💃 Rent the Runway’s market debut

…and the “billionaires tax” could knock Bezos’ and Elon’s wealth [Disclosures](   Strutting to the Nasdaq gala in (rented) couture [stock_colors/E+ via Getty Images]   Yesterday’s Market Moves   Dow Jones 35,491 (-0.74%) S&P 500 4,552 (-0.51%) Nasdaq 15,236 (+0.001%) Bitcoin $59,104 (-2.21%) Dow Jones 35,491 (-0.74%) S&P 500 4,552 (-0.51%) Nasdaq 15,236 (+0.001%) Bitcoin $59,104 (-2.21%) Hey Snackers, Not the surprise you’d expect after shelling out millions for a trip: SpaceX’s first tourist flight [featured]( some unexpected liquids after a toilet tube broke loose under the cabin floor. Stocks [slipped]( from their records yesterday, even after [Coke]( and [McDonald’s]( whipped up strong earnings after hiking prices. [GM]( [Visa]( and [Twitter]( shares sank on concerns over slowing growth for the rest of the year. Strut Rent the Runway struts onto the public market as sharing catches up to ownership Badgley Mischka dress for the rehearsal dinner... Minus the $700 price tag. Designer clothing rental pioneer [Rent the Runway]( made its Wall Street runway debut yesterday. Shares opened for trading 9% above their $21 IPO price, but closed the day down 8%. The 13-year-old company lets you rent chic clothes, bags, and accessories for a fraction of the sticker price. RTR handles the dry cleaning, so you don't quick-wash a $400 blouse. - Subscription-first: Subs account for more than 80% of RTR's revenue. The "most loved" subscription plan lets you rent up to eight items a month for $135. - "Closet in the cloud": RTR carries 700+ designers, and the average member rents $37K worth of clothes yearly. Members get special prices if they choose to buy. "Need a gown for the gala"... But not mid-pandemic. Last year, RTR lost more than half its subscribers, and its loss widened to $171M (it's still not profitable). Even though 90% of its customers still WFH, proms and posh parties are coming back: In September, RTR subscribers rebounded to 112K — down from 134K pre-pandemic, but up 2X from September last year. - Premium on experiences: RTR CEO Jennifer Hyman says the pandemic pushed consumers into “valuing experiences over ownership.” - Sharing is trendy: The secondhand market is the fastest-growing portion of apparel, and RTR isn't the only one feeling the love. - Publicly traded rivals like [Poshmark]( [The RealReal]( and [ThredUp]( are riding the wave of sustainability trends with already-worn fashion. THE TAKEAWAY Sharing > owning... This 2021 theme isn't only about sustainability. The pandemic taught us that life — and plans — can change fast. You don't want to splurge on a gown when the event could be canceled at any moment, or invest in a car when you don't know where you'll be in a month. That's why [Airbnb]( is thriving with rentals like yurts and car companies like [Volkswagen]( are launching subscriptions. B-tax A proposed first-of-its-kind “billionaires tax” would’ve been a major blow to the 1%’s wealth Alert Elon… Elon Musk’s personal wealth rocketed past $250B this week, cementing his position as Earth’s richest person (insert Bezos side-eye). But this week a Democratic senator drew up the [deets]( for a first-of-its-kind “billionaires tax,” proposed as part of Biden’s $2T spending package. This would be a tax on unrealized gains — aka investments that have risen in price but haven’t been sold. Quick refresher: - People are taxed on income (think: wages, salary) — not on total net worth (think: cash + all unsold investments). Many stock holdings aren’t taxed unless they’re sold for profit, when they can become realized gains. - That’s why many billionaires pay shockingly low taxes: Mark Zuckerberg’s base pay as [Facebook]( CEO is $1 — his net worth is $120B+, thanks to all his FB shares. - The proposed 24% tax rate on unrealized gains would apply to anyone with $1B+ in assets, or $100M in income for three straight years. The tax [reportedly]( wouldn’t apply to real estate, but would apply to crypto. Billionaires weren’t happy… Cue Elon’s disappointed [tweet](. Elon’s wealth surged $36B on Monday alone after [Tesla’s]( stock spiked. Under the tax, he’d owe $7.8B if he ended the year with just those gains, even if he never sold his Tesla shares. America’s 732 billionaires — a quarter of the world’s total — would be the only people affected by the tax. It would reportedly generate $250B to fund the Democrats’ $2T agenda. But because of political opposition and a lack of legal precedent, the proposal has already been shot down. THE TAKEAWAY This B-tax was just a first draft… While the number of Americans who own stocks is growing, gains remain unequal: The top 1% gained 5X more from stocks and funds during the pandemic than the bottom 90%. With US wealth inequality worsening — the top 1% own 32% of US wealth while the bottom half own 2% — support for some type of billionaire tax remains high. What else we're Snackin' - [Pointed]( Activist hedge fund Third Point, which owns a $500M stake in [Shell]( is urging the oil giant to break up as investors ditch fossil-fuel stocks. - [Sharing]( Pharma giant [Merck]( will license its Covid pill to a UN-backed nonprofit to help with outbreaks in low-income countries. - [Carpool]( Hertz is partnering with [Uber]( to make 50K Teslas available in the ride-hailing app, days after announcing a $4B order of 100K Model 3s. - [Cloudy]( Shares of [Twilio]( which helps companies like Uber and [DoorDash]( text customers, sank 13% after a weak earnings forecast. - [Chip]( [Ford’s]( and [GM’s]( quarterly profits fell as the global chip shortage dented production and raised costs. - [IRL]( [eBay]( shares fell 5% after the OG ecomm platform lowered expectations for online holiday shopping as buyers head back to brick-and-mortar stores. 🍪 Thanks for Snacking with us! Want to share the Snacks? Invite your friends to sign up [here](. The Snacks Daily Podcast Rising prices were no match for America’s appetite last quarter: McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Kraft Heinz all smashed sales expectations. [Tune in]( to hear how McCocaKraft persuaded us all to spend McMore. Snack Fact Of the Day [1.5M Americans got a Moderna or J&J Covid booster shot in the first five days after regulators OK’d them]( Thursday - Jobless claims - Earnings expected from: Apple, Amazon, Sony, Mastercard, Shell, Shopify, Starbucks, Caterpillar, and Hershey Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Uber, Amazon, Apple, Ford, Twitter, Tesla, and GM ID: 1896651 Robinhood Snacks newsletters and podcasts reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robinhood Financial LLC (Member [SIPC]( and do not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. 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