Adam Neumann might be immune to failure. Trump isn’t.

If he pulls this off, it'll be the funniest trade ever. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, the funniest trade in the whole history of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Adam Neumann [is back]( in the news. - Trump’s [immunity case]( gets a bruise. - [Money dysmorphia]( gives Gen Z the blues. - Economics needs a [variety of views](. We Is Still Working The funny thing about WeWork is that while everyone’s busy [ruminating]( about the future of the bankrupt company, they still have someone running their social media accounts as if *none of it is happening.* If you go on the [Instagram]( or [TikTok]( account, it looks totally normal, save for a smattering of comments about the company’s pending collapse: In November — mere days after WeWork filed for bankruptcy — the company celebrated [Member Gratitude Week](. In December, they posted a “[Year in Review](” video, where one follower asked why the closings and bankruptcy filings weren’t included. In January, they posted [a photo of a dog]( sipping from a cup of iced matcha. And just yesterday, they made a reel about the complimentary [espresso machine](. The lights could go out at any minute, but at least there’s free coffee! It’s so delusional that I kinda love it. Speaking of delusion, apparently Adam “State of Consciousness” Neumann wants to [buy back]( WeWork. If he manages to pull it off, Matt Levine says it’ll be “the funniest trade in the whole history of financial markets.” To recap: Neumann founded WeWork and got Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son to invest at a valuation of $47 billion — in what Matt calls “one of the greatest [feats of salesmanship]( ever.” He then left the company, watched it collapse from the comfort of his [guitar-shaped living room](, and now intends to buy it back for $0. Okay, he can’t actually acquire for $0, but he has capital providers to help him out. Although SoftBank comes out of this whole saga looking rather dumb, Neumann somehow [doesn’t](? “You have to respect a good trade, and Neumann’s [timing]( is impeccable,” Matt [writes]( (free read). “He found the top of the startup bubble, he found (in Masayoshi Son) the best possible person to sell overhyped startup stock to, and he sold Son a pile of overhyped startup stock so he could become a billionaire. But buried within Neumann’s overhyped startup stock, and his amazing patter about being ‘the world’s first physical social network’ and ‘a state of consciousness,’ was … a perfectly fine little real estate company? That was the prop that he needed to extract billions of dollars out of Son. But now it has done its job, and Neumann would like the real estate company back. It’s not like SoftBank needs it anymore.” It’s still a perfectly fine little real estate company! With extremely normal social media posts! I don’t know what happens next, but I hope that the dog with the matcha gets the last laugh. Bark? Eh, whatever. Of Course You’re Not Immune Source: @thedailyshow via Threads I haven’t been this hooked on the concept of “immunity” since I binge-watched [Survivor]( with my mom. But instead of watching a group of mud-covered humans complete obstacle courses to win a wooden trophy, we’re witnessing the former president of the United States of America [unravel]( in real time: In [a landmark ruling](, a federal appeals court determined that Donald Trump is not above the rule of law. “He isn’t immune as a former president. He also wasn’t immune while in office. The law is the law, the court said, and every American is subject to it,” Tim O’Brien [writes]( (free read). Sometime soon, the case will go to the Supreme Court, where Noah Feldman [says]( the “justices won’t be able to reject the appellate court’s common-sense conclusions with a straight face.” A 2020 [ruling]( on Trump’s business records and tax returns gives us some clues into how the justices might react. The determination from Chief Justice John Roberts was straightforward: He said Trump’s argument ran up “against the 200 years of precedent establishing that Presidents, and their official communications, are subject to judicial process.” 200 years ago! That’s the early 1800s — [Hamilton]( territory. Back when Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson were beefing! A time when the Supreme Court ruled that the president’s legal standing is in “nearly the same situation with any other individual.” The odds of Roberts — a staunch institutionalist — turning his back on 200 years of history are slim. And the other justices who sided against Trump in 2020 probably won’t budge, either. “For all the talk about Trump’s ability to skirt the law throughout his career, he’s never faced the constellation of serious prosecutions confronting him now,” Tim writes. Too bad there’s no [Immunity Idol]( to save him. Bonus Politics Reading: Trump’s objection to the Nippon Steel deal was predictable. But [what if he’s right]( to be worried? — Gearoid Reidy Money Dysmorphia There’s an [interesting discussion]( happening on r/Millennials, the subreddit dedicated to the daily plights of individuals born between 1981 and 1996. A new study from [Credit Karma]( found that over 40% of millennials and Gen Zers say they suffer from “money dysmorphia” — a flawed perception of their finances. A lot of Reddit users argue that old Hollywood productions — and their portrayal of lavish middle-class lifestyles — are partly to blame for our unrealistic expectations: Which, yes: Mr. McCallister and Lorelai Gilmore were unduly loaded! But they’re probably not the reason young people are afraid to check their bank account balances. Instead, Erin Lowry says the big culprit is social media. TikTok, Instagram and YouTube perpetuate unrealistic lifestyles which end up elevating our financial insecurities. Most Gen Zers and millennials have “never lived in a world devoid of a 24/7 news cycle or social platforms and search engines allowing you to fact-check anything in an instant,” she writes. Not only are young people reading doom-and-gloom news articles about [job cuts](, [surging credit card debt]( and [exorbitant child care costs](, they’re getting inundated with videos of influencers traveling to [private islands](, buying [Hermès in Paris](, re-doing their [master bathrooms]( with [Calacatta marble]( and eating [caviar on their couch](. No wonder they feel as though they’re falling behind financially. “Instead of being in a constant state of unease, millennials and Gen Z could ground themselves by doing the math on what amount of money would make them sleep easier,” Erin suggests. “Fixating on a nebulous goal like ‘getting rich’ isn’t helpful compared with putting numbers on a page and a timeline in place.” Read [the whole thing]( for free. Crash Course "Young, educated African American voters have lots of discontent with Joe Biden." Nia-Malika Henderson Bloomberg Opinion Columnist On the [latest episode]( of [Crash Course](, Tim O’Brien speaks with our politics columnist about why so many young Black voters [aren’t sold]( on Biden. Telltale Charts I’ve been working at Bloomberg Opinion long enough to know that we’ve written numerous columns about the lack of diversity in the economics profession. And I have the receipts to prove it: In 2014, Noah Smith [said]( that economics is a “dismal science for women.” In 2018, he [discussed]( the “professional bias against female authors in economics.” In 2021, Chris Hughes [said]( “women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in economics.” In 2022, Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe [said]( we need to “get more Black people involved in crafting economic policy.” In 2023, Betsey Stevenson [pointed out]( that “among full professors, only [1 out of every 8]( is a woman.” It’s now 2024 — an entire decade since that first column! — and we’re STILL harping on the same problem: “The representation of women has improved somewhat over the past 20 years, but progress has been uneven and inadequate. In at least one important respect — representation of racial and ethnic minorities among new recipients of economics Ph.D.s — there’s been no progress,” David Wilcox [writes](. Enough is enough! Americans deserve economic policy that’s crafted by people who look like them and understand their worldview. Let’s not wait another decade to realize that. Earnings season results have ranged from breathtaking to blergh, but there’s no need to worry, [writes]( Jonathan Levin. That’s just how diversification works. And although the so-called Magnificent Seven — Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Tesla and Nvidia — constitute nearly a third of the S&P 500 by market weighting, it’s always been top-heavy. “At the start of the 20th century, the market was basically dominated by railroad stocks; in the early 1980s, energy companies held outsize sway; and at the turn of the millennium, the market was largely dominated by internet and computing-adjacent firms,” he writes. Now, it’s just dominated by companies obsessed with AI! Which reminds me: Parmy Olson [says]( Mark Zuckerberg’s secret weapon for AI world domination is you. Well, your Facebook and Instagram data. Better go delete all those embarrassing photos from high school before it’s too late! Further Reading The [guilty verdicts]( against Jennifer Crumbley represent a leap forward. — Francis Wilkinson [AM radio]( may have a place, but it’s not in my car. — Tyler Cowen Here’s h[ow not to run]( a debt-burdened supermarket. — Andrea Felsted Beijing, it’s not a good look to [lock up]( foreign executives without notice. — Karishma Vaswani South Africa is facing [another five years]( of political and economic uncertainty. — Justice Malala UBS sure seems to be setting some [easy targets]( for itself. — Paul J. Davies China’s government isn’t equipped to stem [small stocks’ losses](. — Shuli Ren Big Oil appears to be [breaking]( its boom-bust cycles by being boring. — Javier Blas Michelin has [a new set of restaurants]( led by Black chefs. What's taken so long? — Howard Chua-Eoan ICYMI Taylor Swift and Elon Musk have [something in common](. Miss Japan [gave up her crown]( after a tabloid revealed her affair. An Amazon delivery truck [got stuck]( on a hillside. Kickers It’s V-Day, as in Vegetable Day. [Right](? India [freed]( China’s pigeon spy. (h/t Toby Harshaw) The [first sign of spring]( has arrived. Notes: Please send Shamrock Shakes and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. 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