☕ Duty free

Why a billionaire gave away his fortune... October 11, 2023 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [EnergyX]( Good morning. In today’s edition: - How Hamas used cryptocurrency to finance its terror + the latest on the war - Caroline Ellison testified as the prosecution’s star witness against SBF - The little-known story of the Duty Free Shoppers co-founder who gave away his $8 billion fortune… …and lots more. Have a good day. —Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Sam Klebanov, Neal Freyman, Abby Rubenstein MARKETS Nasdaq 13,562.84 +0.58% S&P 4,358.24 +0.52% Dow 33,739.30 +0.40% 10-Year 4.664% -14.0 bps Bitcoin $27,460.10 -0.50% Pepsi $164.40 +1.88% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks [rose]( yesterday as bond yields, which had been worryingly high, slid down. Pepsi bubbled upward after the company reported strong quarterly earnings and said weight-loss drugs aren’t hurting its sales of soda and snacks.  INTERNATIONAL [Here’s how Hamas has fundraised using crypto]( [Uniformed Hamas members stand in line]( Members of Hamas’s armed wing in 2016; Mahmud Hams/Getty Images Israel has frozen multiple accounts on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance that it believes Hamas was using to raise money, the cyber arm of the Israeli police [announced yesterday](. It’s not yet clear if the shuttered accounts directly financed last weekend’s [assault]( on Israeli civilians, which marked the beginning of the current war between Israel and Hamas. Law enforcement didn’t specify how many accounts they froze or how much crypto they found but said seized funds would be diverted to Israel’s state treasury. This isn’t a first. Israel has seized 190 other Binance wallets it linked to Hamas or the Islamic State group since 2021, Reuters [reported]( in May. Hamas is regarded as one of the most sophisticated users of crypto-enabled terror financing, a former US treasury official [told]( the Wall Street Journal. The group, which is largely bankrolled by Iran, uses crypto solicited through social media to get around the international banking sanctions imposed because it’s been flagged as a terrorist group by the US and EU. - Hamas reportedly began publicly fundraising crypto in 2019 via its Telegram channel and raised about $30,000 in bitcoin for one wallet that year. - Between the summer of 2021 and the summer of 2023, about $41 million worth of crypto was deposited into crypto wallets linked to Hamas, according to the Tel Aviv-based analytics firm BitOK. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Hezbollah—two other US- and EU-designated terrorist groups [involved in the fighting]( against Israel—have also partially funded their operations with digital currency: - The PIJ [raised]( $93 million in crypto between August 2021 and June 2023. The group also sent more than $12 million in digital currency to Hezbollah, according to Elliptic, a crypto analytics provider. - Israel [seized $1.7 million in crypto]( in June from wallets linked to Hezbollah and the Iranian military. Zoom out: Crypto’s anonymity and near untraceability have made it a popular choice for terror financing. Crypto-assisted attacks may have [quadrupled]( in recent years, according to UN estimates. But recent [developments]( in blockchain-tracking tech and platform-mandated ID checks have made it a bit easier for authorities to identify and seize illicit funds.—ML   WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza towards Israel]IBRAHIM HAMS/AFP via Getty Images Biden calls Hamas attacks “sheer evil.” In a powerful speech, President Biden [condemned]( Hamas’s killing of Israeli civilians, comparing it to the brutal tactics of the Islamic State group, and reiterated that the US “has Israel’s back.” Biden confirmed that US citizens are among the estimated [100–150 hostages]( taken from Israel to Gaza. Extremely [disturbing]( [accounts]( are also [emerging]( from reporters who visited Kfar Aza, a southern Israeli kibbutz that was the site of a massacre. Israel continued bombarding Gaza with airstrikes yesterday as it readies a large-scale ground operation to eradicate Hamas. At least 900 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, and Gaza hospitals report they are [running out of supplies]( to care for the thousands of wounded. Rep. George Santos charged with stealing donors’ IDs. The fashionable Republican Congressman from New York was hit with 10 new [federal charges]( yesterday, including that he stole campaign donors’ identities and rang up charges on their credit cards. He had already been charged with several offenses in May, among them lying to Congress and taking money from his campaign. Santos, who is facing time in prison if convicted, did not comment to news organizations about the updated indictment, but he has previously called the case against him a witch hunt. California to ban popular candy ingredients. California’s governor signed [a law]( this weekend that will make it the first state to ban the manufacture and sale of foods containing red dye No. 