ees will actually use. Many big employers will sounds like a political stump speech: “The
pay for their workers to go to school (it’s a tax economy's moving so fast,” she says. “We can't
break), but hardly any workers take advantage let higher education dictate the skills and com-
of the opportunity. Applying and signing up for petencies that we need five to ten years from
courses can be cumbersome, and in most in- now.”
stances employees have to front the tuition and There’s a reason she talks this way. Her
wait to be reimbursed. Meanwhile, many col- grandfather Roy Romer was a three-term
leges are desperate for students because they (1987–1999) Democratic governor of Colora- PATRICK WELSH FOR FORBES
have small—or nonexistent—endowments and do before spending six years as superintendent
are financially dependent on tuition. Many of Los Angeles’ public schools. Carlson started


F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9

Most insurance companies treat businesses

like they’re all the same.



Because Hiscox works only with businesses, they know that just like a barcode,
UV [^V I\ZPULZZLZ HYL [OL ZHTL /PZJV_ [HPSVYZ WVSPJPLZ [V L_HJ[S` Ä[ `V\YZ






Get a quote and buy online at
Hiscox.com or call 877-490-2016.

Guild Education Cont.



the summer of 2016 when she sent a LinkedIn
message to a Chipotle benefits manager that
The Vault
played up the fast-food chain’s “strong Den-
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL ver roots and social mission.” With help from
Guild, Chipotle’s $12-an-hour burrito rollers
Before the frenzied dot-com boom would
44 make employees come to expect perks like are now pursuing bachelor’s degrees from Bel-

in-office massages and foosball tables, levue University in Nebraska or taking com-

some old-economy stalwarts—including EDS, puter security courses at Wilmington Universi-
S the Plano, Texas–based infotech company
R founded by Ross Perot—offered old-style ty in Delaware. In October 2019, Carlson per-

U rewards to keep their staffers happy.

E suaded Chipotle to lift its cap on tuition ben-
N “To replace workers’ ‘us versus them’ attitude toward bosses with a spirit of efits above the $5,250 the IRS allows compa-

E
R ‘we,’ motivational incentives that used to be reserved mainly for managers and nies to write off.
P executives are being pushed far down inside the company. At Electronic Data
E Systems, managers are encouraged to get to know their employees’ tastes, Guild’s biggest competitor is a division of
R

T hobbies and interests so deserving staff members can be rewarded with ap- Watertown, Massachusetts-based publicly
N propriate incentives: tickets to a sports event, say, or the opera, or a dinner for traded daycare provider Bright Horizons,
E the family at a fancy restaurant. Molly Edwards, EDS’s manager of recognition

• services, says one employee in Dallas was even given a washer and dryer for a which has offered tuition benefit services since

N particularly good performance. Another employee in Michigan returned from 2009. It works with 210 companies includ-

A vacation to find that her kitchen had been completely remodeled.”
I ing Home Depot and Goldman Sachs. Under
R —“When Money Isn’t Enough,” November 18, 1996
A Bright Horizons’ system, the companies—not
R
T the colleges—pay. Much of the genius of Guild’s
N riding along on his campaign bus when she was business model is that it correctly aligns in-
O
C 6 years old; occasionally she would even speak centives: The colleges are the most financially
at his rallies. When her father, Chris Romer, a motivated party, so they foot the bill. Another
former Colorado state senator, ran unsuccess- competitor, Los Angeles-based InStride,
fully for mayor of Denver in 2011, she served as launched in 2019 with funding from Arizona
his finance director. (“The loss was devastat- State University, and like Bright Horizons it
ing,” she says.) charges the corporations.
Along with politics, the Romers were com- “I see our competition as the status quo,”
mitted to increasing access to education, espe- Carlson says. “Classically, employers have of-
cially for working adults. Roy Romer helped fered tuition-reimbursement programs, but no
start Salt Lake City-based Western Governors one is using those programs.”
University, a pioneer in online adult education. The nonprofit Indianapolis-based Lumina


