A report released on Wednesday warns that the investment boom in artificial intelligence is a financial bubble that is “primed to pop” and harm working-class Americans if lawmakers don’t take concrete steps to shield them from the damage. The report, produced by Open Markets Institute and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, warns that Big […]

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• Several billionaires have left or plan to leave California over its proposed wealth tax.
• The departures could mean that the state loses more in the long term than the one-time tax brings in.
• That's according to a working paper shared by a pair of Stanford economists.

Supporters of California’s proposed billionaire tax say it could raise about $100 billion.

But a new paper puts the takings closer to $30 billion and warns that the state could ultimately lose money if its richest residents flee.

Proposition 40, which goes before voters on November 3, would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires who were California residents on January 1, 2026, with their wealth valued at the end of the year. Most of the tax proceeds would go toward healthcare.

In a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper released this week, Stanford economists Benjamin Jaros and Joshua Rauh estimate the tax would collect between $28 billion and $36 billion — far short of supporters' $100 billion projection.

They point to billionaires moving away before the residency cutoff. Their estimate also assumes legal challenges could prevent California from collecting some of the remaining tax.

The authors identified seven billionaires reported to have left the state before the cutoff: Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, investor Peter Thiel, director Steven Spielberg, Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick, investor David Sacks, and car loan tycoon Don Hankey.

Together, they accounted for nearly 30% of the wealth the researchers considered potentially taxable. The researchers noted that moving out of the state does not, by itself, settle someone's tax residency.

The authors' bigger concern is what happens afterward. California would collect the wealth tax only once, but billionaires who leave could stop paying state income taxes year after year.

If those departures and lost payments last, their model projects an average net loss of $38.9 billion. The researchers said they ran 100,000 simulations, and that in 85% of scenarios, losses outweighed revenues from the tax.

The forecast depends on who actually left and whether they stay away.

California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office offers a less stark view. It expects tens of billions in tax revenue and a possible ongoing drop of less than $1 billion a year in billionaire income-tax payments.

Brin is fighting the proposal on another front, too. He has given at least $102 million to Building a Better California, a group backing efforts to defeat or block Proposition 40. Two competing measures on the same ballot could keep Proposition 40 from taking effect, even if voters approve it.

While some billionaires have been vocal in their opposition to the tax, some have welcomed it. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CBS News last month that being able to pay an estimated $8 billion over five years would be a "privilege."

In filings released this week, it was revealed that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had considered moving out of California due to the tax, but ultimately decided to stay. To ensure that Zuckerberg has sufficient liquidity to pay without diluting his control of the company, Meta created a new class of shares.

Many economists back the plans. Six Nobel Prize winners — Daron Acemoglu, Abhijit Banerjee, Peter Diamond, Esther Duflo, Paul Krugman, and Joseph Stiglitz — signed a letter in September calling the proposal the "first opportunity for the people to start reining in the power of billionaires."

At the time, Acemoglu said it could counter years of tax avoidance by the very wealthy and curb their political influence. He said that while the proposal isn’t perfect, it "deserves support."

Greek retail investors are increasingly turning to stock markets with relatively small starting amounts and a long-term investment approach, according to a new report by Wealthyhood, the investment platform that partnered with the Bank of Cyprus to expand access to investing in Cyprus.

The report, titled ‘Greek Investor Pulse 2026: The New Greek Investor‘, marks the first anniversary of Wealthyhood’s launch in Greece in October 2025 and draws on anonymised, aggregated data from more than 35,000 registered users.

It found that the typical new investor is 34 years old and starts investing with €100, while more than eight in 10 investors are currently in profit.

The findings also point to growing interest in domestic shares, with one in five investors now holding Greek stocks or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) following the introduction of Greek shares to the platform in July 2026.

The report is also relevant to Cyprus, where Wealthyhood launched a co-branded investment platform with the Bank of Cyprus earlier this year, making investing available to residents regardless of whether they bank with the lender.

The Wealthyhood x BoC platform subsequently introduced trading in Cypriot and Greek shares, allowing retail investors to access companies listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange and Euronext Athens through a single application, with fractional investing available from €1.

