Outspoken billionaire Bill Ackman and his hedge fund Pershing Square are making another attempt at an IPO, in an unpredictable time for public markets.

Pershing Square plans for a dual listing on the New York Stock Exchange for Pershing Square Capital Management, Ackman’s hedge fund, and a new closed-end fund, Pershing Square USA, after earlier plans to list fell apart in 2024.

Once thought of as a potential blockbuster year for IPOs, 2026 could just as easily be an IPO winter, according to Drew Bernstein, cofounder of accounting firm Marcum Asia. “The most important factors that could determine what it comes down to is a few AI labs in Silicon Valley and a man sitting in the White House.”

This is a published version of the Forbes Daily newsletter, you can sign-up to get Forbes Daily in your inbox here.

Oracle shares spiked 8% in after-hours trading Tuesday afternoon as the company’s better-than-expected earnings included a big jump in cloud revenue. Still, the company has taken a hit from investor skepticism, with shares falling 56% since reaching an all-time high on September 10—the worst performance across all stocks on the S&P 500 over that period.

At least three ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz were struck by projectiles on Wednesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency announced, which could further raise tensions. Following reports that suggested Iran had begun placing mines in the strategic waterway, President Donald Trump warned the country to remove them or face “military consequences … at a level never seen before.”

WEALTH+ ENTREPRENEURSHIP

President Donald Trump’s second term has paid off for his personal fortune—which now sits at $6.5 billion, according to Forbes’ latest World’s Billionaires list, up by $1.4 billion from a year ago. That’s largely due to his crypto ventures, though he’d be worth even more if not for the recent cool-off in both crypto prices and shares of Truth Social parent company Trump Media and Technology Group.

What if AI agents had their own social media platform? That’s the premise behind Moltbook, which Meta agreed to acquire as the Facebook parent firm ramps up AI spending. The site claims to have 2.8 million AI agents registered as of Tuesday—humans aren’t allowed to have their own accounts—though nearly 200,000 of those agents have been verified by their “human owners.”

In addition to the seven service members who have died, around 150 U.S. troops have been injured in the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed a Reuters report Tuesday that offers a fuller picture of the conflict’s impact. Leavitt reiterated that President Donald Trump has not ruled out deploying U.S. troops on the ground in the Middle East.

The FDA issued a warning to weight loss drug maker Novo Nordisk for failing to report side effects potentially linked to Ozempic usage, including two deaths and a suicide. The company has seen its stock tank 26% this year as it faces regulatory scrutiny and increased competition.

Meet The 45 AI Newcomers To Forbes’ 2026 Billionaires List

If we’re in the middle of an AI market bubble, it’s still inflating, with leading firms like xAI, Anthropic and OpenAI commanding valuations in the hundreds of billions. Even companies with little revenue—and forget about profits—have become worth tens of billions of dollars.

All of this has been very good for the cofounders, C-suite executives and investors behind these artificial intelligence companies. There are now at least 86 such AI billionaires on Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, worth a collective $2.9 trillion. Forty-five of them have become billionaires over just the past year.

The richest new AI billionaire of all is Surge AI founder Edwin Chen, worth an estimated $18 billion. His data labeling company isn’t necessarily worth that much more than its competitors, but by eschewing traditional venture capital he held onto a massive stake—more than 75%—of the firm.

How long will all this last? During the dot-com era, every company became an impossibly valuable tech company. Then the bubble burst. Repeat, albeit to lesser extents, for software businesses in the 2010s and cloud businesses in 2022. Now, every company, from consultancies and research groups to medical firms and weapons manufacturers, is becoming an AI company.

There’s one big difference this time, though: These sky-high valuations are largely being determined not by public markets but by private investors. And while cracks have begun showing in the public markets, the party continues for most of the planet’s biggest AI firms for now.

WHY IT MATTERS “AI billionaires are the deepest-pocketed people influencing AI policy that affects our jobs, utility bills and everyday reality,” says Forbes reporter Phoebe Liu. “They’re going to be key players in this year’s midterm elections, and they’re central to the war in the Middle East as the region’s sovereign wealth funds have been pouring in much-needed capital to fund the AI data center buildout. But most of these AI billionaires’ companies aren’t yet profitable, so what happens when investors start asking for less spending and more returns? These players have the most to gain and a lot to lose.”

MORE World’s Billionaires List

Thirteen months in, the Canadian travel boycott of the U.S. is the most successful tourism boycott in recent memory. The number of Canadian visitors slid by double digits again in February, data from Statistics Canada shows:

15%: The drop in Canadians taking road trips into the U.S. compared to February 2025

Nearly a quarter: The share of Canadian travelers who have canceled a previously planned trip to the U.S., according to a survey from Longwoods International

‘It’s not going away quickly’ Amir Eylon, president and CEO of Longwoods International, told Forbes. “In my 37 years in the travel industry, I have never seen anything like what the Canadians have pulled off,” he said.

It’s important to communicate that you are ready for career advancement, and there are several key phrases that can help you do so—without sounding too pushy. Start by offering to “take ownership” of a solution to a problem, and asking “What would success look like?” to show you care about outcomes.

Universal Pictures reportedly won a bidding war to produce a biopic about a popular 1980s rock band. Which group is it?

Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Sarah Whitmire and Chris Dobstaff.

© Forbes