In the wake of Chris Romer’s mayoral bid, in Foundation has done five case studies showing
2011, he cofounded American Honors, a for- returns on investment as high as 140% for com-
profit company that offered honors courses at panies that offer tuition-reimbursement pro-

community colleges (the company struggled, grams. “We saw powerful impacts on retention,”
and the brand is now owned by Wellspring In- says Lumina’s strategy director, Haley Glover.
ternational, a student recruitment firm). “Walmart and Amazon are in a death strug-
After graduating from Stanford under- gle,” proclaims Joseph Fuller, a professor at
grad and working briefly in the Obama White Harvard Business School. “If a Walmart work-
House, Carlson launched her first venture, er can say, ‘I got an education that allowed me
Student Blueprint, while getting her M.B.A. to get promoted,’ they’re going to be someone
(also at Stanford) in 2014. Student Blueprint who speaks generously about Walmart and
sought to use technology to match community they are more likely be a Walmart shopper.”
college students with jobs. It was a noble idea, Like a good politician, Carlson is work-
but she decided to finish school and sold the ing to please everyone. “We found a win-win,”
software she had developed to Paul Freedman’s she says, “where we can help companies align
Entangled Group in 2014 for a negligible sum. their objectives with helping their employees
In 2015, after she wrapped up her M.B.A., she achieve their goals.” F
pitched the idea for Guild to one of her profes-
sors, Michael Dearing, and to seed investor Ai-
F IN AL T HO UG HT
leen Lee, of Cowboy Ventures, raising $2 mil-
lion. “THE MIND IS NOT A VESSEL
After relocating to her home turf in Denver, THAT NEEDS FILLING BUT WOOD
THAT NEEDS IGNITING.”
she landed her first major corporate partner in —Plutarch


F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9



CONTRARIAN TECHNOLOGY

By Angel Au-Yeung Photograph by Timothy Archibald for Forbes



Roku Redo





46



S More than a decade after being beaten by TiVo, Anthony Wood became a
R
O billionaire with cheap streaming gadgets. That business has never turned a profit.
T
P Roku is now betting its future on a model that’s as old as TV: advertising.
U
R
S
I
D

H
C
E
T













































ers are said to loathe: advertising. Master of Reinvention
It’s a necessary pivot. Roku’s original business, Serial entrepreneur
Anthony Wood at the
selling inexpensive dongles that let TV viewers Los Gatos, California,
tap into the internet to stream 500,000 movies headquarters of Roku.
The name means
and TV episodes from Netflix, Disney and many “six” in Japanese, a
nod to his half-dozen
more, is a low-margin one that has never turned a business ventures.
DVRs and Netflix have taught profit. Even worse, streaming has become a com-
a generation to hate television commercials. An- modity, with streaming apps integrated into any-
thony Wood should know—he created one of the thing that can get online, from PlayStation con-
first DVRs that allowed viewers to skip commer- soles to tablets to smart TVs.
cials, and he also worked briefly at Netflix, directly Wood, 54, is now betting that Roku will be able
under its cofounder Reed Hastings. But Wood’s lat- to move beyond its hardware business into a more
est pivot, in the midst of the streaming media revo- lucrative software business: measuring the reach
lution, has been to bet the future of his streaming and effectiveness of ads on streaming apps.
device company, Roku, on the very thing consum- “Traditionally, the only way you would measure


F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9



The Vault
TIVO’S TROUBLES

“Our plan is to run as fast ments into account,” Wood now says.
as we can,” vowed Michael
Ramsay, cofounder and CEO of TiVo. Almost a year Undaunted, Wood founded Roku in 2002. He


after debuting its little box at the Consumer Electronics cold-called Netflix’s Reed Hastings and asked

Show in Vegas, TiVo had gone public, reached a $1.4 bil-
lion market valuation—and lost nearly $32 million while him to lunch. Hastings took the meeting. “I guess
accumulating a few thousand dollars in revenue from he’d heard of me because of Replay,” Wood says.

48 early subscribers. The challenges ahead for Ramsay Hastings invited Wood to join Netflix as vice
and TiVo were clear: “The technology of searching and
recording, which is not protected by patents . . . can president of Internet TV in 2007 and guide Net- HOW TO PLAY IT
easily be copied.” —Forbes, November 29, 1999 flix’s streaming player, code-named Project Grif-

S According to

R fin, through production. After 10 months, Wood
O Billy Montana



T Roku Cont. left, at which time Netflix spun Project Griffin
P a TV ad is through Nielsen ratings, which could into Roku and became an early investor (it sold With 5G on the
U horizon, rich video
R tell you roughly how many people have watched out a few years later).
S game content is a
I it,” Wood says. “Our measurement is very precise, Roku sold its first set-top boxes in 2008. This great way to play