“We thank our clients for their trust in our first year in Greece, and we make a promise that our app will keep getting better, day by day, to make investing easy, affordable and safe for everyone,” said Alexandros Christodoulakis, co-founder and chief executive of Wealthyhood.

Younger investors and broader participation

The report describes an investor base spanning different age groups, regions and income brackets, consisting mainly of employees and self-employed professionals on everyday incomes.

The median age is 34, with 34 per cent of investors under 30 and 31 per cent aged between 35 and 44.

Women account for approximately one in six new investors, although their returns were higher than those of men, at 23.8 per cent against 20.9 per cent on an annual basis.

Wealthyhood said increasing women’s participation remained one of the most important challenges for Greece’s investment market.

The figures also suggest that investing is no longer confined to high earners, with 58 per cent of investors declaring annual incomes below €20,000.

Around 66 per cent work full-time, while 17 per cent are self-employed.

Geographically, investors using the platform live in 458 towns across 73 of Greece’s 74 regional units.

Attica accounts for 51 per cent of investors, leaving 49 per cent living elsewhere in the country, while Thessaloniki follows with 11.7 per cent.

Other cities with notable investor populations include Patras, Heraklion, Chania, Larissa and Volos.

ETFs dominate first investments

Exchange-traded funds are the most common starting point for new investors, with 56 per cent making an ETF their first investment.

These funds provide exposure to a collection of stocks through a single investment, offering a way to diversify without buying each share individually.

The most popular first investment is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the performance of 500 of the largest US companies and was chosen by 18 per cent of new Greek investors.

The S&P 500 is also the most popular investment overall, while NVIDIA is the favourite individual stock across generations.

Trading activity is concentrated around the opening of US markets, with the busiest hour falling between 5pm and 6pm, often after the working day.

Weekdays account for 91 per cent of orders, compared with 9 per cent at weekends.

Recommendations from friends also play a significant role in bringing new investors to the market, with 23 per cent saying they began investing following a referral.

Greek shares gain ground

Since Greek stocks became available on the platform in July, one in five investors has added Greek shares or ETFs to their portfolio.

The report found that 21 per cent of every euro invested since July went into Greek stocks and ETFs, while Public Power Corporation (PPC) rose to become the eighth most popular stock of the year within just three months of the market becoming available.

The findings suggest that access through a digital platform has encouraged investors to diversify beyond international markets and consider domestic companies.

The report also examined investor behaviour during the March 2026 market sell-off, finding that users bought €1.82 for every €1 they sold.

Almost half of Greek investors had not sold any of their investments, a finding Wealthyhood said pointed to a relatively long-term approach despite market volatility.

Most investors in profit

Overall, 82.8 per cent of investors were in profit, with an average annualised return of 21.1 per cent.

The report also found that investors who traded less frequently achieved higher returns than those who made more frequent trades.

Those making fewer moves and avoiding selling recorded annualised returns of 23.3 per cent, compared with 18.5 per cent among more active traders.

Wealthyhood said five broad conclusions emerged from the first year of data, including wider access to investing, a long-term investment horizon, resilience during the March sell-off, growing interest in Greek shares and positive returns across much of its investor base.

The findings indicate a gradual change in how Greek retail investors approach financial markets, with smaller initial investments, diversification through ETFs and increasing participation in domestic stocks.

Wealthyhood said its aim was to contribute to public discussion about retail participation in capital markets, using real-world anonymised data to examine who invests, what they choose and how they react during periods of uncertainty.

The Association of Cyprus Banks (ACB) is taking part for the sixth consecutive year in the ASPIS awareness campaign, urging the public to remain vigilant against online scams and protect their personal and banking information.

The campaign is being run in cooperation with the Office of the Commissioner of Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation and the Cyprus Police, with the aim of protecting citizens from electronic fraud and strengthening security in digital transactions.

In an announcement, the association urged people to be “particularly careful” when dealing with suspicious text messages, emails and telephone calls requesting personal or banking details, passwords or transaction verification codes.

“A sense of urgency, suspicious links and requests for immediate confirmation of details are warning signs that should raise concerns among citizens,” the association said.

“As electronic transactions and digital communication become an integral part of everyday life, the methods used by fraudsters are constantly evolving,” it added.