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propylparaben. The chemicals are used in ~12,000 food products, but some studies have found them to be dangerous. Though the measure became known as the Skittles ban, you’ll still be able to taste the rainbow in the Golden State after the law takes effect in 2027. A chemical found in Skittles was removed from the ban before it passed, and a differently formulated version of the candy is sold in the EU, which does ban it. PRESENTED BY ENERGYX [GM bets big on this startup]( [EnergyX]( Lithium is so essential to EVs that car companies are racing to secure lithium supplies. When demand for lithium is projected to grow 20x by 2040, getting an edge matters. So when [EnergyX]( revealed their technology could extract 300% more lithium than traditional methods, that got General Motors’ attention. Now GM is the lead investor in EnergyX’s $50m funding round. And [you can join them](. That means you have the unique opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a company just as they’re set to unlock the US’ lithium supply. Don’t miss your chance: [Click here]( to become an EnergyX shareholder and transform the future of renewable energy. CRYPTO [Caroline Ellison says she committed crimes with SBF]( [Caroline Ellison holding a coffee mug walking into courthouse.]( Bryan R. Smith/Getty Images Not many people get asked by the US government to publicly roast their exes. But Caroline Ellison did yesterday, [testifying]( in the fraud trial against Sam Bankman-Fried. The prosecution’s star witness against the former FTX CEO, she fingered SBF as the mastermind, telling the jury, “He directed me to commit these crimes.” Who is Ellison? She’s the former CEO of Alameda Research, the crypto hedge fund that the government claims FTX illegally used customer funds to prop up. And she’s SBF’s on-and-off-again girlfriend and Bahamas penthouse roommate. Ellison pleaded guilty in December to seven criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of her deal. She testified that… - SBF instructed her to use FTX customer money to pay off Alameda loans. - Alameda took ~$14 billion in FTX customer funds. - SBF believed he had a 5% chance of becoming president of the US. Big picture: The defense is hoping to paint SBF as a plucky rapscallion who didn’t have much business sense. But the prosecution wants to use testimony from Ellison and FTX co-founder Gary Wang to prove that Alameda and FTX were financially intertwined—and that SBF knew it. Here’s the full [cast list]( of the SBF trial.—MM   TOGETHER WITH BOKA [Boka]( Your dentist's best kept secret. Regular brushing and flossing matters, but so does how you do it. Meet [Boka]( innovative dental products. From an expert-designed water flosser to their powerful (and delicious) n-Ha toothpaste, Boka is a techie’s dental care dream. Amazon Prime members: save on select [tools and toothpastes]( during Prime Big Deal Days. SOCIETY [RIP Charles Feeney, who gave away $8b]( [Charles Feeney ]( Liz O. Baylen/Getty Images The entrepreneur behind the classic airport pastime of snagging untaxed goodies is no longer with us: Charles Feeney, the billionaire co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, died at 92 earlier this week. After living large off the massive profits from the global duty-free shops franchise and investments in tech startups, Feeney felt like his wealth was undeserved. He ultimately [rejected the billionaire lifestyle]( donating over $8 billion to various causes while keeping a measly $2 million for his retirement. Instead of oceanfront Malibu mansions, bespoke Rolls-Royces, and private flights to Burning Man…. - Feeney rented a two-bedroom apartment, took public transit, and sported a $10 watch, according to the New York Times. - He flew economy until he was 75, foregoing the extra legroom even for long trips. Where’d his money go? Through his nonprofit, Atlantic Philanthropies, Feeney Feeney donated to his alma mater, Cornell University, as well as to universities in Ireland, and hospitals in Vietnam. He also bankrolled humanitarian causes, like death penalty abolition and peace efforts to end sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Unlike most billionaire philanthropists…Feeney made many of his contributions anonymously, often using cashier’s checks to hide their origin.