All posts tagged: Empire

SpaceX’s IPO Plan Will Give Elon Musk Ironclad Rule Over the Resulting Empire

SpaceX’s IPO Plan Will Give Elon Musk Ironclad Rule Over the Resulting Empire

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech When SpaceX makes it debut on the stock exchange later this year, experts expect it to be the largest public offering in financial history. Should that audacious prediction come to pass, it would widen Elon Musk’s lead over the next-richest person into an unfathomable chasm, and cement him as one of the most powerful men in modern history. It’s also sounding like the financial maneuver will give him an ironclad grip over the resulting empire, which includes xAI and X-formerly-Twitter. According to an IPO prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and unpacked by Reuters, once the company goes public, Musk will serve as CEO, CTO, and chairman of SpaceX’s nine-seat board of directors. The company will pursue a dual-class equity structure, under which legacy investors like Musk will receive 10 votes each, while public shareholders only get one. In other words, Musk’s mammoth slice of the pie — though it only adds up to 42 percent …

5 ways the Persian Empire made the modern world

5 ways the Persian Empire made the modern world

Published by Jenni Sidey

It’s often said that history is written by the winners. But when you look back on the ancient world, it’s more accurate to say that history is written by historians. Although China has a strong claim, many tend to cite ancient Greece as the birthplace of history as a discipline. In Herodotus and Thucydides, we see the origins of the historical method — a vaguely reputable attempt to document events, and not a somewhat-historical imaginarium of magical beasts, bored gods, and local heroes. And how did the Greeks use their histories? Well, to slander their enemies. In Greek “history,” we see the Persian Empire as a place of dissolute, depraved, decadent demons who sought only the death and enslavement of all civilized peoples. This vilification of the Persian Empire continued through two millennia of Eurocentric education – a “whig” historical account which went from Greece to Rome to Knights to Britain and then to America. Another issue, once historians realized the “rest of the world” might offer at least something, is that the study of …

Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder.

Sam Altman’s project World looks to scale its human verification empire. First stop: Tinder.

Published by skeptic

At a trendy venue near the San Francisco pier, Sam Altman’s verification project World celebrated its next evolution and rapid expansion of its ambitions.  And it’s starting with Tinder. Tools for Humanity, the company behind the World project, announced Friday plans to integrate its verification tech into dating apps, event and concert ticketing systems, business organizations, email, and other arenas of public life. “The world is getting close to very powerful AI, and this is doing a lot of wonderful things,” said Altman, speaking before a packed crowd at The Midway. “We are also heading to a world now where there’s going to be more stuff generated by AI than by humans,” he added. “I’m sure many of you where you’re like, ‘Am I interacting with an AI or a person, or how much of each, and how do I know?” World (formerly Worldcoin) distinguishes itself from many of its ID verification peers by offering the ability to verify that a real, living human is using a digital service while still protecting that person’s anonymity. …

This Venezuelan Novelist Built Her Literary Empire Online

This Venezuelan Novelist Built Her Literary Empire Online

Published by Sam Flores

As a child, Ariana Godoy couldn’t stop reading. Whatever her hands could reach, her eyes would devour, including grown-up titles she’d sneak off her mother’s bookshelf — and a rather bloody Grimm’s edition of Cinderella. But as she entered adolescence, reading material became scarce. “I lived in a small town in Venezuela, so I really couldn’t afford books,” she says. One morning, Godoy typed “free books online” into her search engine and found Wattpad, a reading and publishing platform. With the click of a link, she changed the course of her life. Less than a year later, she launched her career as a self-published storyteller who would become an internationally acclaimed Spanish-language novelist with countless translated works and film adaptations on Netflix and Prime Video. Back then, though, Godoy just wanted to read. In 2009, sexy vampire stories reigned. And Godoy sank her teeth into every salacious entry she could find. Almost immediately, she noticed these writers were just people — ordinary users without publishing contracts, sharing their stories with readers. So she started posting …

‘Our Empire’ exhibit at the Cheech highlights the Inland Empire

‘Our Empire’ exhibit at the Cheech highlights the Inland Empire

Published by Sam Flores

Dilapidated buildings and decaying signage may put off the casual observer. But for Redlands-based artists James McClung and Marcus Mercado, the gritty patina of the Inland Empire urban landscape conjures memories of life in the region. Honoring these unassuming entities is the main focus of a new community exhibit, titled “Our Empire,” at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. A total of 29 acrylic, mixed media paintings and drawings by McClung and Mercado will be on display at the Altura Credit Union Community Gallery until Oct. 23. “James and Marcus’ artistic excellence, deep local roots and passion to tell the stories of their neighborhoods aligns with the vision of the Altura Credit Union Community Gallery — a space dedicated to providing opportunities for SoCal artists to showcase their work and uplift the people and places of our region,” said Valerie Found, interim executive director of Riverside Art Museum. “A lot of people that grew up in these communities see some of these locations and they’re very relatable to their upbringing,” says McClung. …