“Awareness and prevention are therefore essential tools for protecting citizens and their property,” the association said.

The banking association stressed that the security of data, information and transactions remains a constant priority for the banking sector and the association itself.

“Banks invest in the security of their systems and transactions, while informing citizens about risks and protective measures remains crucial,” it pointed out.

The ASPIS campaign also underlines the importance of cooperation between the relevant authorities and the active participation of the public in efforts to create a safer digital environment, the association said.

Information on avoiding online scams, together with key warning signs that can help people identify attempted fraud, is available on the association’s website.

The association added that raising awareness and adopting simple digital security practices could make a substantial contribution to preventing fraud.

“Protection against online scams is everyone’s responsibility,” the association stressed.

“Awareness, vigilance and the responsible use of digital services are the first line of defence,” it concluded.

• Elon Musk said he's going to give every child in the US a share of his space company, SpaceX.
• That would amount to $10.7 billion, based on SpaceX's stock price and the 72 million US children.
• Governments and billionaires have previously explored ways to spread corporate ownership.

Christmas came early: Elon Musk wants American children to own stock in his space company, SpaceX, next year.

Musk wrote on X around 1 a.m. Monday that he planned to make the donation next year — "the first of many," he said. SpaceX went public this summer.

Giving one share to each of the estimated 72 million US children would cost roughly $10.7 billion at SpaceX's closing price of $147.92 on Friday. Musk's 4.77 billion SpaceX shares were worth about $706 billion at that price, so the gift would reduce his holdings by about 1.5%.

President Donald Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that the shares would be transferred through Trump Accounts, tax-advantaged investment accounts for eligible American kids launched this summer. Under temporary Treasury rules, donated shares generally cannot be sold for five years.

"This is exactly what was envisioned when we created TRUMP ACCOUNTS," Trump said. "Bringing together the GREAT PRIVATE SECTOR, Elon and so many more, to invest in our children."

The White House said nearly 70 million Trump Accounts have been created. Numerous entities have agreed to contribute, including a $6.25 billion donation from billionaire couple Michael and Susan Dell for children in lower-income zip codes. In July, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged personal SpaceX shares worth at least $321 million, prioritizing lower-income communities.

The White House, Elon Musk, and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Musk's plan to give away SpaceX stock raises questions about a new kind of billionaire philanthropy: Gifting people shares in a company instead of cash.

Giving millions of children a stake in SpaceX could give them money to use later in life — but the value is tied to a single company's stock. And history shows that efforts to spread corporate ownership can yield uneven results, from big investment returns to stakes being sold for quick cash.

Here are other historical efforts to share wealth or spread corporate ownership among everyday people.

US Sen. Mike Gravel's 1978 share proposal to Alaskans

In 1978, US Sen. Mike Gravel proposed a statewide ownership corporation that would have given Alaskans, including children, stakes in major energy and other business projects. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was one potential investment.

The idea was that Alaskans would benefit from an economic boom and any rising asset values. However, the plan never materialized.

Alaska instead developed a dividend system that draws on its preexisting Permanent Fund, a state fund established in 1976 with oil royalties that invests in stocks, bonds, and other assets. It began paying annual cash dividends to eligible Alaskans in 1982.

The Permanent Fund still continues today, with a $1,200 dividend distributed to every eligible Alaskan adult and child who applied in 2026. The initial dividend this year was set at $1,000, but recipients also got an extra $200 energy-relief payment.

Eastern Europe's 1990s mass privatization experiment

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, several countries in Central and Eastern Europe used voucher programs to transfer former state-owned companies into the hands of everyday people.

Russia began distributing privatization vouchers to roughly 144 million people in 1992. Russians could use them to buy shares in former state companies, exchange them for shares in investment funds, or sell them for cash.

Czechoslovakia used a similar system, allowing adults to buy low-cost voucher books and use the points to bid on company shares or invest through funds. After Czechoslovakia split in early 1993, the Czech Republic continued its voucher program, while Slovakia canceled its planned second wave of voucher privatization.

Other countries, including Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Baltic states, adopted their own versions of mass privatization.

The programs were designed to rapidly create broad public ownership. But many recipients sold their vouchers for cash amid economic uncertainty, rather than retaining shares.

