RKF Jr applauds revival of Presidential Fitness Test, underlines importance of ‘failure' for kids
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Texas showdown: Warrants, expulsion threats ratchet up fight
In today's issue: ▪ Abbott issues warrants for fleeing Dems ▪ Trump faces GOP skeptics on economy ▪ MTG on her place in the Republican Party ▪ How will tariffs affect back-to-school shopping? THE PRE-2026 MIDTERM redistricting battle has kicked into high gear as Texas Democratic legislators face arrest warrants and blue state governors plot to fight back against GOP maps. Texas Democrats' refusal to show up to the Legislature is part of a rapidly escalating political war over the state GOP's attempt to pass a highly unusual mid-decade redistricting plan. President Trump has encouraged the move, which could help the GOP win five additional House seats in next year's elections. Republicans, bracing for an unfavorable political environment in 2026, are hoping for an edge as they seek to ward off a Democratic takeover of the House that would likely open the Trump administration to numerous investigations. The group of 50-odd Texas Democratic lawmakers is threatening to wait out the remainder of the 30-day special session that gaveled in last month, depriving Republicans of a quorum. In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered the arrest of the Democrats who fled the Lone Star State. The Texas House on Monday approved warrants to track down the missing lawmakers in an 85-6 vote. Abbott said he would strip lawmakers who failed to return to the state Capitol of their seats. Texas lawmakers already incur a daily $500 fine and threat of arrest for breaking quorum, and Abbott previously threatened the legislators with bribery charges if national Democrats pick up the tab. 'I believe they have forfeited their seats in the state Legislature because they're not doing the job they were elected to do,' Abbott said Monday on Fox News. State Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) — who is running as a right-wing challenger to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) this cycle — on Monday called the Democrats 'jet-setting runaways' and said it was 'imperative that they be swiftly arrested, punished, and face the full force of the law for turning their backs on the people of Texas.' Abbott and Paxton did not mention the redistricting efforts in their statements, which Democrats describe as a naked power grab. 'COME AND TAKE IT': Members of the Texas state House on Monday lashed out at Republicans' efforts to redraw the congressional district map, brushing off the governor's threats. State Rep. John Bucy (D) argued Democrats' quorum-busting actions were necessary, adding upholding their oaths of office sometimes means refusing to play along in a 'rigged game.' 'We're not running away,' Busey said. 'We're running into the fight.' Officials will have difficulty arresting the lawmakers as most are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas authorities. State Rep. Gene Wu (D-Texas), the chair of the chamber's Democratic caucus who fled to Illinois, challenged Abbott to 'come and take it,' referring to his seat. 'It's all bluster,' Wu told CNN when asked if he thinks Abbott could successfully take away their seats. 'Sound and fury signifying nothing.' The rapidly escalating tit for tat underscores how the redistricting battle has turned into an all-out national brawl ahead of what both parties expect to be a fiercely fought midterm election. While Texas is ground zero in the fight, The Hill's Caroline Vakil and Saul Elbein report Democratic lawmakers from Illinois to California and New York are promising to retaliate with their own maps. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Monday said the time for impartial political mapmaking had long passed. 'If Republicans are willing to rewrite these rules to give themselves an advantage, then they're leaving us no choice; we must do the same,' Hochul declared in Albany, flanked by several Texas lawmakers. 'I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back. With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process.' ▪ The Hill: Five things to know about Texas Democrats fleeing the state amid redistricting fight. ▪ The Washington Post: In their own words: Why Texas Democrats fled. PRESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT: 2028 hopefuls are using the Texas showdown as an opportunity to stand out, with heavyweights like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) taking front-line positions in the battle, The Hill's Amie Parnes notes. Newsom is weighing several options in the national redistricting fight, with the Golden State eyeing redrawing its own maps and moving ahead through a ballot measure or the state Legislature. Pritzker vowed to protect lawmakers who traveled to his state from the threat of arrest from top Texas leaders. Their actions are welcome news to Democrats who have been itching for an opportunity to show voters they can put up a fight, Parnes reports. 'This is an issue that may not necessarily animate the electorate, but it ignites the base and the donor community,' said former Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.), who led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2011 to 2015. 'Democrats like Newsom, Pritzker … among others, are at least showing that rolling over isn't a strategy. You have to fight fire with fire.' Smart Take with Blake Burman Here's a headline you may have missed as the week began: 'China is choking supply of critical minerals to Western Democracies.' As The Wall Street Journal reports, China is limiting critical minerals to Western defense companies, who use those rare minerals to build key technology that supports our military. The topic also came up last week in my conversation with Peter Navarro, White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing. I asked him if the White House plans to continue investing taxpayer dollars in American companies who supply rare earth minerals. 