Latest news with #ForbesIconoclastSummit
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The advice Elon Musk's lawyer gives his high-profile clients in times of crisis
High profile attorney Alex Spiro has one key piece of advice for clients wading through tricky times: Don't panic. The words of wisdom were shared as one of his most high-profile clients, Elon Musk, is in the midst of a public feud with President Donald Trump. It's unclear if or how the attorney is guiding him through this particular debacle. The lawyer, who has also represented Alec Baldwin, Mayor Eric Adams, and Jay-Z, through muddy legal waters, shared the advice he gives to clients during times of crisis at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit on Thursday. "You got to get people to take a breath and not panic," Spiro said, adding that it's easier for some people to do so more than others. A source close to Spiro got more specific. Those who know him know that his No. 1 piece of advice is to "have an ice-cream cone." In other words, step away from the keyboard and cool off. "Nothing is better than chocolate ice cream," the source close to Spiro said. The attorney isn't certain whether clients listen to the advice, but they at least pretend to, the source said. Spiro, who spends a good chunk of his time on risk mitigation, told the Iconoclast Summit attendees that he tries to get clients to put their situation into perspective and focus on the facts and evidence in front of them. "The sky is not falling," Sprio said. "The things that we think are a big deal today won't be a big deal in a month." While most CEOs aren't publicly blasting the president on social media, many are navigating global and economic uncertainty, from looming tariffs to market volatility. Spiro said the best CEOs and CFOs he knows know how to take a "methodical" approach to uncertainty, which in the case of tariffs, would involve looking into their supply chains and preparing for what may happen next. "I try to follow and steal the best ideas from the smartest people I know and then tell others about it," Spiro said. "That works out usually." Musk is one of those people. Spiro said on Thursday that Musk likes to cut costs during times of uncertainty because it leaves organizations more nimble on the other side. The billionaire is most recently known for doing so in the government, where he led efforts to slash about 20,000 federal employees, or about 1% of its workforce. Musk also laid off 10% of Tesla's workforce in waves last year and cut Twitter's workforce in half after he purchased it in 2022.
The Hill
13 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin knocks Trump administration on economy
Citadel founder Ken Griffin knocked the Trump administration for a series of moves he said would undoubtedly cause stagflation. Griffin, who's notably criticized the president's trade policies, slammed the White House for promoting tax reductions amidst a fiscal deficit. 'It would be a textbook stagflation scenario. The question is, is it for several quarters, or does it become for several years?' he asked during remarks at Forbes Iconoclast Summit on Thursday. Griffin voted for Trump in 2024, but has vocalized apprehensions on the slated impact of tariffs alongside other billionaires and business owners. 'The question is, is the shock from the tariff policies one time in nature, or will the scramble to build manufacturing America put us into a wage growth spiral for years to come,' the hedge fund CEO asked. 'That we don't know the answer to, but that is a real risk in the current environment,' he continued. Griffin said he and others remain leery over Trump's push to increase manufacturing in the U.S., an effort the CEO said would bolster low paying jobs without a return on investment. 'There's no money in it for anybody, and there's certainly no money for people who are doing those jobs,' he told the audience. 'So I don't understand for the life of me why we aspire to bring back to the United States jobs that are actually moving out of China into lower cost jurisdictions. Why?' he added. 'Why are we aspiring to be the nation of the lowest cost and lowest paid workforce in the world? That makes no sense to me.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hedge funder Ken Griffin doesn't get why Trump wants to take China's jobs: ‘Why are we aspiring to be the nation of the lowest- cost workforce in the world?'
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin says President Donald Trump's tariff policy on China is misguided as the jobs it would 'reshore' are mostly those making low-value items. 'There's no money in there for anybody, and there's certainly no money for doing those jobs,' Griffin said at a forum in New York. Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel Securities who backed Donald Trump in 2024 election, is taking issue with the president's tariff policy. Griffin tore into Trump's tariffs during an appearance Thursday at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit in New York, describing tariffs as 'protectionist policy' that 'comes at a great price to the U.S. consumer.' The president's shifting tariff policy has resulted, for now, in a 30% tariff on most imports from China and the end of ultra-cheap imports from the likes of fast-fashion label Shein and Temu. And that pain for the U.S. consumer isn't helping the American worker, Griffin said. 'Americans want to wear Nikes, not make them,' he said, quoting a criticism from New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway. 'I don't know why we strive to bring back low value-added products to the United States,' Griffin continued. 'There's no money in there for anybody, and there's certainly no money for doing those jobs…. Jobs are actually walking out of China into lower-cost jurisdictions. 'Why are we aspiring to be the nation of the lowest cost workforce in the world?' In fact, China is asking the same question, according to Griffin. Speaking with Forbes editor-at-large Maneet Ahuja at the summit, Griffin recounted his trip to China in March, when he met with multiple government officials to discuss investing in the country. 'China dreams to be like the United States—a nation of very high value-added jobs, a nation rich in services, rich in high development … [with] a stunning GDP per capita,' Griffin said. ''China aspires to be like the United States,''Griffin said a Chinese government official told him. The person said, ''We want to be like you. Why are you trying to be like us?'' and gave 'a look of befuddlement,' according to Griffin. Griffin said he does support reshoring jobs—but for high-technology, high-value products. 'It's one thing to make Nikes, it's another thing to make F-35 fighters,' he said. This story was originally featured on 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
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock CEO on Tariffs: ‘We're Going to See Very Elevated Inflation'
Speaking at Forbes Iconoclast Summit, BlackRock's CEO Larry Fink said he expected higher inflation if the tariffs are implemented in the coming months. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Citadel CEO worried by rising cost of US default insurance
By Carolina Mandl and Davide Barbuscia NEW YORK (Reuters) -Citadel's founder and CEO Ken Griffin said on Thursday it is "unfathomable" that a financial instrument to protect against an eventual U.S. default is being priced at levels close to some European countries. "I never thought in my life I would see the U.S. priced higher in risk cost than a number of countries like Spain, Germany or France," he said at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit. "You gotta be kidding me." Griffin said the credit default swap (CDS) market has some issues with liquidity which impact prices, but still he considered that conversations around how close the swaps are trading are "unfathomable." Spreads on U.S. five-year CDS - market-based gauges of the risk of a sovereign default – stood at 48 basis points on Thursday, compared to 50 bps for Italy, 32 bps for Spain and 35 bps for France, S&P Global Market Intelligence data showed. U.S. sovereign CDS spreads widened to their highest since the debt ceiling crisis of 2023 in recent weeks. The move in the spreads of U.S. credit default swaps comes amid concerns around the country's fiscal deficit and negotiations over a tax bill that is estimated to add more than $2 trillion to the U.S. debt. Griffin did not specifically comment on the bill, but criticized the U.S. fiscal deficit. "The United States' fiscal house is not in order. You cannot run deficits of six or 7% at full employment after years of growth. That's just fiscally irresponsible," he said.
