Latest news with #BradGerstner
CNBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Vulcan Elements CEO on $65 million investment by Altimeter: Going to build commercial facility
John Maslin, Vulcan Elements CEO, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the company's fundraise led by Altimeter's Brad Gerstner, how to build the company and much more.
Skift
11-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Brad Gerstner on 'Trump Accounts' and the Travel Leaders He Still Calls First
Brad Gerstner's Invest America, which turned into Trump Accounts, could be a game-changer for tens of millions of American kids. Altimeter Capital CEO and travel industry veteran Brad Gerstner opened custodial investment accounts for his two sons at birth — but it was his son Lincoln's question at the kitchen table that led to a national policy. "Well this doesn't seem fair," Lincoln said. "Why do we get these and what about the other kids?" Gerstner said that was the spark for the Invest America initiative and the creation of "Trump Accounts." Under the new law, every American under age 18 will be eligible to open a tax-deferred investment account starting around July 4, 2026, and those born after December 31, 2024 will get $1,000 in government seed funding. Several corporations, including Uber, Zillow, T-Mobile, Nvidia, Salesforce, and iHeartMedia, have committed to giving $2,500 to employees' kids as a tax-free benefit. "Of course, less than 5% of kids in America currently have [investment] accounts," Gerstner told Skift. "And not surprisingly, the kids who do have the accounts are kids whose parents are pretty affluent. And so I grew up poor in Indiana, in a poor town. I have a really strong belief that there's a massive unlocked potential in the country." The Travel Industry Created Ties That Bind Early in his career, Gerstner was co-CEO of National Leisure Group, which was a major cruise seller; he led a General Catalyst investment into Orbitz; was a prominent travel angel investor, and founded Room77. These days, with his Altimeter Capital investing billions of dollars in tech companies like Nvidia, Meta, Uber and Microsoft, Gerstner is a frequent CNBC guest and co-hosts the BG2Pod with Bill Gurley. Gerstner has been interviewed on stage at past Skift Global Forums. Although the travel industry isn't currently his focus, Gerstner still has deep ties, particularly with Zillow co-founder and Expedia founder Rich Barton, and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who is also a former Expedia CEO. "I've worked on a lot of things over the years, and my first two calls are generally to Rich Barton and Dara," Gerstner said. "You forge friendships in the travel business 25 years ago, and we support each other. No questions asked. And because we trust one another, and if we're passionate about it, then we know, we've done the work. And those guys' early support [for Invest America] was monumental." Why Silicon Valley Gets Along With Trump Gerstner said that Silicon Valley's relatively warm relationship with President Trump has little to do with politics. "I think part of the reason that Silicon Valley has had some success with this president versus [former President] Biden isn't really about the political agenda as much as it is he's a business guy, and he kind of moves at an entrepreneurial speed," Gerstner said. "And there's not a bunch of layers." A case in point: A couple of months ago, Gerstner said he told Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell – a member of the Invest America CEO Council – that "we need to get the president on board." Dell texted Trump, who texted right back and invited them to the White House to pitch it. The White House also held an Invest America Roundtable with Gerstner and prominent supporters in early June. The Trump Accounts Name The original idea was to call them Invest America Accounts, but the name "Trump Accounts" helped the legislation ultimately become law. And the idea received bipartisan support, Gerstner said, who added that several CEO supporters of Invest America are Democrats. He had previously tried to get then-President Biden to go for the idea but it didn't get traction. Gerstner said Congress would need to "re-up" the $1,000 per child government funding in 2028, which he doesn't think will be much of an issue. "We'll see what people call them after he's [Trump's] out of office," he said. 65 Million Kids The original plan was to include children up to age 10, but Gerstner said it expanded to include all Americans under age 18 – around 65 million will be eligible, he said. Newborns born as of January 1, 2025 get automatically enrolled and funded, but older kids have to sign up. Invest America, Gerstner said, will be working to ensure that as many kids sign up as possible. For those children who have accounts, but were born before January 1, 2025, anyone — parents, family, friends, and corporations — can contribute a maximum of $5,000 annually per child. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, he said, is an enthusiastic supporter and Gerstner would like to see sign-up materials included with other documents on the first day of school. "I absolutely believe this most important thing I've done in my career," he said. "But it's like when you start business, and moment that we just got funded. All right, so now we've got to go execute our asses off and make sure it lives up to its promise." Gerstner said he's committed to making the accounts as equitable and powerful as they can be. The investment accounts are "making every kid a capitalist, making every kid a true owner in the upside of America. We need to evolve the social contract to include the 70% who currently feel left out and left behind. And I think this is a powerful way to do it."
