Economic View: Today’s Inequality Could Easily Become Tomorrow’s Catastrophe

Against the global backdrop of violent conflicts, withering financial conditions and increasingly extreme weather events, leaders of major institutions have needed to adapt and pursue meaning beyond creating profit, as top officers of four companies discussed Wednesday on the TIME100 Summit stage. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Tory Burch, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Tory Burch, creator of the Tory Burch Foundation and member of this year’s TIME100, said when she considers leading her company for the past 20 years she “can’t believe she’s still standing.” “Being an entrepreneur today is, as I mentioned, whiplash.

In 2021, troubled by a law change in Georgia that could restrict voting access, business leaders Ken Chenault and Ken Frazier partnered to gather the support of U. S. executives to take a stand. They secured more than 700 signatures for their statement opposing “discriminatory legislation.” But the pair told the audience at the TIME100 Summit on Wednesday that today’s political and social climate would make such an effort more difficult to achieve in 2024. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “I think it would be much harder to get CEOs to take a stand on those issues or many other issues,” said Frazier, the chairman of health assurance Initiatives at General Catalyst, and former CEO at pharmaceutical company Merck—which, as a premiere partner for the TIME100 franchise, was a sponsor of the event—during a panel discussion alongside Chenault.

Selena Gomez is committed to Rare Beauty, she said at the 2024 TIME100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday. Gomez launched the vegan and cruelty free makeup line in Sept. 2020, and it has since amassed a valuation of $2 billion, a figure that led to reports of a potential sale in Rare Beauty’s immediate future. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “I don’t think I’m going anywhere.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Chesnot ) The Senate last night approved a bill that orders TikTok owner ByteDance to sell the company within 270 days or lose access to the US market. The House had already passed the bill, and President Biden signed it into law today. The "Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" was approved as part of a larger appropriations bill that provides aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Enlarge / Players will be able to throw down a few bucks to get the Python Mk 2 starting next month. (credit: Frontier Developments) Elite: Dangerous players will soon be able to pay real money for access to in-game ships for the first time, a major change that already has some long-time players raging about a "pay-to-win" shift for the long-running game. Since Elite Dangerous launched over nine years ago, the game has sold ships in exchange for in-game credits earned through gameplay.

Enlarge / SpaceX landed its 300th booster on Tuesday. (credit: SpaceX webcast) SpaceX launches have become extremely routine. On Tuesday evening, SpaceX launched its 42nd rocket of the year, carrying yet another passel of Starlink satellites into orbit. Chances are, you didn't even notice. All the same, the cumulative numbers are mind-boggling.