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18 minutes ago
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Shohei Ohtani is caught in a financial controversy — again
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In the last year, Shohei Ohtani has become as famous for the financial scandals surrounding him as he has for his ability to slug baseballs. Now the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar is embroiled in yet another financial scandal, this time involving allegations made about a real estate deal in Hawaii. In addition, Ohtani continues to deal with blowback from a gambling fraud incident that landed his interpreter a nearly five-year prison sentence. 'Threats and baseless legal claims' The latest scandal involves two Hawaiian real estate developers who are suing Ohtani and his agent. The lawsuit claims that Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo, got the developers "fired from a $240 million luxury housing development [the Vista at Mauna Kea] on the Big Island's coveted Hapuna Coast that they brought [Ohtani] in to endorse" and build a home in, said The Associated Press. Balelo "increasingly demanded concessions" from the developers before allegedly "demanding that their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, drop them from the deal," said the AP. Ohtani and Balelo "exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle" the developers' "role in the project — for no reason other than their own financial self-interest," the lawsuit claims. The pair allegedly "used threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built." The lawsuit is "completely frivolous and without merit," Kingsbarn told the AP in a statement. The company added that it "takes full responsibility" for removing the developers. Ohtani himself said he was "focused on what the team is doing" when asked about the lawsuit. Another scandal for Ohtani This is the second major financial scandal for Ohtani, who is widely considered one of the best baseball players in the world. His ex-interpreter was "sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani," said ESPN, in a controversy that had some initially questioning Ohtani despite his denial of any knowledge. This also comes in the aftermath of Balelo being "behind Ohtani's free agent deal with the Dodgers, which is one of the most lucrative — and management-friendly — contracts in MLB history," said NBC News. At the time, the deal was "reported to be the biggest contract in baseball history, at $700 million for 10 seasons." He is also set to earn "$100 million in endorsements in 2025 alone, tops among MLB players," said The Athletic. But despite the controversy around his finances, the lawyers currently suing him have "left the door open for Ohtani to have once again been a victim of someone in his inner circle bringing him legal trouble," said SFGate. It is "uncertain at this time whether his agent's alleged contractual interference and misdeeds were even known to Mr. Ohtani at the time, or whether he may have himself been misled by Mr. Balelo — but we aim to find out," attorneys for the developers said to the outlet. The status of the deal is unclear, but Ohtani's interest in Hawaii has been longstanding; The Wall Street Journal first reported in 2024 that he was looking to build a home in the state, which is a "beautiful blend of Pacific Ocean cultures" and a "special place — a place I will soon call home," Ohtani said in a press release. The Vista at Mauna Kea's website still lists Ohtani as "our first resident."
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WisdomTree, Inc. (WT): A Bull Case Theory
We came across a bullish thesis on WisdomTree, Inc. on Kroker Equity Research's Substack. In this article, we will summarize the bulls' thesis on WT. WisdomTree, Inc.'s share was trading at $13.60 as of August 12th. WT's trailing and forward P/E were 33.17 and 18.38, respectively according to Yahoo Finance. Source:Pexels WisdomTree (WT) is a mid-sized global asset manager specializing in ETFs and ETPs, with a $126B AUM base diversified across equities, fixed income, commodities, alternatives, and crypto. Known for its 'Modern Alpha' approach—combining alternative indexing with passive efficiency—the firm differentiates itself through innovation, launching first-to-market products like dividend- and earnings-weighted equity ETFs, currency-hedged strategies, and more recently, tokenized assets. Invest in Gold American Hartford Gold: #1 Precious Metals Dealer in the Nation Priority Gold: Up to $15k in Free Silver + Zero Account Fees on Qualifying Purchase Thor Metals Group: Best Overall Gold IRA Financially, WisdomTree is scaling efficiently, with Q2 2025 revenues up 5% year-over-year to $112.6M, net income up 14% to $24.8M, operating margins above 30%, and record-high AUM driven by $3.5B quarterly net inflows. The company maintains strong gross margins (~81%), robust free cash flow generation, and a history of shareholder returns through dividends and buybacks, including a $150M repurchase authorization extended to 2028. Beyond core ETFs, WisdomTree is an early mover in