'We are going to have a lot of deals to fill out the supply chain. That's the strategy across critical minerals,' Navarro told me. Rare earths are a new battleground between the U.S. and China, and it's worth watching to see which companies the government chooses to invest in, along with how many. Burman hosts 'The Hill' weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation. 3 Things to Know Today President Trump is set to appear on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' this morning at 8 a.m. EDT for a rare interview as he goes on the defense over jobs numbers, tariffs and his firing of a top labor statistics official. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the Department of Justice to launch a grand jury probe into how Obama administration officials handled intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election. NewsNation's Robert Sherman is in Ukraine this week reporting ahead of the president's deadlines for new Russia sanctions. Check out his latest dispatch on the ground here. Leading the Day GOP JITTERS: Republicans are on edge about the economy after the latest jobs report showed far fewer jobs were added over the past three months than previously thought, The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports. Trump and his economic team insist the economy is strong and poised for even more growth from his policies, but their optimism is facing skepticism from some in the Republican Party who worry the president's trade overhaul is creating uncertain economic headwinds. 'It definitely is indicative of a weakened economy, an economy that's not acting in a robust fashion. I've all along felt like there's a lag between tariffs and actual economic downturn,' Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) admitted. Trump's latest tariff plan — another modification of the 'Liberation Day' global trading overhaul he first unveiled in April — includes steep increases on imports from major trade partners Canada and Brazil. The executive order outlining the proposal was released the same day a disappointing jobs report was released, which ultimately prompted Trump to remove the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner. 'I think it is worrisome and I do worry that the news has been relatively benign on tariffs so far,' Paul said. 'The proof is really in the next couple months. ' The president is facing rare pushback from conservatives — normally staunch Trump allies in Congress — over fears of potential economic fallout. The Senate and House are both on a monthlong recess, a time when Republican lawmakers are broadly working to sell what they view as the successes of the first few months of Trump's second administration. 'My view is that there's no question that consumers, Americans, pay a price for tariffs. It increases the price of the goods coming into the United States,'' said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). 'The question is, 'Is there a reason that tariffs in a temporary way can solve trade barriers that have been artificially created against our products going somewhere else?'' DATA CONCERNS: Trump's firing of the BLS commissioner continues to send ripples across the world economy and raise concerns about whether the next labor statistics chief will be willing to manipulate job numbers to work in Trump's favor. The traditionally nonpartisan role, usually held by career professionals who serve across multiple administrations, has given all presidents bad news in recent years. But Trump's firing of Erika McEntarfer has provoked worry among data experts that the independent work could now be politicized, even as they acknowledge manipulating the figures is highly difficult. The Hill's Alex Gangitano and Brett Samuels report on the concerns here. HOLD UP: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has put a hold on three of Trump's nominees to the Treasury Department over anticipated administration rules that could hamper tax credits for wind and solar energy. Grassley announced his move to place the holds in the congressional record Friday. 'The Department of the Treasury is expected to issue rules and regulations implementing the agreed upon phase-out of the wind and solar credits by August 18, 2025,' he wrote. 'Until I can be certain that such rules and regulations adhere to the law and congressional intent, I intend to continue to object to the consideration of these Treasury nominees.' Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), who entered the Senate in January, is also placing a hold on the same nominees — Brian Morrissey Jr., Francis Brooke and Jonathan McKernan — for the same reasons, a source told The Hill's Rachel Frazin. Grassley, who is currently the longest-serving senator with more than four decades under his belt, was recently embroiled in a rift with Trump that rankled the president's backers in the upper chamber. Trump lashed out at the 91-year-old Judiciary Committee chair for sticking to a long-standing Senate custom of allowing senators to have a say on judiciary appointees in their states. NOT EASY BEING GREENE: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) discussed her recent disconnect with the GOP on several issues in a new interview with The Hill's Emily Brooks in the latest edition of The Movement newsletter later today. (Click here to sign up for The Movement.) 'I'm an early indicator, and my complaints are felt and being said far and wide among your average American people who voted for the president and Republicans in 2024,' Greene told Brooks on Monday. 