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Monday, August 5, 2024

Billionaires see net worth drop amid stock market turmoil

 Multiple billionaires saw their net worth shrink on Monday while the global markets experienced significant turbulence. 

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg were among the billionaires with estimated personal fortunes that posted major drops, Forbes reported

Those companies and the other four tech giants that make up the "Magnificent Seven" experienced notable declines in their stock prices on Monday. 


More broadly, U.S. indices dropped on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 down 2.7%, 3.7% and 3.3%, in the afternoon. Markets in other parts of the world like Asia and Europe also saw declines.

 Jeff Bezos attends the 10th Annual LACMA Art+Film Gala presented by Gucci at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Nov. 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. ( Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic / Getty Images)

The drops in Bezos, Huang and Zuckerberg’s net worths while Monday’s global market turmoil occurred amounted to $8 billion, $7.9 billion and $7 billion, respectively, at one point mid-morning, Forbes reported. The outlet's real-time tracker showed the losses had gotten smaller by the late afternoon.

Bezos was worth $180.8 billion as of Monday afternoon, according to Forbes’ real-time tracker. Meanwhile, the outlet pegged the value of Huang and Zuckerberg at $87.7 billion and $167.3 billion. 

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Huang holding up a circuit board while giving a talk.

Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., gives a talk in Taipei, Taiwan. (Annabelle Chih/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Other billionaires like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Tesla CEO Elon Musk saw $6 billion shed from their personal fortunes Monday thanks to movement in the stock of their companies, according to the outlet.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an event

SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk attends an event during the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, on June 16, 2023.  (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)


Of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks, Nvidia posted the biggest decline on Monday, falling 7%.

Non-tech billionaires also experienced declines in their personal fortunes during the Monday market meltdowns, Forbes reported. 

Worries about the U.S. economy and other factors helped feed the global market turbulence.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/billionaires-see-net-worth-drop-amid-stock-market-turmoil

Two Chinese Nationals In U.S. Illegally Stopped With $250,000 In Gold Bars On Them In Texas

 Just a normal everyday traffic stop: pulling over a couple of Chinese nationals, driving through Texas, with $250,000 worth of gold bars on their person.

That was the scene last week in Van Zandt County, according to KETK NBC.

Sgt. Charlie Hughes of the Wills Point Police Department was monitoring traffic on I-20 near the 533-mile marker when he saw a White Chevy Malibu with Michigan plates committing a traffic violation.

He then stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as 25-year-old Weijian Chen.

KETK writes that due to a language barrier, Hughes asked Chen to use a translator app in his patrol vehicle to communicate.

The officer said that during the interview he “observed multiple factors that lead [him] to believe there was criminal activity afoot.” 

The driver said that he was heading to Dallas and had also been in Florida to "play". 

The vehicle was rented under the name of the passenger, 46-year-old Wenqiang Lin, who consented to a search but appeared uncertain. A K9 unit alerted to the front passenger door.

Inside, officials found a Spirit Airlines boarding pass indicating that Weijian Chen had flown from Los Angeles to Atlanta on July 30-31 without any bags. The rental agreement showed the car was rented in College Park, Georgia, on July 31 and was due in Los Angeles by August 3, the report continued

A bag behind the driver's seat contained gold bullion bars worth an estimated $200,000 to $250,000, including:

  • Seven 1-ounce 999.9 gold bars
  • Three 5-gram 999.9 gold bars
  • One 1-gram 999.9 gold bar marked with 20 squares
  • Eight 10-ounce 999.9 gold bars

After arresting Chen and Lin, Sgt. Hughes contacted U.S. Homeland Security, which revealed both men had entered the country illegally. Lin entered on September 15, 2023, and was awaiting immigration processing in Los Angeles. Chen entered on December 17, 2023, and is also pending immigration judicial action.

“Based on my training, I know that it is very unlikely that Lin or Chen could have transported the gold bullion through airport Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint with[out] filing a United States Currency Transaction Report,” the officer said.