The Hill
29-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump Accounts are the savings solution America's parents need
Congress may soon deliver a little bundle of joy to expecting parents and parents-to-be. The House-passed 'One Big, Beautiful Bill Act' contains the seed of a new federal investment program that may blossom into opportunity and financial security for millions of American children in the future. Fiscal conservatives have reasons to get on board. President Trump has formally introduced his plan for the federal government to fund $1,000 in investment accounts for every child born over the next four years. The cash would be deposited into a private custodial account and grow tax-free until he or she reaches adulthood. Parents, churches, charities and employers can also contribute up to $5,000 a year to the account. At age 18, the young adult gains access to half of the funds to be used for college or skills training, to start a business, or even for a down payment on a home. Trump Accounts are a marked improvement from the baby bonuses floated last year. Most fundamentally, Trump Accounts reflect a shift in the purpose and outcomes of family-supporting policies. The downstream effects will be minor on the budget but major for the economy and society, such that these accounts should earn broad conservative support. This plan promotes saving as a virtue that every American can adopt from birth. Different from the yeoman's goal of turning around our declining birth rate, these investment accounts are future-focused. Trump Accounts would democratize investing through its inclusivity. Open to every U.S.-born child with parents who have Social Security numbers with work authorization, children of all income levels and stripes would have skin in the investment game. While about two out of three Americans currently own stock and retirement accounts, according to Gallup polling, they tend to be degree holders and higher earners. Only 38 percent of Hispanics, 52 percent of Blacks and 28 percent of those earning below $50,000 participate in the stock market. Trump Accounts would skyrocket market participation. Young Americans would also gain a lesson in financial stewardship. In a culture that thrives on living for the moment, a generation of children would reap the benefits of patience and delayed gratification. Many parents would rather a one-time $5,000 check or a tax refund bump. However, families are well cared for in Trump's big, beautiful bill. Lowered income tax rates are made permanent, and the doubled Child Tax Credit increased by $500 for the next few years. Additionally, 529 plans are expanded significantly to cover more out-of-pocket K-12 costs, on-the-job training and continuing education. Trump Accounts would complement 529 plans. Children from poor and working-class backgrounds with little means to invest in 529s would gain access to a government-funded seed account. Brad Gerstner of Invest America posited that, with just $750 of additional savings per year, these accounts would swell to $50,000 by age 18. By focusing on saving for the future, Trump Accounts blunt inflationary fears and shrink fiscal impacts. Vice President JD Vance proposed a $5,000 baby bonus as a candidate, which Trump supported. Based on the most recent data from the National Center for Health Statistics, there were about 3.6 million births in 2023. A $5,000 baby bonus would have cost roughly $18 billion a year, whereas Trump Accounts are not likely to exceed $3 billion annually. These accounts are also time-limited, from Jan. 1, 2025, to Jan. 1, 2029, although the accounts may be renewed. I sympathize with supporters of baby bonuses as a policy solution to reversing our declining fertility rates. Demographic changes of fewer babies and longer life expectancies are stressing our Social Security system. However, baby bonuses have been tried in other countries with mixed results at best. A few thousand dollars is not enough to lure willing adults to procreate. The cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 on average is about $297,000. Children are costly. I know; I have three of them. From cribs to diapers, prenatal vitamins to formula, and child care to sports teams, our expenses compound daily. I view Trump Accounts as a solution to a different problem: the affordability crisis. Young people feel priced out of generational milestones such as homeownership. Turning age 18 with meaningful savings would help younger people break into the housing market sooner. The funds could also serve as the capital to spur a new generation of entrepreneurs. When traditional bank loans are not an option for young or risky borrowers, funds from these Trump accounts could purchase tools and equipment, a vehicle, or supplies to get started with one's own endeavor. These future property owners and business owners will pay it forward through the fruits of their ingenuity and hard work. Some sort of family-supporting policy was guaranteed to be part of the big, beautiful bill. Investment accounts that spread the virtue of saving, democratize investing and promise future economic growth are a generational hand up. That is far better than a handout wrapped up in swaddling clothes. Patrice Onwuka is the director of Independent Women's Center for Economic Opportunity.
CNBC
12-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Altimeter's Brad Gerstner's offers his AI playbook
Brad Gerstner, Altimeter Capital Founder & CEO, joins CNBC's "Halftime Report" to discuss his AI strategy.