'The Republican Party is the one drifting away from what we campaigned on.' Greene had hinted in a recent interview with the Daily Mail that she's questioning her place in the GOP after repeatedly butting heads with other conservatives — including Trump, who she's staunchly supported. 'I don't know if the Republican Party is leaving me, or if I'm kind of not relating to the Republican Party as much anymore,' Greene told the Mail. 'I don't know which one it is.' 'I think the Republican Party has turned its back on 'America First' and the workers and just regular Americans,' she added. Among their differences: Greene has accused Israel of carrying out a 'genocide' in Gaza; vocally pushed for the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, despite the president's desire to move on from the story; and criticized the U.S. strike on nuclear facilities in Iran. SAVING SANTOS: Despite some friction with the administration, Greene is urging the president to grant clemency and facilitate an early release from prison for former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who is serving seven years behind bars for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. 'A 7-year prison sentence for campaign-related charges is excessive, especially when Members of Congress who've done far worse still walk free,' Greene wrote online Monday. 'George Santos has taken responsibility. He's shown remorse. It's time to correct this injustice. We must demand equal justice under the law!' Santos was expelled from the House in 2023 after serving less than a year after his personal background unraveled as a series of elaborate deceptions. He reported to prison last month. ADMINISTRATION ROUNDUP: ▪ The Hill: The State Department is testing a program aimed at curbing visa overstays by requiring migrants from some countries to pay bond as high as $15,000 to secure a visa for business or personal travel. ▪ The New York Times: Trump's demand to trading partners: Pledge money or get higher tariffs. ▪ The New York Times: Trump is expected to unveil a task force to boost the federal government's involvement in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. ▪ The Wall Street Journal: The White House is preparing to issue an executive order to step up pressure against big banks over perceived discrimination against conservatives and crypto companies. ▪ The Washington Post: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's acting chief of staff tried and failed to oust a senior White House liaison assigned to the Pentagon. ▪ The New York Times: Judges are starting to openly doubt the government as the Justice Department misleads and dodges orders. When and Where Trump will sign an executive order at 4 p.m. The Texas state House is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. EDT. The U.S. House and Senate are on recess until September. Zoom In HITTING THE (POCKET) BOOKS: Parents may be wary about early back-to-school shopping this year, as tariff hikes and rising prices start to strain family budgets. New surveys suggest some are bracing to pay more in back-to-school costs this year, and many blame Trump's trade wars for the spike. 'Consumers are navigating an uncertain environment right now, and uncertainty is coming from they just don't know how much things are going to cost later in the year, and they're trying to deal with that by buying ahead of time, stocking up now, while they know what prices will be, and trying to get ahead of potential price increases later in the season or later in the year,' the National Retail Foundation's Katherine Cullen said. As more people turn to 'buy now, pay later' purchases for things, including back-to-school items, NPR has a breakdown of how those purchases can affect your credit score. ▪ The Wall Street Journal: A Generation Is Turning to 'Buy Now, Pay Later' for Botox and Concert Tickets. CULTURE CLASH: The president has leaned into the latest front on the culture wars: an ad for blue jeans featuring a 27-year-old actress. Trump, 79, weighed in Monday over 'Euphoria' actress Sydney Sweeney and the American Eagle denim ad that has sparked widespread debate. 'Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there. It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves.' Go get 'em Sydney!' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning. Trump's comments sent American Eagle's stock soaring. The ad features Sweeney and plays up her 'great jeans,' a play on the idea of the actress's 'good genes.' It has spawned backlash online, with critics claiming there are racist undertones. Online sleuths found Sweeney's voter registration records that show she's a registered Republican in Florida. American Eagle defended the ad, saying it's only about their denim line Sweeney was paid to promote. 'You'd be surprised at how many people are Republicans,' Trump told reporters Sunday. 'If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.' POWERING UP: Big Tech has poured billions into artificial intelligence (AI) development, and it could be paying off. Wall Street has given its fickle stamp of approval, and the major industry players — Google, Microsoft and Meta — are celebrating after outperforming investors' lofty expectations. 'There are some moments that will be remembered in the market for many years… last night was one of them with the eye-popping results from Microsoft and Meta,' Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in an investor note last week. 'These massive results seen by Microsoft and Meta further validate the use cases and unprecedented spending trajectory for the AI Revolution on both the enterprise and consumer fronts.' ▪ Smithsonian magazine: You can now have a conversation with the statues at Versailles using AI. ▪ The Hill: Elon Musk donates $5 million to Trump super PAC. ENERGY UNCERTAINTY: The president has been focusing on promoting U.S. energy in his sweeping trade negotiations, but announcements about the agreements reached have been light on details. Actual outcomes remain uncertain. 