—SK   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Times Square with an Open sign]Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Getty Images Stat: The only place in New York City where you can take in a Broadway show, pose with an off-brand Elmo, and then get unlimited breadsticks at the Olive Garden is so back. Times Square recently had its 180th [business opening]( since the pandemic—a milestone, because Covid-19 forced 179 businesses in the area to close, according to the Wall Street Journal. Retail rents in the heavily touristed entertainment district are up 40% compared to last year, though foot traffic and theater ticket sales remain below 2019 levels. Quote: “It was wonderful up there. The whole thing was delightful, wonderful, couldn’t have been better.” Dorothy Hoffner, the 104-year-old who jumped [out of a plane]( last week, likely becoming the oldest person ever to skydive, died [Monday night](. Skydive Chicago, which is working with the Guinness Book of World Records to certify that Hoffner—who would have been 105 in December—is the oldest tandem skydiver ever, said in a statement, “Skydiving is an activity that many of us safely tucked away in our bucket lists. But Dorothy reminds us that it’s never too late to take the thrill of a lifetime.” Read: Home Depot tracked a crime ring and found an unusual suspect. ([Wall Street Journal]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [Adobe]( released an updated version of Firefly, its AI image generator, which it says can create images of humans that look, well, more human. - [GM]( reached a tentative deal with the union representing its Canadian workers hours after more than 4,000 employees in Canada went on strike. Meanwhile, the UAW strike in the US is ongoing. - [Utah]( sued TikTok, claiming the app hurts children’s mental health. Arkansas and Indiana previously filed similar suits. - [The House of Representatives]( is expected to vote on a new speaker today, but it’s unclear whether anyone has enough votes to get the job. RECS [Wednesday to-do list] Compare: See how human eyesight stacks up against [90 animal species](. Play: If you’ve still got that Atari 2600 from your parents’ basement, you’re in luck: A [new game]( is being released for the 46-year-old gaming console. Learn: Why [celebrity Wikipedia photos]( all come from Comic Con. Watch: How [Panda Express]( makes 110 million pounds of Orange Chicken a year. Enjoy business news again: [Morning Brew Daily]( has the wittiest and smartest takes on business news. [Check it out]( wherever you get your podcasts. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Word Search: You know Monopoly has different themed editions, but did you know the game Clue does as well? Check them out [here]( then fill out the Word Search grid. Prime trivia Amazon kicked off its Prime Big Deal Days this week, because one Prime Day event per year isn’t nearly enough. Might as well use the opportunity to give you a Price Is Right-style quiz. We’ll give you a product, and you have to guess the price (with the sale baked in). Going over = going bust. 1. Dyson V11 Plus Cordless Vacuum Cleaner 2. Conair Double Ceramic Hair Dryer 3. Vitamix 5200 Blender, Professional-Grade (64 oz) 4. Yankee Candle Sparkling Cinnamon Candle (classic 22oz jar) 5. Casper Original Pillow 2-Pack SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=a905682a]( ANSWER 1. $470 (down from $720) 2. $20 (down from $35) 3. $300 (down from $550) 4. $17 (down from $31) 5. $82 (down from $117) Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: rapscallion, meaning “a rascal.” Thanks to Janyce from Omaha, Nebraska, and several other mischief-makers for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From EnergyX This is a paid advertisement for EnergyX's Regulation A+ Offering. Please read the offering circular at Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Molly Liebergall]( [Matty Merritt]( and Sam Klebanov Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Business education without the BS - Programs in [Business Essentials]( [Analytics]( and [Leadership]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. 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