KETK wrote:

During an interview at the Van Zandt County Jail, Chen allegedly stated that the gold bars had been given to him by someone to transport to Dallas however he declined to give any further information.

Both suspects have been charged with money laundering and are being held on $100,000 bond.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/two-chinese-nationals-us-illegally-stopped-250000-gold-bars-them-texas

NJ Gov eyes his ex-chief of staff to replace convicted Sen. Bob Menendez

 New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is strongly considering appointing his former chief of staff to replace convicted US Sen. Bob Menendez, The Post has learned.

Ex-chief of staff George Helmy is a Murphy confidante who sources said did the governor’s iron fist work behind the scenes — and he could be headed to Washington when Menendez resigns effective Aug. 20.

Murphy has informed some Democratic Party leaders in the Garden State that he’s eyeing Helmy — now an executive vice president and external affairs and policy officer at RWJBarnabas Health — to fulfill Menendez’s term, which expires at the end of the year.

Ex-chief of staff George Helmy is a Murphy confidante who sources said did the governor’s iron fist work behind the scenes.RWJBarnabas Health

Helmy and a spokesman for Murphy declined comment — but the governor had high praise last September when it was announced the chief of state was leaving his administration.

“I don’t know where we would be without George,” Murphy said at the time.

“You cannot write the history of our administration without recognizing George’s singular role in leading our team for over four and a half years,” he went on. “His unique mix of public and private sector experience, strong management skills, and deep relationships across the political spectrum made him uniquely capable to excel in this job.”

Murphy praised Helmy as his point man on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and said he oversaw his policy and legislative agenda in the Legislature.

“George has put his heart and soul into serving the people of New Jersey,” Murphy said.

The governor has the option of filling the federal seat after Democrat Menendez was convicted last month of trading the power of his office for lucrative bribes. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is strongly considering appointing his former chief of staff to replace convicted Sen. Bob Menendez.AP

A federal jury found him guilty on 16 counts for using his political perch to benefit Egypt, Qatar and three of his wealthy pals in exchange for piles of cash, gold bars and other gifts.

Helmy is not without controversy despite being widely respected.

Former Garden State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal testified during Menendez’s corruption trial in June that he received several inappropriate inquiries during ongoing criminal cases — including one from Helmy.

Helmy called Grewal in 2020 asking about his prosecution of Hudson County worker Walter Somick, who was accused of falsifying time sheets for a no-show job, Grewal said.

According to the Star-Ledger, Murphy administration sources claimed Helmy made the call because Somick was a friend of state Sen. Nick Sacco (D-Hudson), who was blocking a bill backed by the governor to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders. 

“It is unclear what Helmy wanted of Grewal, but given the transactional nature of New Jersey politics, it is no longer prudent to give the Murphy Administration the benefit of the doubt: It could have easily asked Grewal to rethink the Somick prosecution to get Sacco to support the legislation,” a Star-Ledger editorial said.

Helmy, if chosen, would have a short run as Menendez’s replacement.Robert Miller

Sacco had reportedly demanded that public officials — like Somick — be included among offenders who should be exempt from mandatory jail sentences.

“Is that Too Jersey? Nothing is Too Jersey,” the editorial said.

Murphy ultimately vetoed the bill that included Sacco’s amendment, while Somick got probation after taking a plea.

Meanwhile, former state Health Department Assistant Commissioner Chris Neuwirth claimed he was fired because he raised ethics concerns when asked to administer COVID-19 tests to relatives of Helmy in 2020.

He filed a defamation suit claiming Murphy made false statements about the reason for his firing.

A state appellate court last year tossed out the defamation charges.

Helmy, if chosen, would have a short run as Menendez’s replacement.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat this November and is set to face off against real estate developer Curtis Bashaw, the Republican nominee.

https://nypost.com/2024/08/05/us-news/nj-gov-phil-murphy-eyes-his-ex-chief-of-staff-to-replace-convicted-sen-bob-menendez/