Evžen Kočenda, a professor at Charles University's Institute of Economic Studies, said that the program was a good idea at the time, given the region's poor economy, but that ultimately, the vouchers were not 'real money,' but rather a financial asset.

Kuwait's 2019 national stock exchange privatization

Kuwait privatized Boursa Kuwait, the operator of its national stock exchange, in 2019, and gave Kuwaitis the opportunity to purchase a stake in the company. The only requirement for registration was that the individual was a Kuwaiti citizen.

Those who participated — about 83,000 of the country's 4.4 million — were initially allocated up to 70 shares each. The initial public offering share price was set at 100 Kuwait fils, roughly $0.33 per share.

Following the privatization, Kuwaiti citizens and private-sector investors together owned roughly 94% of Boursa Kuwait. The Public Institution for Social Security held the remaining 6%.

The Kuwaitis who participated saw a huge return on investment: When Boursa Kuwait debuted on the public market in September 2020, its shares rose more than 10-fold from their 100-fils IPO price, closing at 1,055 fils, or about $3.41.

Today, the privatization is widely regarded as a major success in the investment world, and Boursa Kuwait has described it as the Middle East's only privately owned stock exchange.

• After expanding Trump Accounts to all children, the administration may look to adults next.
• We spoke to five experts about what should be in a Trump Account program for adults.
• Accounts should support the millions of Americans who don't have retirement savings, they said.

Trump Accounts, created for children, may be coming to adults, too.

Brad Gerstner, an architect of Trump Accounts, said on Wednesday that the tax-advantaged accounts should be rolled out to every US citizen under 40, though he flagged that Congress would need to pass new legislation to make that happen.

President Trump similarly said on Tuesday that the White House is exploring creating an "alternative" Trump Account for adults.

"We are looking at something different because it really is somewhat of a different thing having to do with adults," Trump said.

So what might that look like? We spoke to five experts about how Trump Accounts could work for adults, who they should be for, and how they could figure into financial planning.

Ray Boshara, a senior policy advisor at the Aspen Institute and Washington University in St. Louis' Center for Social Development, said the accounts could be a boon to the 46% of Americans without money in a retirement account, according to Federal Reserve data.

"I really like the idea of all Americans having a lifelong investment account through which they can build wealth and achieve financial security," said Boshara, who advocated enrolling all American children in Trump Accounts, a change that was rolled out earlier this month.

He sees expanding Trump accounts as an extension of the same push, as long as the accounts are automatically created for those adults, too.

Focus on those without retirement savings

There's a "pretty robust retirement savings system" in place for employees, said Boshara, but nearly half of Americans don't have retirement savings, many because their employer doesn't offer a plan.

Trump Accounts could "fill that huge gap," Boshara said, but unlike the plans for children, it may be worthwhile to focus on those without 401(k) or similar plans.

"One of the benefits of the Trump accounts for kids is that it's universal, but I'm not so sure you'd want it to be universal for an adult," Boshara said. Traditional IRAs already limit tax deductions for some higher earners, and that's a "good thing," he added.

"That way, you're not just giving wealthier Americans yet another tool," Boshara said.

If the goal is to help Americans without retirement, then Boshara's push away from universalism makes sense.

But Cem Karsan, founder of the hedge fund Kai Volatility Advisors, sees this as part of a broader effort to stem the tide of populism by giving regular Americans a greater stake in the stock market.

From that perspective, a universal plan is essential.

"It's essentially the infrastructure that's being laid, the pipes, for delivering ownership broadly to the masses," Karsan said.

For those with retirement accounts, a Trump Account, technically another type of IRA, could allow them to contribute more than the current cap, said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at Hightower Advisors.

"There would be an additional layer of tax-deferred wealth accumulation," Link said.

Don't mess with benefits

One of the main concerns with rolling out Trump Accounts to low-income Americans is that they could be kicked off public benefits like food stamps and Supplemental Security Income. This wasn't an issue for children, but many benefits available to adults can be means-tested, and contributing to an account may make you ineligible.

