Good morning. It's Thursday, June 11, and welcome to this week's Business & Finance newsletter. This week, we're covering billionaires, Anthropic (in light of its pending IPO), and, given President Donald Trump's upcoming changes to federal student loan repayment plans on July 1, student debt.
—Phoebe Bain, 1440 Business & Finance Section Editor
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Breaking Down Billionaires |
Billionaires, explained
A billionaire is anyone with a net worth of over $1B, whether their assets are liquid, illiquid, or a mix of both. Today, the world has a record number of 3,428 billionaires, with a combined net worth of about $20T as of March 2026. The United States is home to almost 1,000 billionaires—more than any other country in the world.
The number of billionaires in the US has grown dramatically in recent years—in the 1990s, for instance, America was only home to about 60 or 70 billionaires. Beyond the forces that have boosted American upper-class net worths more broadly, such as rising real estate values, stock prices, and the growing prevalence of 401(k) plans and IRAs, the Big Tech boom and favorable capital gains tax treatment have been significant drivers of billionaire class growth specifically.
Some argue that the rise in billionaires is a net good for Americans and the US economy at large, as they often create a significant number of jobs at companies they own and operate while donating to philanthropic institutions. Critics of billionaires have argued that their large concentrations of wealth and relatively low tax rates exacerbate economic inequality.
Explore everything else we've found on Billionaires.
Also, check out ...
> The world's top 20 billionaires in 2026, visualized. (View)
> A detailed look at what's driving the billionaire class's growth. (Listen)
> How Taylor Swift became a billionaire. (Watch)
> Inside the rise of the US millionaire class. (Read) |
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In partnership with Alumni Ventures |
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Invest Alongside Firms Like a16z & Bessemer |
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Alumni Ventures is one of America's most active VC firms—and now accredited investors can co-invest alongside the same VC firms backing exciting companies in AI, Deep Tech, Quantum Computing, Cybersecurity, and Space.
Their curated deal flow gives you access to high-potential startups co-invested alongside the likes of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Bessemer, and Y Combinator. No sourcing. No guesswork. Just access to the deals institutional investors are already backing.*
No cost to browse. No obligation to invest. See what's available in the current portfolio and decide for yourself. See Current Startup Deals → |
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What is Anthropic?
Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company and the developer of Claude, a set of large language models powering the company's AI chatbot of the same name. In 2021, wanting to be more safety-oriented and better understand how models make decisions, siblings Daniela and Dario Amodei left OpenAI to cofound Anthropic alongside five other former employees. As a public benefit corporation, it has promoted the responsible development of AI for the long-term good of humanity.
Rather than relying solely on human feedback to improve Claude, Anthropic introduced constitutional AI. This approach enables AI systems to self-critique and revise their outputs in accordance with a codified set of principles to reduce potential harm. The company also invented the Model Context Protocol, a standardized method for connecting LLMs to external data and tools, enhancing these models' capabilities and helping clear the way for AI agents.
As of early 2026, Anthropic's partnerships with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have made Claude the only advanced, large-scale LLM natively available across all three cloud service providers. Despite controversies over its use of copyrighted material to train AI, Claude's use in cyberattacks, and disputes with the Pentagon over mass surveillance, these partnerships and additional enterprise adoption have brought Anthropic's valuation to $965B as of May 2026.
Explore everything else we've found on Anthropic.
Also, check out ...
> The history of Anthropic began with a break from OpenAI over safety concerns. (Watch)
> Why a vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business. (Watch)
> Learn about Claude Shannon, the person Anthropic's Claude is named after. (Read)
> Why Anthropic destroyed millions of books to build its AI model. (Read) |
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🫶 Humankind: As average US wedding prices continue to rise, one New York venue is running a contest in which the couple with the best love story wins a free wedding. |
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Student debt 101
For decades, higher education has been a key step to middle- and upper-class prosperity for millions of Americans. But the rising costs of a degree—tuition, fees, living costs, and more—have left many with significant debt burdens after leaving school. Americans' total amount of outstanding student loans now exceeds the country's credit card debt ($1.3T).
As of December 2025, roughly 43 million Americans held a cumulative $1.7T in federal student debt—a sum equal to the 12th largest economy in the world. Factor in private loans, and the total rises to $1.8T.
The average borrower with student debt owed around $39K, with estimated payments of $394 per month, as of March 2026. Average annual tuition now ranges from around $10K for an in-state public university to more than $70K for a private institution. Those figures have tripled since 1970, accounting for inflation.
Some economists argue the burden creates a net drag on the economy. Partial or total outstanding loan forgiveness has become a hotly debated policy issue, with advocates arguing it would have positive economic benefits and critics countering it disproportionately helps upper-income households.
Explore everything else we've found on Student Debt.
Also, check out ...
> How student loans became so prevalent. (Watch)
> See how student debt differs from state to state. (View)
> The upcoming changes to federal student loan repayment and borrowing, explained. (Read)
> Play the role of a student as you try to navigate college and remain debt-free. (Explore) |
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One Story We're Taking Stock In |
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On the eve of SpaceX's IPO—which is expected to be the biggest IPO of all time, valuing the company at $1.77T—there is arguably no bigger story in business than the trio of upcoming AI company IPOs, as OpenAI and Anthropic are also expected to go public with $1T+ valuations in the coming weeks and months.
The reasons why these IPOs matter to everyday Americans (for instance, because many of us with a 401(k) or IRA will soon have a personal financial stake in the success of SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic as these companies are added to major stock indexes) are far too numerous to list here. Thankfully, the below feature story—which was among our favorite reads of the week—explains how these initial public offerings will determine the American financial system's near-term fate in a way that's digestible and easy to comprehend. |
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> Elon Musk is dropping a boulder in a kiddie pool. (Read) |
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In partnership with Alumni Ventures |
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Co-Invest With Top VC Firms Like a16z |
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Please support our sponsors! |
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We curate hundreds of resources into 1440 Topics each week. Here are some of our favorites from the world of business and finance.
> How the average American is feeling about their personal finances.
> The story of a bank robber who studied architecture and used blueprints of safes and banks to execute his heists.
> Which sports broadcasts have the most sports betting ads?
> The countries with the fastest billionaire growth, visualized.
> Inside the business of Le Creuset, the company famous for its $400 cast-iron pots.
> The braiding shop that began making $130K a day by staying open for 24 hours after its owner fell into a Ponzi scheme.
> What banks do with your money after you deposit it.
> How to save money on pet care.
> See how pension plan adoption has declined since 1975.
> How life insurance works. |
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"I can understand wanting to have millions of dollars, there’s a certain freedom ... that comes with that. But once you get much beyond that, I have to tell you, it’s the same hamburger." |
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1440 Business & Finance content is for general informational and educational purposes only. It should not be construed as tax, legal, investment, or business advice. |
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*Disclosure: Co-investors are shown for illustrative purposes only and do not represent all co-investors with which AV has invested. There can be no guarantee of who may be co-investors in the future. The identity of any co-investor is not a guarantee of investment quality or performance. Venture capital investing involves substantial risk, including the risk of loss of all capital invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results. |
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