D

where we can tell a company that out of every- time Wood kept prices low—the first went for the streaming
H boom, according
C one who saw your ad, 5% went to your website and $99.99. Today its cheapest device sells for less to Billy Montana,
E
T bought something,” he explains. “We’re bringing than a third of that. As of 2018, Roku had nabbed portfolio manager

• at $21 billion (as-
the sort of technology that’s already been around a 41% market share of streaming media devices— sets) Jackson
N
A for a while on the internet to the TV world.” Roku more than Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast Square Partners.
I A top holding:
R does this with in-house measurement tools, but also and Apple TV. The business is still growing but New York City’s
A with 11 partners including New York-based Nielsen competition is heating up while prices drop.
R Take-Two Interac-
T in order to tell advertisers like clients Jaguar Land To stay relevant, beginning in 2014 Roku part- tive. “The best
N investment today
O Rover and Baskin-Robbins how their ad campaigns nered with several TV makers, including China’s is in the content
C performed against which demographics. TCL and Hisense and Japan’s Hitachi and Sanyo owners,” he says.
The shift is paying off. In 2015, 84% of Roku’s Electric, to build its operating systems into TV sets. “Take-Two has the

best intellectual
$320 million in revenue came from hardware; According to Roku, its software is in one in three property in inter-

16%, or $50 million, came from advertising and smart TVs sold in the U.S. during the first nine active entertain-
content. Now advertising is the fastest-growing months of 2019. But other TV makers are jumping ment, a subcat-
egory of media
segment, and those numbers have nearly flipped. in: Samsung, the world’s leading TV manufactur- that should enjoy

Roku doubled down in October, announcing a er, announced in May that all of its new smart TVs secular growth for
the next decade.”
$150 million acquisition of dataxu, a Boston- would come with the Apple TV app built in.
As platforms fight

based tech outfit that allows clients to plan and Roku also faces rivals in the ad world. Media for its franchises,

buy video ad campaigns. conglomerate Viacom bought the free, ad-support- which include

Grand Theft
Investors are loving it. Roku’s stock has rocketed ed streaming service Pluto TV for $340 million in Auto, NBA 2K
up over 340% since the beginning of 2019, pushing March. NBC is launching Peacock, its own stream- and Civilization,
its founder’s net worth to $3.3 billion, a $2.6 billion ing service with advertising, next April. Montana expects
tolls charged by
jump since January. It recently traded at a rich 17 Wood says he welcomes all entrants. “The excit- Xbox and PlaySta-
times sales. “I have no idea why Roku is valued [so ing thing for me about the streaming wars is that tion will fall from
their current 30%
high],” says Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter. humongous companies like Disney are all going
of Take-Two gross
Wood’s plan to cater to advertisers comes from in on streaming,” Wood says. “That’s only good revenues to 15%,
an early failure. In the early 1990s, figuring there for us.” But he might want to press pause on that and points out

its pipeline is at a
had to be a better way to record new episodes of button. These big media players may be allies to- record high.
his favorite TV show, Star Trek: The Next Gener- day but foes tomorrow. “Everyone has realized
ation, than using VHS tapes, he came up with a the living room is too important,” wrote Pivotal
DVR. The initial product, marketed as ReplayTV, Research CEO Jeffrey Wlodarczak in a September

was released in 1999 and cost around $1,000. Big report titled “Is Roku Broku?” “And the big boys
mistake. Rival TiVo sold its boxes for reportedly . . . are likely to make Roku growth much more HOW TO PLAY IT BY ANTOINE GARA; SHERRY TESLER/THE NEW YORK T IMES/REDUX
under $500 and gobbled up market share. difficult.” Wood had better start thinking of his


Low on cash, Wood sold ReplayTV in 2001 to next pivot soon.

Santa Clara-based consumer electronics firm Son-
icBlue for a reported $42 million and stayed to help
F IN AL T HOU GH T
run it. To differentiate it from TiVo, Wood released

“IN GENERAL, OBSOLETE
a version of ReplayTV with an ad-skipping feature.
TECHNOLOGY IS OBSOLETE
Bigger mistake. The company was sued by every-
FOR A REASON. MONOCLES
one from Paramount to MGM to Disney. Sonic Blue
ARE NO EXCEPTION.”
went bankrupt. “We didn’t take industry require- —Neil Blumenthal
F O R B E S . C O M D E C E M B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 9