Getting even bigger

Good morning. Elon Musk is having problems getting his hands on his millions. His BFF Donald Trump is planning a trip to Paris. And where to go—and avoid—if you’re an expat. Listen to the day’s top stories.

More bucks for Elon Musk. SpaceX is said to be in talks to sell insider shares—ones held by employees and some early investors—that would value the rocket and satellite company at about $350 billion. Musk’s empire has swelled in value since the presidential election, with Tesla shares up 42% and the value of xAI more than doubling since it last raised money in May.

But when it comes to getting cash into his wallet, things aren’t going so well for Musk, even as his wealth has soared to more than $350 billion. For the second time, a Delaware judge struck down his monster pay package as excessive (it was worth $101.5 million at Monday’s close) even after shareholders thought it was OK. Tesla’s board will appeal.

Where to invest your inheritance? We have some ideas how to navigate what’s been called the “Great Wealth Transfer.” For the less monied investor, a finance professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business says it’s not too late to dive into the Magnificent Seven group of tech stocks. “I have never seen cash machines as lucrative as these companies,” Aswath Damodaran told Bloomberg TV.

Donald Trump’s first foreign trip since his election will be to Paris to attend the reopening of Notre Dame, the historic French cathedral that was almost destroyed in a 2019 fire. Dozens of heads of state will be there but there’s a good chance the president-elect will be the center of attention—remember how he barged to the front of the pack at a NATO summit seven years ago? He may also have some words of wisdom for French President Emmanuel Macron on how to handle the political crisis there.

Trump’s recipe for reviving US Steel? Not surprisingly, it’s a mix of tariffs and tax incentives. He repeated his opposition to the company’s sale to Nippon Steel but it may ultimately land on President Joe Biden’s desk for a decision. If the deal does get blocked, analysts say US Steel may end up being broken apart and sold in pieces. And listen out for more chatter on the future of Intel after the abrupt departure of CEO Pat Gelsinger yesterday. He was one of the main opponents to scenarios including a split of the factory and product-design businesses.

Deep Dive: Mapping the Brain

In early October, scientists revealed something spectacular—a complete map of a fruit fly’s brain. Roughly the size of a grain of salt, a fly’s brain has 140,000 neurons connected by almost 500 feet of biological wiring.

The Big Take

Opinion

For a glimpse into the future of the new post-American disorder, just look at the last week, Marc Champion writes. Syrian rebels retook Aleppo, protests erupted in Georgia and Ukraine faced increased Russian aggression. Until some new world order emerges, the threat of contagion, regional, or even global war will be ever present.

Before You Go

For anyone who fancies trying out the expat life, Mercer has come up with its latest Quality of Living Report. Picturesque cities in Europe dominate the top 10 while Boston is the leading US city down at No. 32. At the top of the pile is Zurich in sleepy Switzerland. Yes, it has low crime rates and the trains work but—be warned— it’s also witheringly expensive.

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