regulated digital finance via WisdomTree Prime and Connect, offering tokenized gold, money market funds, and other blockchain-enabled products. This expansion targets long-term opportunities in tokenization, although revenue impact remains nascent and execution risk is high. The company faces challenges from intense ETF fee competition, market-driven AUM volatility, smaller scale versus trillion-dollar peers, and activist shareholder pressure, notably from ETFS Capital, which has pushed for cost control, capital returns, and focus on core strengths. Leverage from $520M in convertible notes adds potential dilution risk, though debt levels are manageable. Overall, WisdomTree's combination of a differentiated product suite, global diversification, margin expansion, and optionality from digital assets positions it for long-term growth, while valuation could benefit from sustained inflows, operational discipline, and successful monetization of new initiatives. Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (BAM) by Soren Peterson in February 2025, which highlighted its positioning to capitalize on AI-driven infrastructure growth, credit expansion, and strong capital-raising. The stock has appreciated by 3.24% since, as the thesis played out. Kroker Equity Research shares a similar view on WisdomTree, emphasizing ETF innovation and digital assets. WisdomTree, Inc. is not on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held WT at the end of the first quarter which was 36 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of WT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
White House Reportedly Launches A Scorecard Rating 500+ Companies On Trump Loyalty — Who's Listed And How Ratings Are Determined
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. The White House has reportedly created a rating system to evaluate the support of corporate America for President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' and other policies. White House Rates 553 firms on support for Trump policies The White House has developed a scorecard evaluating 553 companies and trade associations on their support for the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' and other Trump policies. Distributed among senior staff, the ratings will serve as a reference when reviewing corporate requests, according to Axios. The rating system evaluates multiple factors, including social media activity, press releases, video testimonials, advertisements, participation in White House events, and other forms of engagement connected to the OB3. Based on these criteria, companies are classified as strong, moderate, or low supporters. Trending: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — The system is also expected to evolve as it will include the companies' engagement with other presidential initiatives. The official responsible for the rating system stated, 'If groups/companies want to start advocating more now for the tax bill or additional administration priorities, we will take that into account in our grading.' White House Lists Major Companies as Key Supporters of Bill, Other Trump Initiatives Some of the companies that have been identified as 'good partners' by the White House include Uber (NYSE:UBER), DoorDash (NYSE:DASH), United (NASDAQ:UAL), Delta (NYSE:DAL), AT&T (NYSE:T), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Airlines for America, and the Steel Manufacturers Association. The support from these corporations has been evident in various ways. DoorDash deliverer Maliki Krieski, for instance, publicly supported the bill at a White House event. Uber celebrated the 'No Tax on Tips' provision, a part of the bill, on a blog for drivers. Cisco's CEO, Chuck Robbins, expressed his approval of the corporate tax provisions in the bill on social media. AT&T announced plans to expedite fiber infrastructure development, attributing it to the Show Growing Support For Trump's Key Economic Policies In the recent past, several CEOs have openly supported Trump's policies and initiatives, whether it's related to tariffs, manufacturing in the U.S., or the spending bill. For instance, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) CEO Tim Cook presented Trump with a 24-karat gold-based plaque after securing an exemption from a 100% chip tariff. Similarly, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang hailed Trump's efforts to re-industrialize technology manufacturing, stating that it was the right move for the nation. At the same time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had a change of heart on Trump. He later admitted that his perspective on the President had evolved after observing him more closely. These examples illustrate the impact of corporate support on the Trump administration's policies. Read Next: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can invest today for just $0.30/share. If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? Image via Shutterstock This article White House Reportedly Launches A Scorecard Rating 500+ Companies On Trump Loyalty — Who's Listed And How Ratings Are Determined originally appeared on