'There's still a lot we don't know about what these deals look like, including in terms of how ambitious these actually are,' said Clara Gillispie, a senior fellow for climate and energy at the Council on Foreign Relations. 'You have in some of the detail deals references to energy products. Some say energy exports from the U.S. LNG is often referenced as part of a suggestive, but not necessarily all inclusive list,' she added. As The Hill's Rachel Frazin reports, 'decisions are made by private companies, rather than anything run by the state, and in many cases, if deals were economic, it's possible they would have already been made with or without a trade deal.' Meanwhile, the Trump administration is weighing more ways to curtail the development of solar and wind energy on public lands, calling the endeavors 'highly inefficient uses of Federal land.' 'Gargantuan, unreliable, intermittent energy projects hold America back from achieving U.S. Energy Dominance while weighing heavily on the American taxpayer and environment,' Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement on the effort. The renewable industry argues that the move could have significant impacts on developing energy projects already planned. SHIELD LAWS: Republicans are waging a multipronged campaign against abortion shield laws — legislation passed in states where the practice is legal that protects abortion providers from liability for violating anti-abortion laws in other states. Republicans are hoping to force the federal government to ultimately ban the laws. Legal experts say the effort will be difficult — as some states have already learned. Fifteen Republican attorneys general sent a letter to GOP congressional leaders last week urging federal action to preempt abortion shield laws, arguing they interfere with state criminal laws. 'Congress should consider stepping in to remedy this problem,' they wrote. 'Instead of allowing pro-abortion States to disrespect the decisions of other States regarding abortion and trample the Constitution, Congress should assess whether it should tackle this issue head on with legislation that preempts state shield laws.' Here is a breakdown from the University of California, Los Angeles law school tracking shield laws across the states. Elsewhere GAZA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security Cabinet this week to decide on Israel's next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas. Netanyahu is reportedly pushing for a full occupation of Gaza, including areas where hostages are held, even as Palestinians in Gaza face a dire humanitarian crisis with mass hunger and inadequate access to aid. Over the weekend, special envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. The failed ceasefire talks aimed to clinch agreements on a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day truce, during which aid would be flown into Gaza and half of the hostages would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. ▪ CNN: The Israeli government voted unanimously to dismiss the country's attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, a critic of Netanyahu who is leading the corruption case against him. The controversial move was immediately blocked by a Supreme Court injunction. ▪ NPR: New images of emaciated Israeli hostages have horrified Israelis and added pressure on Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire. RUSSIA: Trump is rattling the U.S.'s formidable nuclear saber amid his growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin 's refusal to halt the war in Ukraine, just days ahead of Trump's deadline for a ceasefire. Trump last week said he was moving two 'nuclear' submarines closer to Russia in response to threatening rhetoric from a top Kremlin official. On Sunday, he confirmed the vessels were now 'in the region.' Experts say it's a risky tactic unlikely to sway Putin, who has stood in the way of the president's campaign promise to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to the White House. Trump's promises, threats and cajoling have failed to shift the Kremlin's position, with Putin shrugging off the pressure. Meanwhile, Ukraine is losing more territory on the front line. Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow on Wednesday or Thursday. Trump said his special envoy is seeking to broker a truce 'where people stop getting killed.' Witkoff heads to Russia amid building frustration in the White House. Trump in July issued a 50-day ultimatum to Putin, threatening sanctions and tariffs if the Kremlin failed to agree to a ceasefire. Last week, he cut the window to 10 days, citing continued Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine. That deadline will expire on Friday. ▪ NewsNation: Life under siege in Kyiv. ▪ CBS News: Ukrainian refugees face an uncertain future as their U.S. work permits are set to expire. ▪ CNN analysis: Ukraine is now Trump's war. ▪ The Washington Post: Locals beg for Putin's help as Russian-occupied Ukraine runs out of water. Opinion Our president is economically illiterate, by Steven Rattner, columnist, The New York Times. Trump's 'Queen of Hearts' moment with the BLS echoes Putin's purges and Orwell's omens, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Judith Chevalier, Stephen Henriques and Steven Tian write in Fortune magazine. The Closer And finally … 🐻 Release the Kraken grizzly! Seattle's hockey team and its lovable troll mascot, Buoy, were trying to film some online content in Alaska when they received a surprise recently. A hefty grizzly bear came charging at them, and it appeared particularly interested in the costumed mascot, who was wearing waders and fly fishing in a stream. The team posted a video on social media of Buoy and the players' narrow escape from the wild beast.
