Fortune

Few companies have been able to replicate the LEGO Group’s success. Its toys span generations, from adult hobbyists reconnecting with their favorite toys to the next generation. Since its humble beginnings in 1932 as no more than a carpenter’s passion project, Lego toys have become an indispensable part of childhood. Name the topic, and there’s likely a set for it, whether architecture, anime, racing, or jazz music.  Over the decades, Lego could very well have been replaced by more addictive and appealing electronic gadgets. But that wasn’t the case—if anything, things couldn’t be better for the family-owned Danish company. It outperformed the toy market with record sales in 2023, with a 2% revenue growth, notching DKK 66 billion ($9.7 billion) against a 7% decline in the broader industry. What, then, is Lego’s secret sauce to keep kids (and, more recently, adults) hooked to its colorful bricks? Fortune takes an exclusive look behind the scenes of Lego’s product development and the secret to keeping the iconic brand relevant. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eDezmctq

Peloton was one of the hottest commodities on the market during the pandemic. But as the dangers of COVID-19 subsided, so too did the stock of the fitness equipment company—and its former billionaire CEO John Foley says his wealth got wiped out in the process. "I’ve lost all my money," he revealed. "I’ve had to sell almost everything in my life.” Read more in my latest for Fortune 👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/ep3bdFzE #leadership #billionaire #personalfinance

KKR is dreaming bigger than any outfit on Wall Street and embarking on a remarkable journey that few could have seen coming. Bucking the famously “capital-light” approach their industry was built on, they’re aiming to fashion the next Berkshire Hathaway—in other words, channeling the cash flows from alternative money-spinning franchises to acquire a roster of strong, stable businesses they own outright for a long period of time. That unorthodox “ownership” approach, they claim, will drive the firm’s valuation to levels never before witnessed in asset management. Another major leg of the strategy that’s also Warren Buffett–like: KKR’s 100% position in a giant insurer that’s not only a big profitmaker in its own right, but provides multiple billions a year in premiums for KKR’s fixed-income arm to manage. If co-CEOs Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall hit the mark, KKR would be worth one-third more than Bank of America’s value today, and almost 70% that of JPMorgan. But their strategy entails huge risks. Read more from the latest digital issue of Fortune Magazine: https://lnkd.in/ehXN5b2M

Neil Clifford, the boss of Kurt Geiger, one of Britain’s most prominent footwear brands, started his career a world away from the glitz and glamour of fashion. Growing up, the CEO failed almost all of his exams because of his dyslexia struggles. After leaving school with just one qualification in art, Clifford went to the job center and found work at a Fiat car dealership, where he was paid £25 ($33) a week. “That was my first job in August ‘83, so I suppose I’ve done all right,” Clifford told Fortune. He’s done all right indeed: The now 57-year-old went from the car dealership and cleaning toilets for extra pocket money to running £330 million-a-year ($432 million) business, Kurt Geiger—and has done so for more than two decades. Read more: https://lnkd.in/evXdQUDA

Sir Jim Ratcliffe likes to keep busy. As a reward for working a seven-day week at his €40 billion ($52 billion) petrochemical empire Ineos, the British billionaire treats himself to a flurry of side projects, from owning a London pub and a football club to embarking on a real estate splurge in the remotest parts of Iceland. The 71-year-old is among the richest people in the U.K., with a net worth estimated at £23.5 billion, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List. What do you do with all that wealth? For Ratcliffe, the answer appears to be living out each of his childhood fantasies. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eEh-_Sue

With rate cuts from the Federal Reserve looking more imminent, the housing market outlook has taken another sharp twist. According to Freddie Mac’s latest forecast, home prices will rise 2.1% in 2024 and 0.6% in 2025, marking the latest head-spinning turn, especially for this year. In April, the mortgage giant said home prices will increase only 0.5% in 2024 and 2025, down sharply from its forecast in March, when it predicted prices would rise 2.5% in 2024 and 2.1% 2025. Freddie Mac refrained from offering fresh home-price guidance between April and now, opting instead to switch to a quarterly cadence. That proved prescient as the dust has only recently settled from major upheavals in the markets and economic data. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ep5pGUwM

No, Taylor Swift did not endorse Donald Trump. Yes, the large crowds at a Kamala Harris rally were real. Do you agree? Whether you do or not, the fact that it is even a question shows that we are all in the throes of an ongoing AI election nightmare, one in which examples of AI-generated disinformation related to the 2024 election are quickly piling up. The chaos caused by generative AI during this election season, which expands on the spreading of falsehoods that famously accompanied the 2016 election as well as the aftermath of the 2020 election, has long been predicted. Back in December, Nathan Lambert, a machine learning researcher at the Allen Institute for AI, told Fortune that he thought AI would make the 2024 elections a “hot mess.” Read more:

In countries like Saudi Arabia, which have never won a gold medal, the prize winnings could be enough to set the athletes up for life—or certainly until the next Olympic Games. At the Tokyo Games in 2021, karate master Tareg Hamedi won the second-ever silver medal for Saudi Arabia, which made him a national hero—and millionaire. He neared the end of the match in plum position to win gold, but was disqualified for an illegal and dangerous move in which he kicked his Iranian opponent in the head, knocking the karateka unconscious. Ultimately, the opponent won gold and Hamedi claimed silver, which caused a stir in the karate community, but Hamedi conceded with respect and without objection. Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince, told Hamedi that he “was a gold medallist in his country’s eyes,” Reuters reported this week—and gave him the gold medal prize, worth $1.33 million. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eim_8Mxr

Some companies have introduced a new C-suite position: a chief AI officer (CAIO). But is that necessary? “Do You Really Need a Chief AI Officer?” is the title of an interesting new report in MIT Sloan Management Review that delves into this topic. The authors have experience in analyzing the potential value of CAIOs, and four have been chief digital officers across a variety of industries. Some of the pros of having a CAIO are to steer the AI focus and prioritization companywide, which can centralize management of AI risks, and reduce internal deficiencies. But there are cons as well. Read more:

Welcome to the fearful labor market. Despite a low unemployment rate, a record number of people are scared about losing their jobs. The percentage of workers who expect to be cut in the next four months reached 4.4% in July, according to a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That’s up from 3.9% compared to the same month last year, and the highest it’s been since the agency started keeping score in 2014. But increased job loss fears don’t tell the whole story of a labor landscape that has become a strange brew of bad vibes, high wages, and restless employees. Read more: