One $100 investment in the Medallion Fund skyrockets over time

Mutual funds in seven broad categories averaged a 13.1% annual return in 2023

That 13.1% figure can help set expectations for how mutual funds will perform in 2024 and 2025, past performance does not guarantee future results.

Compound interest has been called the eighth wonder of the world

That's because it has the near-magical quality of helping financial investments grow exponentially. Rather than accruing a standard lump of simple interest annually, compound interest takes the previous year’s yield and reinvests it as part of the principal.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Eleven of modern history's greatest investors

The greatest investors have all made a fortune off of their success and, in many cases, have helped millions of others achieve similar returns. Read about the lives and approaches of Carl Icahn, Warren Buffett, George Soros, and more.

Visualizing the AI investment wave

This data visualization from Reuters shows how massive AI investment has become by December 2025—revealing that, in today’s dollars, spending has surpassed the combined total of the Apollo program and the Manhattan Project.

Explore an alternative investments timeline

From what’s known as the first leveraged buyout, when JPMorgan acquired the Carnegie Steel Company, to the creation of the first-ever hedge fund, alternative investments have a long history.

PixelMap, one of the oldest NFT projects, made its creator an overnight millionaire

PixelMap suddenly became popular as crypto enthusiasts looked to own a piece of NFT history. Its creator talks about its surprise success in this podcast.

The Forbes Midas List is an annual ranking of the world's top 100 venture capitalists

To qualify, investors are ranked by portfolio companies that have gone public or been acquired for at least $200M in the past five years, or that have at least doubled their private valuation to $400M or more over the same period.

Meme stocks often have little underlying value but are fueled by crowd funding

"Meme stocks" is a phrase originating in the early 2020s, referring to companies with little underlying value who gain recognition through social media and whose stock price experiences rapid gains.

The stock market, explained in 3 minutes

Curious about the inner workings of the stock market? 1440's got your breakdown of how it works.

A successful angel investor can multiply their investment by 3 to 10 times

Angel investor Naval Ravikant explains what it takes to be successful in his field, from building an authentic brand to developing the judgment to choose which startups to back.

A barbell investment strategy focuses on balancing high-risk and low-risk investments

Barbell investment strategies emphasize bypassing medium-risk investments in favor of combinations of high-risk and low-risk investments. The idea is that the stability on the low-risk side offsets the volatility on the high-risk side, and would look like a barbell with two large weights on either end of the bar.

The median trust fund contains roughly $285K

That’s according to data from the US Federal Reserve. There isn’t a specific net worth that can help determine whether or not someone needs a trust—but contrary to popular belief, trust funds can be great estate planning tools, even for people who aren’t ultra-wealthy.

Microsoft was the most popular stock in hedge fund portfolios as of Q1 2024

874 hedge funds held Microsoft stock at the time. This infographic shows more of the most popular stocks in hedge fund portfolios.

Dive deep into the numbers that shape each YC deal

Y Combinator invests $500K into each company in any given batch. $125K of that investment converts into a fixed 7% in ownership of the startup, and the other $375K is invested on something called an uncapped MFN safe. YC explains what that means and more terms of the deal in a detailed article on their website

The 'Two and Twenty' structure allows hedge funds and private equity firms to earn significant returns

With this structure, firms charge limited partners or "LPs" a 2% management fee for overseeing the fund (assets under management or AUM) and take 20% of the fund's overall profits (carried interest). Many private credit funds also operate under this structure.

A 6-liter bottle of wine once sold for $1M

Some fine wines are considered alternative investments that could grow in value over time.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the Fed began a program of quantitative easing

This program injected trillions of dollars of new money into financial markets to stimulate the economy. The move catalyzed an 11-year bull run and was repeated during the pandemic. Experts argue such power could worsen wealth inequality and contribute to bubbles in housing and finance.

A landmark hedge fund court case once reshaped high finance

Hedge fund traders tied to insider trading by probing prosecutors are relatively rare. When billionaire hedge fund legend Steve Cohen, founder of SAC Capital, pleaded guilty to trading on inside information, Wall Street trembled. The outcome of the case remains a cautionary tale for traders today.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

The value of a 400 oz gold bar hit $1M for the first time in 2024

On Aug. 16, 2024, the gold bar size often seen in movies hit $1M in value for the first time when the price of gold reached $2,500 per troy ounce. A data visualization shows what other gold bar sizes are worth and compares them to the size of an iPhone.

Abu Dhabi operates 6 different sovereign wealth funds—one of which is the most active SWF in the world

Abu Dhabi, the capital district of the United Arab Emirates, manages its own funds distinct from those held by the United Arab Emirates federal government. Like other SWFs in the Middle East, the funds are secretive, but they are estimated to be worth about $1.8T altogether. Mubadala, one of Abu Dhabi's SWFs, became the most active fund in the world in 2024, deploying nearly $30B.

A startup is trying to create the diamond equivalent of the gold standard

It's called the Diamond Standard Co, and it uses an algorithm to assign standard values to a variety off small diamonds, grouping them together into individual coins. Historically, diamonds haven't been able to be classified as commodities or standardized like gold because they aren't uniform—factors such as clarity, cut, color, and carat size significantly influence the value of a diamond.

S&P 500 stocks that have increased their dividends for 25 consecutive years are called 'dividend aristocrats'

Dividend aristocrats are considered the best of the best on the S&P 500—all with market capitalizations above $3B, more than $5M in daily trading volume, and consecutive dividend growth for a minimum of 25 years. Some examples of dividend aristocrats are Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Walmart.

Stablecoins' market cap surged during 2021's crypto bull market

In 2020, the value of all stablecoins was equivalent to just 1% of all physical US dollars. Roughly five years later in August 2025, that value had jumped to roughly 11% of all US cash in circulation.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

F1 is a billion-dollar industry

...but that money doesn't come easily. Team principals have to constantly ensure money is coming in to fund their million-dollar cars every weekend. This CNBC video explores all the costs of running a team. It also shows how team principals woo sponsors and find ways to maximize their technology with a cost cap.

Why endowments took off at the turn of the century

After the Civil War, economic growth boosted philanthropy, much of it ending up in universities and colleges. Charles Eliot, the longtime president of Harvard, realized a university’s success was determined by how much money it could hold in the endowment. His approach to endowments radically changed their role in the modern university.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

SpaceX's S-1 or 'prospectus' revealed many previously unknown details about the company, including its unprofitability despite doing $18.7B in revenue in 2025, exactly how many voting shares Elon Musk will have in the company (roughly 85%), and more.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

The Mona Lisa's celebrity status and repeated restorations have obscured what made the painting so revolutionary for its time

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.