Right now, for traditional IRAs, the rules are a "patchwork," Boshara said. A single person with more than $2,000 in a traditional IRA can lose access to Supplemental Security Income, while Medicaid rules vary from state to state.

"What I'd call for is a categorical disregard," said Boshara, meaning money in the accounts wouldn't count against eligibility for public benefits.

"If you expect low- and moderate-income people to save and build wealth through an IRA, you have to protect their public benefits."

Maybe most importantly, Boshara said these should be a "supplement" for Social Security.

"We never see these as a substitute for Social Security," Boshara said.

Fund them

The most transformative part of the Trump accounts so far has been the $1,000 available to every US citizen born between 2025 and 2028. But Boshara's biggest critique of the program is that families have to open up to receive government payments and employer contributions.

"Opting in is suppressing participation, especially among lower-income families because they don't have the awareness, or they don't interact with the tax system," he said.

He's hoping for Treasury rules that will activate accounts, so contributions can be added automatically, and that the $1,000 funding for newborns be continued indefinitely. And similarly, he's hoping that anyone can put money into adults' funds, like with children.

"The best thing about Trump Accounts for kids is that there are multiple investors in somebody's future," Boshara said. This could even include employer contributions.

"I'm not sure if all employers would contribute, but if they did, it's another savings benefit plan, HSA or 401K type of plan, which is again, more money in their pockets," Link said.

For those who already contribute to their 401(k) and other vehicles, like Roth IRAs, which can be a better fit for early career savers, the outside funding is the big beneficiary, said Christina Taylor, VP of tax development and delivery at tax fintech April.

"For adults saving their own money, a Roth IRA or a 401(k) with an employer match is often still the stronger tool," Taylor said. "Savers should think of a Trump Account as a collector for other people's contributions, not a replacement for retirement accounts they already have."

Treat adults like adults

Current Trump Accounts come with a range of restrictions that keep investors focused on the longer term, including a five-year holding period for individual stocks. That restriction on selling ends when they turn 18, and Boshara said that adults should be able to decide what they want their portfolio to look like.

"You want investor choice," he said. "You want to empower families to make good choices."

Trump Accounts hold only equity investments, so adult versions would require greater diversification.

"A 10-year-old can ride out a bad market, but someone five years from retirement needs some bonds, some cash, and a plan for withdrawals," said Brian Boswell, a wealth manager at Savvy Wealth.

It's a "great idea to make sure all Americans have a lifelong investing account," but the key is to ensure it meets adults' needs, Boshara said.

"Why not extend it and keep the great features of Trump accounts and discard the ones that don't make sense for adults?" Boshara said

• Barclays said it's cutting 5,000 jobs, or 5% of its workforce, in an AI push.
• Most of the cuts will impact support functions, including developers.
• Wall Street at large is grappling with how AI will transform both back- and front-office roles.

Barclays said it's cutting 5,000 jobs, or around 5% of its full-time workforce, as it increases its reliance on AI.

The British bank said in its third-quarter earnings statement that it is "structurally reducing" its costs through "technology-enabled" head count reductions.

Barclays laid out the numbers in its accompanying earnings presentation, linking the cuts specifically to "organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI."

Around 60% of the cuts will impact support functions, including developers, according to the presentation. Coding has become one of the main business use cases for AI across industries, causing some companies to cut back on developers.

Anna Cross, Barclays' group finance director, said the layoffs come as "AI makes our people more productive."

"Nowhere in the bank is this more relevant than in Barclays UK, where we have taken more structural cost actions than planned in '26," she said on the earnings call.

Wall Street is grappling with how AI will impact head count for both back- and front-office roles, as much of junior bankers' technical, repetitive workload can be automated. Some executives have said they're looking for young people with sharp judgment and communication skills rather than just analytical brainpower, as AI places an even greater premium on client interactions.

Goldman Sachs said in a memo last year that it plans to "restrain head count growth," and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said he will likely hire fewer bankers and more "AI people."

Barclays joins a growing list of companies that have announced AI-related layoffs this year, including Snap and Coinbase. Business Insider analyzed 15 layoff memos earlier this year and found that "AI" was the most commonly used term.

AI hasn't always led to companies cutting back. Some companies have increased hiring, while others have cut some roles and hired more for others.