Bloomberg
2 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Modi's Top Aides to Visit Russia Despite Trump's Tariff Threats
Top aides for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Russia on scheduled visits in the coming days, shortly after US President Donald Trump ramped up tariff threats over New Delhi's close ties with Moscow, according to officials familiar with the matter. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will visit Russia this week, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to follow later this month, the Indian officials said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are still private. Doval's visit was first reported on Tuesday by The Times of India.
Forbes
2 minutes ago
- Forbes
This Billionaire Is Partnering With The Ellisons On The Paramount Deal
T he year-long saga of Skydance Media's $8 billion Paramount takeover is fit for its own Paramount+ mini-series. There's political intrigue with critics slamming departing boss Shari Redstone's apparent capitulation to Donald Trump to get the deal approved, including Paramount's agreement to pay $16 million to Trump's future presidential library to resolve a lawsuit over a 60 Minutes segment on Kamala Harris followed by CBS News' announcement that it was cancelling popular Trump critic Stephen Colbert's late-night show in 2026 (supposedly for financial reasons). Trump celebrated both announcements vociferously. Then there is the potential family intrigue worthy of a Succession spinoff: David Ellison, the Skydance founder and former Biden backer behind such films as 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'True Grit', is teaming up with his staunch Republican father Larry Ellison who is the second richest person in the world and founder of software giant Oracle. Flying under the radar, beneath all the high-stakes drama, is Gerry Cardinale, a private equity investor who is poised to be an influential figure in the new-look Paramount. His firm RedBird Capital Partners is a shareholder in Skydance, having first invested in 2020. Now the firm is putting in $1.8 billion towards the $8 billion purchase price. Cardinale will join Paramount as a director and will appoint a yet-to-be-named second director. Jeff Shell, former CEO of NBCUniversal who chairs RedBird's sports and media business, will join Paramount as president. Andy Gordon, head of RedBird's West Coast office, will become Paramount's chief operating officer and chief strategic officer. Under the new ownership structure, RedBird will hold 22.5% of Paramount's voting rights, while David Ellison will hold 50% and Larry, who is Skydance's biggest investor, will hold the remaining 27.5%. This complicated familial-financial dynamic is likely to make Cardinale a pivotal voice in scenarios where the Ellisons butt heads. Paramount will become Cardinale's highest-profile investment but it's hardly his first big bet. In the worlds of sports, entertainment and media, the 57-year-old investor has been striking high-stakes deals for over a quarter of a century, first at Goldman Sachs and for the last decade at RedBird, which he founded in 2014. RedBird bought Italian football club A.C. Milan for $1.2 billion in 2022, and has backed household names like Lebron James, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in their independent entertainment ventures. It has also hired big names like Jeff Zucker, former CNN president, who is now leading its acquisition of British broadsheet The Telegraph (alongside co-investor Abu Dhabi-based firm IMI) for $675 million. The firm has also invested a smaller portion of its funds capital ($1.5 billion) on financial services companies. Its willingness to dive into the nitty-gritty of portfolio companies and their operations has helped RedBird grow to $12 billion in assets under management with 100 investment professionals across six global offices. 'I like playing shadow entrepreneur and solving problems with capital,' Cardinal said on Bloomberg podcast The Deal last year. It's been a winning recipe so far: RedBird has delivered 2.5 times gross multiple of capital and a 33% internal rate of return, according to a person familiar with the matter. Cardinale owns 100% of RedBird, filings show, and Forbes estimates he is worth $1.8 billion. (He declined to comment on his net worth or be interviewed for this article). W all Street glory was not always in the cards for Cardinale, who once harbored dreams of being a diplomat. Born in 1967, he grew up in the leafy Main Line suburbs outside Philadelphia, the son of a trial attorney. He later studied social studies at Harvard, where he rowed heavyweight crew and graduated with honors before studying politics and political theory at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Later on, he took a job at a Japanese think tank in Tokyo where he got a front-row seat to the effects of globalization. At the time, he was still considering law school, or getting his PhD in political theory. 