Empire of Sticky Labels | Psychology Today

Empire of Sticky Labels | Psychology Today

Published by Jenni Sidey

“The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.” Voltaire’s famous verdict is remembered today because it’s equal amounts surprising and merciless, all the while being an insightful observation. It can also teach us something important about human psychology. In case you too forgot your middle school history, the Holy Roman Empire began as a serious political project. It was an attempt to revive Roman authority, fuse it with Christian legitimacy, and impose order on post-Roman Europe. When Charlemagne, the Frankish king who had conquered much of Western Europe, was crowned in 800 AD, the Holy Roman Empire was all the things. It was “holy” because the Pope provided divine legitimacy. It was “Roman” because Charlemagne actually held Rome. And it was an “empire” because the emperor wielded terrifying, centralized authority. But in a slow erosion over the next thousand years, this reality rotted away, and only the branding survived. The Protestant Reformation severed its “holiness” when it turned emperors against popes and split the church. The “Roman” influence also vanished as …

C-3PO head used in Star Wars’ The Empire Strikes Back sells for more than a million dollars

C-3PO head used in Star Wars’ The Empire Strikes Back sells for more than a million dollars

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter A distinctive light-up C-3PO head, a prop from Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, has commanded over $1 million at auction. The iconic piece, used in George Lucas’s 1980 sci-fi blockbuster to portray the beloved fictional droid, went under the hammer as part of a significant collection of film and television memorabilia. The sale took place on Wednesday during the first day of the Spring Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction at the Propstore auction house in Los Angeles. The enduring Star Wars franchise, which saw a resurgence in the 2010s with new films starring Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, alongside original cast members, has since expanded with numerous spin-off productions. It is the only known example of the fictional droid’s head to appear on the collector market and sold for 1,058,400 dollars (£801,818), having received a pre-sale estimate of …

How OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky built £7bn empire – and the staggering figure he made daily

How OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky built £7bn empire – and the staggering figure he made daily

Published by Daniella Wilson

It was revealed on Monday that the billionaire owner of OnlyFans has died aged just 43. According to the BBC, Leonid Radvinsky succumbed to a lengthy battle with an undisclosed form of cancer.  OnlyFans, the company he bought in 2018, said in a statement announcing the sad news that he “passed away peacefully after a long battle with cancer”. They added: “His family have requested privacy at this difficult time.” Leonid was born in Odesa, Ukraine but grew up in Chicago. He is understood to have most recently been residing in Florida, but it is not known which family members he leaves behind. The then-budding businessman completed an economics degree at Northwestern University. According to the Wall Street Journal, he was a teenager when he first began running pornography sites. © Getty ImagesLeonid was the owner of OnlyFans when he passed away Huge fortune Before OnlyFans, report Forbes, Leonid founded a website referral business called Cybertania. He also owned a successful adult webcam company. He acquired OnlyFans just under a decade ago from its parent …

Two Literal Crypto Bros Built a Real Estate Empire. Then the Homes Started to Fall Apart

Two Literal Crypto Bros Built a Real Estate Empire. Then the Homes Started to Fall Apart

Published by skeptic

As they eyed further expansion in Detroit, the brothers worked with real estate professional Shawn Reed, who, according to court documents, started to identify and sometimes help renovate properties for RealT to tokenize. Unbeknownst to the Jacobsons, Reed had a checkered past; he had previously served prison time for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and once agreed that he could be described as a “slumlord.” He teed up deals that helped RealT to keep pace with the now-soaring demand for its tokens. I spoke with one investor, who posts on Telegram as TokNist, who said that when they first heard about RealT, they understood the proposition immediately. A French national living in Asia, TokNist (who asked to not be named out of fear of retaliation by other RealT investors) had wanted to buy real estate but couldn’t secure a loan. RealT offered a way to invest small sums without any bank involvement. “A lot of people are like me,” says TokNist. “They are not wealthy speculators. They are simple people who want a piece of …

Colombian president warns US against building an empire in Latin America – POLITICO

Colombian president warns US against building an empire in Latin America – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Petro, a leftist and former rebel, has emerged as one of the world’s most vocal critics of this U.S. foreign policy, periodically landing himself on Trump’s blacklist. The Colombian president avoided any direct barbs against Trump, instead citing their February meeting in the White House as an example of the intercontinental dialogue he wants to see. Prior to that meeting, Trump had called Petro a “sick man;” afterwards, he said Petro was “terrific.” During the conversation with POLITICO, which took place in the gilded front room of the Colombian ambassador’s Vienna residence, Petro reserved his bluntest criticism for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and former Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk. Donald Trump meets with Gustavo Petro in the Oval Office in Washington on Feb. 3, 2026. | Colombian presidency press office/Anadolu via Getty Images Rubio championed “Western civilization” bound by “Christian faith” at the Munich Security Conference in February, identifying mass migration as a crisis destabilizing societies “all across the West.” Musk, meanwhile, has characterized “empathy” as Western civilization’s Achilles’ heel. Petro condemned …