Forbes Daily: Sales Numbers Show Amazon Prime Day Off To A Slow Start

Forbes

09-07-2025

Amazon's Prime Day sale is off to a sluggish start, according to a report from one major sales manager.
Momentum Commerce, which manages Amazon sales for popular retailers accounting for $7 billion in spending on the online platform, found that early sales were down almost 14%. But experts say the dip could be because the bonanza of deals was extended to four days this year, meaning consumers are less rushed to make purchases.
The figures led the e-commerce giant's stock to drop 1.8% on Tuesday. But customers are still expected to shell out $23.8 billion during the sale, Adobe Analytics predicted, a $9.6 billion increase from last year.
If you're perusing the discounts this week, check out this guide from Forbes Vetted for some of the best deals.
Deadly floods in New Mexico followed the devastating floods in neighboring Texas. The Washington Post via Getty Images
At least three people are dead after heavy rains triggered flash floods on Tuesday in and around the village of Ruidoso, New Mexico, which was scarred by wildfires a year ago. In the neighboring state of Texas, the death toll from the recent floods surpassed 100 people, and at least 161 are missing in the hard-hit Kerr County. County officials appeared to dodge questions Tuesday about how soon they were notified about the deadly flash floods.
President Donald Trump's latest tariff proposal could raise the price of Americans' prescription drugs. The president announced on Tuesday that he intends to levy a 200% tariff rate on pharmaceutical imports. The import taxes, which would go into effect next year, are likely to have the biggest impact on generic drugs, as the U.S. imports some $200 billion worth of pharmaceuticals annually.
From left to right: Jorge Perez, Maky Zanganeh and Shahid Khan. Related Group; Mauricio Candela for Forbes; Matt Dunham/AP
Forbes spoke with some of the 116 immigrants in the U.S. who have built billion-dollar fortunes from scratch since moving to America about their perspectives on U.S. immigration policies. Some would likely not have been allowed into the country today, given the Trump Administration's restrictions on legal immigration. 'If it were up to today's administration, my family's hopes for living in a land of freedom and opportunity would have been significantly challenged,' says Jorge Perez, a billionaire real estate developer and Trump's onetime business partner. TECH + INNOVATION
A partner at a powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firm doubled down on his criticism of New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who he has previously called an 'Islamist,' despite hundreds of tech founders condemning his actions as Islamophobic. Sequoia Capital reportedly has over $85 billion in assets under management, and the firm's partner on its seed/early team, Shaun Maguire—a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump—has led the firm's investment in several Elon Musk-founded companies.
Grok, the AI chatbot by Elon Musk's xAI, referred to itself as 'MechaHitler' in a series of posts on X on Tuesday, including some the Anti-Defamation League condemned as antisemitic, prompting the company to delete a guidance from its code that had directed the chat it to not shy away from delivering 'politically incorrect' responses. Elon Musk has not directly commented on the controversy yet, but it's the latest in a series of antisemitism allegations Musk has faced in recent years. MONEY + POLITICS
The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration can move forward with its mass firing efforts at federal agencies including the Departments of State, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, lifting a lower court's earlier ruling. It's not immediately clear how many workers would be affected. About 75,000 federal employees accepted deferred resignation offers earlier this year, and thousands more were laid off. SPORTS + ENTERTAINMENT
Catarina Macario Getty Images
Amid the recent boom in women's sports, Brazil-born U.S. soccer star Catarina Macario has signed a sponsorship deal with Nike that is expected to pay her $10 million over a decade. It cements her status as one of the sport's highest-paid players: Between the new partnership and a contract with Chelsea, which Forbes estimates is worth roughly $1 million annually, Macario is set to collect at least $2 million during the 2025-26 season. TRAVEL + LIFESTYLE
A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing Monday after a passenger's lithium battery-powered device caught fire, among the nearly three dozen incidents involving lithium batteries on U.S. flights so far this year. The TSA and FAA ban portable chargers—which use lithium batteries—from checked luggage, but still allow them in carry-on bags.
United Airlines will resume daily flights to Israel later this month, the first U.S. carrier to do so despite a warning from the State Department for citizens to 'reconsider travel' to the country, corresponding to a Level 3 advisory. United and Delta suspended service to Israel after the IDF's bombing campaign against Iran in June. DAILY COVER STORY America's Richest Immigrants 2025
Members of America's Richest Immigrants list. Simon Dawson/Bloomberg;; James Leynse/Corbis/Getty Images; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images;; Lester Cohen/; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images; Matt Dunham/AP;There are a record 125 foreign-born American citizens on Forbes' billionaires list who currently live in the United States, up by more than a third from our last tally of 92 in 2022. These immigrants hail from 43 countries and account for 14% of America's nearly 900 three-comma fortunes. They are worth a record $1.3 trillion combined and hold 18% of the country's $7.2 trillion in total billionaire wealth.
Three of the 10 richest people in America (and the world) are immigrants, including the world's wealthiest person: Elon Musk was born in South Africa and came to the U.S. via Canada as a college student, and is now worth an estimated $393.1 billion; Google cofounder Sergey Brin is the second richest immigrant, with an estimated $139.7 billion fortune; and Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang ranks third, with an estimated net worth of $137.9 billion.
While more than a quarter of America's three-comma-club inherited their money, 93% of immigrant billionaires are self-made. Nearly two-thirds of them became wealthy in either the tech sector or finance.
'When you live in an oppressed, totalitarian country like I did, and you have no money, there's no sense of having a future or that life will get better, so you wonder if there's any hope left,' says billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy, 79, who immigrated to New York from Hungary as a child, packed boxes in a Manhattan warehouse for 30 cents an hour at age 14, and went on to create the airplane leasing industry.
'When you get out of that situation and come to America, you have a completely different value system than the people that are born here, who are used to their surroundings and all the conveniences, freedoms and material things that are around us,' he says.
WHY IT MATTERS 'Immigration has been one of the most talked about issues in the U.S. for at least a decade,' says Forbes Deputy Wealth Editor Matt Durot. 'Our list of immigrant billionaires is one way of highlighting the important contributions made to the country by some of America's most successful immigrants. It highlights a number of billionaires' immigrant journeys and advice, which readers may find not only inspiring but applicable to their own lives.'
MORE America's Richest Self-Made Women FACTS + COMMENTS
July is already shaping up to be scorching hot, as millions in the U.S. are under heat warnings, and a heat wave in Europe last week was blamed for hundreds of deaths. This summer's hot weather comes on the heels of 2024's record temperatures:
18: The number of states that were at least partially under heat advisories Tuesday
More than 104: The temperature that parts of Greece reached Tuesday, according to the Associated Press
80%: The chance that at least one year between 2025 and 2029 will be warmer than 2024, currently the hottest year on record, a recent report found STRATEGY + SUCCESS
Employees are often asked to pitch in on tasks outside of their job description, especially women, and research shows that being overly helpful can negatively impact one's career growth. If someone asks you to take on some additional 'office housework,' let them know what your workload looks like, and don't feel like you need to respond immediately. Employers also play a role in making sure this work doesn't fall disproportionately on women. VIDEO
The latest season of a popular Netflix show broke streaming records, and is sitting at No. 1 among all Netflix-served countries. Which series is it?
A. 'Squid Game'
B. 'The Bear'
C. 'Love Island USA'
D. 'Ginny & Georgia'
Check your answer.
Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Chris Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.