When Spencer Mateega and Carlos Georgescu applied for famed startup incubator Y Combinator, their only plan was to ride the AI wave. They would decide on a product later.

Now, their San Francisco-based data labeling startup AfterQuery has surpassed $100 million in annual revenue run rate as it competes to sell training data to leading AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI.

Their first attempt, building AI agents for finance, failed—but it helped the pair pivot to data labeling, which has become a path to blockbuster valuations, as well as the three-comma club for founders.

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The Federal Reserve’s preferred metric for inflation improved in February, but the impacts to consumer prices due to the Iran conflict are still up in the air. The data likely sets up the central bank to hold interest rates steady, though it also revealed a drop in personal income.

Though Amazon’s data centers have taken numerous hits, literally, from conflict in the Middle East, Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services, told Forbes he’s optimistic about business in the region. AWS is a key part of the tech giant’s evolving AI business, as big tech could pour an estimated $500 billion into AI data centers and chips this year alone, according to a report by Goldman Sachs.

A LOOK AT THE S&P 493

Ever since ChatGPT’s 2022 debut, hype around generative AI has buoyed the U.S. stock market. For most of that time, the so-called Magnificent 7—Amazon, Apple, Meta, Tesla, Alphabet, Microsoft and Nvidia—largely reaped the benefits.

Now, the rest of the market is slowly but surely catching up. The Magnificent 7 has lost 7.64% year-to-date, according to Bloomberg’s Index, far more than the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq Composite. A recent report from LPL Financial found that while the Mag 7 earnings growth will likely more than double that of the rest of the index—the “S&P 493,” if you will—the gap between these two groups “is expected to narrow in coming quarters.”

“We’re in the earlier stages of seeing AI implementation impact broader pieces of the economy,” Jay Jacobs, U.S. Head of Equity ETFs at BlackRock, tells Forbes Daily.

Nonetheless, LPL’s chief equity strategist Jeff Buchbinder cautions not to give up on high-growth tech stocks.

“If you can look beyond this massive investment cycle, and if you believe in the productivity of the dream of AI, then you can see these tech stocks being valued at a much, much higher level than today,” he tells Forbes Daily.

WEALTH + ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Crypto’s richest man Changpeng Zhao said it was a “good thing” that Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity continues to be a mystery, following a sweeping New York Times investigation naming British cryptographer and Blockstream CEO Adam Back as the most likely suspect—though Back quickly denied it. Zhao said Nakamoto’s pseudonymity and disappearance from the crypto community makes Bitcoin the most decentralized cryptocurrency without one leader to heavily influence it or be a target for regulators.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and his wife Christie turned his family’s struggling plumbing business into a statewide home services empire before cashing out and investing in real estate and a frequently traded stock portfolio. Today, Forbes estimates that he is worth around $60 million—12 times the fortune of his predecessor, Kristi Noem.

SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT

The Department of Justice is probing the NFL over alleged anticompetitive practices that harm consumers, the Wall Street Journal reported, though the scope of the investigation isn’t clear. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have recently expressed concern about the high costs for football fans due to the NFL’s exclusive deals with streaming platforms and cable channels, though the NFL has historically been protected from some antitrust regulation.

World leaders expressed skepticism about the fragile ceasefire deal that seems to already be on precarious footing, including the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who warned continued attacks from Israel in Lebanon “are putting the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under ​severe strain.” President Donald Trump has said Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire agreement, though direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin next week in Washington, D.C.

Forbes 250: The Greatest Historic Self-Made Americans

Abraham Lincoln once wrote to a young man who asked him for advice to “always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.”

That sentiment is at the heart of an American principle that Honest Abe himself embodied: that unlike in the Old World, in the United States, anyone can rise to the top. So in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Forbes presents the 250 Greatest Historic Self-Made Americans—men and women who rose from slavery, poverty, abuse to achieve fame, fortune and impact.

To identify these hustlers and strivers, we dug into Forbes’ century-plus-old archives, looking for classic tales of entrepreneurial capitalists. Then we queried Gemini and ChatGPT for ideas. We also polled the historical societies of all 50 states, because although we emphasized notable businessmen and industrialists, we also included influential scientists, artists and athletes.

Next, we ran those names past the experts: Louis Hyman, a professor of political economy in history at Johns Hopkins University and Abbylin Sellers, professor of public policy at Pepperdine University. Forbes editors determined the final ranking. It includes figures like Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou.

WHY IT MATTERS "This list serves as a reminder that the story of America and the stories of self-made people are fundamentally intertwined,” says Forbes senior editor Alex Knapp. “These are biographies of perseverance and grit, highlighting those who escaped poverty, lack of education and other key barriers to rise to wealth, fame—and even the White House. Along the way, they fundamentally shaped our nation’s present."

MORE Forbes 250 Self-Made Americans

Forbes’ list of the 250 Greatest Self-Made Americans includes some figures who were once homeless, including LeBron James, Al Pacino and Cher. Some crashed on friends’ and family members’ couches, while others lived out of their cars:

At least 15: The number of list members who experienced extended periods of housing instability

83: The number of days James missed during his fourth-grade year when he and his single mother did not have a permanent home

$700: How much Paul Mitchell cofounder John Paul DeJoria started his company with, while sleeping in his car

A new study shows that around one in seven roles listed are “ghost jobs,” the term for a job that’s actively listed, but not being hired for. To avoid wasting your time, only apply to positions posted in the last couple of days, or a week maximum, and try networking so you find out about opportunities before they even go live. And check to see if the hiring manager has posted about the role on LinkedIn, a strong indicator that it’s real.

Nintendo is receiving backlash from fans for a new game over its graphics and limited gameplay. Which game is it?

A. “Pokémon Champions”

B. “Mario Tennis Fever”

D. “Final Fantasy VII”

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

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