'I wasn't one of these Wharton kids who knew I wanted to go to Wall Street from day one,' Cardinale recalled on The Deal. But meeting with investment bankers in Tokyo convinced Cardinale that finance would be a rewarding (and no doubt lucrative) career path. He joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 1992, the same year he published an article on Japanese anti-American sentiment and rising trade tensions in the academic journal Asian Survey . (His strong interest in Japan is something he shares with Larry Ellison, who has a Japanese art collection and modeled his Woodside, California home after a 16th century Japanese emperor's palace.) Cardinale worked at the bank's Hong Kong and Singapore offices before settling in the New York office in 1997 to work in the telecom, media and technology group as an investment banker. He later joined the bank's principal investment division, where he made his name persuading Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to launch the YES regional sports network in 2001. The project was finalized the day before September 11, and Goldman Sachs ended up backstopping the deal with a $335 million private equity investment after another investor pulled out. Though risky, the deal turned into a huge success, and Goldman made Cardinale a partner in 2004. A few years later in 2008, he persuaded Dallas Cowboys' billionaire owner Jerry Jones to team up with Steinbrenner to create the sports stadium concessions business Legends Hospitality, which investment firm Sixth Street Partners acquired a majority stake of in 2021. Cardinale left Goldman in 2013 and briefly worked at merchant bank BDT, founded by fellow Goldman alum Byron Trott, whom he'd previously done deals with. (BDT later merged with Michael Dell's family office to become BDT & MSD, and the firm has advised outgoing Paramount boss Shari Redstone). Cardinale founded RedBird in 2014 and raised $665 million for an inaugural fund from high-net-worth backers he'd met while at Goldman (their identities have not been disclosed) and an anchor investment from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which he also had a preexisting relationship with. RedBird became Skydance's second largest investor in 2020 when it led a $275 million capital raise. It backed Skydance again in 2022 when it raised another $400 million at a $4 billion valuation. RedBird's $1.8 billion cash outlay to buy Paramount represents 15% of its total assets under management. T he potential rewards from investing in Paramount are great but so are the risks: Between the inexorable decline of linear television, competition between streaming platforms, an existing $14.2 billion long-term debt load, and possible viewer blowback to perceived capitulation to Trump, Paramount faces a raft of challenges under its new ownership group. '[It] has the potential to overwhelm RedBird's portfolio,' Paul Wachter, the founder of Main Street Advisors, said earlier this year in a Harvard Business Review case study on RedBird. 'Turning Paramount around is going to be an enormous amount of work.' (Wachter also said he believes the investment will be a success 'because the executives are smart and highly motivated.') From Cardinale's perspective, the new Paramount—with its more than 1,200 film titles, distribution rights to another 2,400 films, and roster of television networks emblazoned in the American viewer psyche—is the perfect candidate to receive the RedBird treatment. 'What we do at RedBird is we look for ways of monetizing world-class IP. This is an over 100-year-old business…with really high-quality intellectual property,' he said last year on The Town, Puck founder Matthew Belloni's podcast, after the Skydance-Paramount deal was announced. 'We're not just deal guys looking to do a deal; we're not just private equity guys looking to go buy something.' While investors eye the numbers, media critics and consumers will be waiting to see how Skydance follows through on what the FCC described as its 'written commitments to ensure that the new company's programming embodies a diversity of viewpoints from across the political and ideological spectrum' and to 'adopt measures that can root out the bias that has undermined trust in the national news media.' There are reasons to believe the new Paramount will be less Trumpy than some fear: David Ellison gave around $1 million to Joe Biden's reelection campaign, and Cardinale, while not a megadonor, has previously given to both Democrats and Republicans. In any case, Cardinale has more to worry about than politics. With its massive debt load and facing structural headwinds, the new-look Paramount is crying out for a financier who understands the industry and is willing to stake his reputation on it. The test begins when the deal closes - which could happen any day now. More from Forbes Forbes How The World's Second-Richest Person And His Son Pulled Off The $8 Billion Paramount Deal By Phoebe Liu Forbes Inside Private Equity's $29 Trillion Retirement Savings Grab By Hank Tucker Forbes Want To Hedge Against Inflation? Buy A Forest By William Baldwin Forbes The New Owner Of The San Diego Wave Soccer Team Is The World's First Woman Private Equity Billionaire By Giacomo Tognini