Globe and Mail
06-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Move Over Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Micron. Brad Gerstner's Altimeter Capital Just Gave Investors 2,999,536 Reasons to Check Out the Hottest Artificial Intelligence (AI) IPO Stock of 2025
Brad Gerstner is the founder and CEO of hedge fund Altimeter Capital. Some of his more notable wins include being an early investor in data cloud company Snowflake and Asian ridehailing leader Grab. As is the case with many investment funds, Altimeter has made artificial intelligence (AI) stocks a core feature of its portfolio in recent years. According to its most recent 13F filing, Altimeter trimmed its stake in Nvidia during the first quarter while completely dumping its stakes in Micron and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Interestingly, though, I discovered that Altimeter holds a position in red-hot AI IPO stock CoreWeave(NASDAQ: CRWV). This comes from an investment Altimeter made when CoreWeave was still a private company. As of the close of trading on June 4, Altimeter's 2,999,536 shares were worth about $489 million Let's explore some of the core themes in the ongoing AI revolution to try and discern what may have motivated these moves. From there, I'll break down CoreWeave's business and recent price action to help determine if the stock is a good buy right now. Why sell Nvidia, Micron, and Taiwan Semi stock right now? Considering how robust demand has been for high-end graphics processing units (GPU) and memory storage chips, reducing exposure to names such as Nvidia, Micron, and Taiwan Semi looks like a head-scratcher on the surface. However, this is not the first time that Gerstner has shown some contrarian characteristics in his investment style. While I cannot say for certain what Altimeter's current thesis is regarding chip stocks or the AI movement more broadly, I've come up with some reasons that may help justify the fund's recent moves. According to industry estimates, Nvidia currently controls roughly 90% (or more) of the data center GPU market. While a lead like that might suggest Nvidia's moat is insurmountable, there are some risks to consider. First, Nvidia's revenue sources are heavily concentrated among cloud hyperscalers such as Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft. Each of these companies has been developing their own custom AI chips, potentially signaling their intentions to migrate away from Nvidia's architecture over time. When you layer on top that the fact that Advanced Micro Devices has steadily been gaining momentum in the data center arena -- as its deals with Oracle, Microsoft, and Meta Platforms demonstrate -- Nvidia's growth could be on course for some deceleration. Lastly, one of the storm clouds hanging over Nvidia at the moment is its exposure to China. New U.S. export controls and President Donald Trump's tariffs could cut into its sales there. Micron operates in a unique pocket of the AI realm. It specializes in memory storage chips, which are vital hardware for data centers, personal computers, and smartphones, among other technologies. With that said, memory chips are relatively commoditized. On top of that, a shift toward cloud-based AI infrastructure could potentially serve as a headwind for Micron's hardware-centric chip memory business. Taiwan Semiconductor specializes in fabrication services -- its foundries are where chips designed by Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, and a host of others are actually manufactured. While demand for GPUs and other types of AI chips is strong, a deceleration in sales growth from key customers (i.e., Nvidia) could trickle down to TSMC's business, too. Furthermore, most of TSMC's factories are located in Taiwan. Given the ongoing geopolitical pressures Taiwan faces from China, it's possible that U.S. chip designers like AMD or Nvidia could begin to turn to alternative foundry providers such as Intel. What does CoreWeave do? CoreWeave is a cloud computing infrastructure provider that offers its clients access to Nvidia GPUs and a host of other chip integrations. As such, its business is not as exposed to the time it takes to design and manufacture sophisticated hardware -- unlike the names explored above. In a way, this makes the hyperscaler more nimble than other chip and data center stocks, allowing the company to scale at a faster pace. CoreWeave is able to take advantage of the booming chip landscape but more so on the AI training and inferencing side. Ultimately, it fills the gap between producing chipsets and accessing optimized AI cloud infrastructure. It's not that Nvidia, Micron, or TSMC are poor investment choices right now. It's simply that those businesses might be reaching levels of maturity, whereas CoreWeave's model could be in the early phases of exponential expansion. Is CoreWeave stock a good buy right now? The chart below illustrates how CoreWeave's price-to-sales (P/S) ratio has progressed since its initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year. There are a couple of big takeaways from this chart. First, it's clear that CoreWeave has experienced notable valuation expansion. In my view, outsize momentum is propelling CoreWeave stock right now -- and buying in the wake of its recent climb could leave you as an unsuspecting bag holder. In addition, CoreWeave's P/S multiple is almost fourfold that of Oracle -- which also provides core data center infrastructure services. Oracle is a mature, profitable business, unlike CoreWeave's high-cash-burn operation. While I understand the thesis behind CoreWeave's value proposition in the AI landscape, I think the stock is overbought right now. I would pass on investing at its current valuation, but would keep tabs on the company and its growth prospects. Should you invest $1,000 in CoreWeave right now? Before you buy stock in CoreWeave, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and CoreWeave wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider whenNetflixmade this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation,you'd have $668,538!* Or when Nvidiamade this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation,you'd have $869,841!* Now, it's worth notingStock Advisor's total average return is789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you joinStock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
