Forbes Daily: Warren Buffett Says He’s ‘Going Quiet’ In Annual Letter
Despite progress toward an end to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, uncertainty persists at airports across the country.
The FAA on Monday began restricting the use of private jets at 12 major airports, an announcement that comes on the heels of the decision to cut 10% of commercial flights last week. But aviation experts told Forbes that the grounding of private jets at certain airports won’t meaningfully ease pressure on air traffic controllers.
President Donald Trump offered bonuses to those professionals who have not missed work during the shutdown, and said others “must get back to work, NOW” in a post on Truth Social.
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FIRST UP
Warren Buffett
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In his annual Thanksgiving letter, billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced Monday he would “step up the pace of lifetime gifts” to his children’s three foundations. The 95-year-old, who plans to step down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO by year’s end, will provide about $1.35 billion worth of Class B shares to the foundations, but will keep “a significant amount of ‘A’ shares” until shareholders are confident with his successor, longtime Berkshire executive Greg Abel. The “Oracle of Omaha” also indicated he will no longer write Berkshire’s annual report, and that he is “going quiet.”
The news of a potential end to the ongoing government shutdown fueled a broader stock rally on Monday—and added tens of billions to the fortunes of the world’s richest people. Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, among others, each saw their net worths rise sharply, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all saw gains to start the week.
BUSINESS + FINANCE
Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Tesla’s stock jumped nearly 4% Monday, a surge that came after Cybertruck chief Siddhant Awasthi said he is leaving the company. Critics have slammed the Cybertruck as one of the auto industry’s biggest misfires, citing eight recalls in the vehicle’s first 13 months, as year-to-date sales have dropped 38% from the same period a year ago.
MONEY + POLITICS
Donald and Stefan Brodie are two of the newest members of the Forbes Billionaires List, making much of their fortune after selling their company Purolite for $3.7 billion in 2021. Despite such success, the brothers have been dogged by a criminal conviction from over two decades ago, and were denied a presidential pardon by Joe Biden in 2023. Stefan has since appeared on the donor list for President Donald Trump’s ballroom renovation, as the two have increased their political contributions.
The Supreme Court will not take up a case asking justices to overturn its decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the court announced Monday. The case had brought widespread attention due to fears from LGBTQ advocates that the 6-3 conservative court could overturn the landmark 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision.
TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
Oats Overnight CEO Brian Tate
Oats Overnight; Photo by satamedia-Getty Images
Brian Tate spent most of his twenties as a professional poker player, and claims he banked nearly $10 million in winnings before seeking out his next challenge. He bet $500,000 of his winnings to kickstart Oats Overnight, seeing an opportunity to popularize an old take on oatmeal through convenience. Consumers seem to love it: This year, the company will bring in more than $200 million in revenue, and Forbes now estimates Oats Overnight to be worth $350 million.
TRENDS + EXPLAINERS
The Trump Administration is floating the idea of introducing 50-year mortgages as a way to address the ongoing affordable housing crisis and drive up first-time home buying—though the proposal has received sharp backlash from a number of conservatives. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said it “seems like a recipe for default,” while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said that the plan would benefit the banks “while people pay far more interest over time and die before they ever pay off their home.”
DAILY COVER STORY
OpenAI Could Be Blowing As Much As $15 Million Per Day On Silly Sora Videos
John Lund/Blend Images LLC/Getty Images
For a company that’s burning more than twice what it’s earning, OpenAI is giddily rolling out some ingeniously reckless new ways of racking up losses. Valued at about $500 billion, the AI behemoth last week projected an annual recurring revenue run rate of $20 billion.
That’s all well and good—until you remember it lost more than $12 billion last quarter.
On September 30, OpenAI debuted its Sora video creation app for Apple’s iOS platform, inspiring a vast slop of fantastical Ring security videos, gratuitously farting celebrities (deceased only), and some truly disturbing home shopping network ads. By Halloween the app had been downloaded 4 million times, per AppFigures, and was churning out millions of 10-second AI-generated videos per day.
So just how much money is OpenAI spending on this firehose of imbecilic video? More than $5 billion annualized, or around $15 million per day, according to Forbes estimates and conversations with experts. When Bill Peebles, OpenAI’s head of Sora, observed last month that “The economics are currently completely unsustainable,” he was right on the money.
WHY IT MATTERS “Whether you use Sora or not, OpenAI’s latest string of dealmaking has made itself one with the fates of Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, Nvidia and the like,” says Forbes reporter Phoebe Liu.
“Most of us—through index funds, 401(k)s or just plain retail investing—have stakes in those companies. The tech giants are so big that their performance has ripple effects on the entire economy, which now in some way hinges on OpenAI’s path to profitability. Thus it’s important to understand how OpenAI is spending its money and what it hopes to gain from doing so—and decide how you feel about the rapidly ascending company’s choices.”
MORE Why Sam Altman Won’t Be On The Hook For OpenAI’s Massive Spending Spree
FACTS + COMMENTS
Shares of Tyson Foods rose modestly Monday after the company posted mixed results, but reported that chicken sales have reached a three-year high amid a drop in demand for increasingly pricey beef:
$13.86 billion: The amount in sales Tyson posted for its last fiscal quarter, just shy of Wall Street’s expectations of $14.11 billion
4%: How much chicken sales rose over last year, the company said, while predicting they’ll continue to rise another 2% to 4% in fiscal year 2026
$94 million: How much Tyson’s beef business lost last quarter on an adjusted basis, as the largest meat company in the U.S. expects losses in the beef sector to continue into 2026
STRATEGY + SUCCESS
A business leader’s values shouldn’t just be a marketing slogan or a few nice words on an “About Us” page, they should be embedded throughout your company’s operations, structure and culture. Commitment to employee well-being and engagement is the mark of an organization’s lasting credibility, and—as evidenced by companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia and Chobani—a strong value set doesn’t come at the expense of profits.
VIDEO
QUIZ
As part of its effort to become a national powerhouse and global leader in AI-related research and education, which major university announced plans to hire 100 new tenure-track faculty with expertise in AI over the next five years?
A. UCLA
B. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
C. The Ohio State University
D. Duke University
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire.