Jamie Thingelstad

Current Events

I had guessed that Musk’s net worth would double in the next four years — which would be something like $700 billion.

Elon Musk’s net worth has climbed by more than $200 billion in 2024, a massive increase in the same year that the world’s richest person spent at least $277 million backing Donald Trump and other Republican candidates. — Washington Post, Dec 15, 2024

Leaves him at $442 billion now. Just another 50% to hit that $700 billion. 🎯

$277 million to get $200 billion? As Lawrence Lessig highlighted so well in Rebublic Lost — political grift has a very high ROI. 💸

Cartoon dog sitting calmly in a room engulfed in flames with a coffee cup, saying This Is Fine.

Wonder what Musk’s net worth will be four years from now?

Elon Musk’s net worth hit a record high of $347.8bn, according to Bloomberg. Mr Musk, already the world’s richest person, has had a profitable few weeks since the election of his buddy Donald Trump. Shares in Tesla, Mr Musk’s electric-vehicle company, rose by 3.8% on Friday. Investors clearly think there are advantages to being in the president-elect’s inner circle. — The Economist, November 23rd 2024

My guess — double. 😳

1,000 days today.

Ukraine marks 1000 days of full-scale war. “For 1,000 days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been confronting the enemy on the front line, which stretches over 1,000 kilometers,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Nov. 19, Day 1,000 of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. — The Kyiv Independent, November 19, 2024

🇺🇦

I voted on October 17 via mail and thanks to the impressively well run Minnesota voting system I can confirm my ballot was accepted by the election board to be counted today. 🇺🇸🗳️☑️

Middle-aged man in a plaid shirt giving a thumbs up outside wearing an I Voted sticker

Not one undecillion, but two!

Russia ordered Google to pay a fine of two undecillion roubles (roughly $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). The sum is many times bigger than the world’s GDP. The fine is punishment for restrictions on Russian state media on YouTube, a website that Google owns. A Kremlin spokesperson reportedly said that he “cannot even pronounce this number”. — The Economist, World in Brief, Nov 1 2024

Yes an undecillion is a thing. What is the point of a ruling like this?