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Business Insider
22-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
From Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, these are the high-profile billionaires who have founded schools
Several billionaires have started schools, to varying degrees of success. The ventures stretch from preschools to high schools, and many are founded by tech billionaires. Some are scheduled to close, and some have yet to open. Billionaires can seem everywhere these days, and the school system is no different. In recent years, a number of the country's wealthiest have founded schools, to varying degrees of success. As the education system is undergoing potentially profound changes under President Donald Trump 's second administration and some schools face privatization, billionaires have thrown their hats — and dollars — into the educational ring. From Elon Musk to Mark Zuckerberg, here are some of the billionaires who have founded schools in recent years. Elon Musk The Tesla CEO and the world's richest man has founded multiple schools. His latest, a private preschool called Ad Astra, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, according to its website. Ad Astra is in Bastrop, Texas, close to Starbase, the city Musk founded near his SpaceX complex. The school is accepting applications for kids between the ages of three and nine. It's not a Montessori school but draws on similar principles, focusing on child-centered learning, according to the website. The curriculum focuses on STEM subjects — fitting since Ad Astra is Latin for "to the stars." According to the school's site, Ad Astra will subsidize tuition in the opening year and will later cost around as much as local private schools. A permit from the Texas Health and Human Services Department allowing Ad Astra to open in 2025 specified that it can enroll 21 students in its first year. The application materials, first reported by Bloomberg, said the school aims to expand into a STEM-focused university. None of the application materials to the state include Musk's name, but his foundation donated $100 million to the preschool, according to tax filings, as BI previously reported. In 2014, Musk opened a different school in California named Ad Astra for his children and the kids of SpaceX employees. That venture evolved into a largely online school called Astra Nova. According to its website, Astra Nova serves around 300 students between the ages of 10 and 14. Class offerings on the site range from special relativity to songwriting to ethical hacking. Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan created The Primary School in 2016 through their philanthropy, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The tuition-free private school said in April 2025 that it would close by the end of the 2026 academic year. The Primary School is a tuition-free private school with locations in East Palo Alto and East Bay, California. According to its website, it serves hundreds of students and works to more closely connect parents, teachers, and medical and mental health professionals. The school's website highlights diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its closure was announced at the same time some of Zuckerberg's other ventures rolled back DEI efforts. Meta dropped many of its DEI initiatives in January 2025, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ended its own DEI efforts one month later. A message announcing the closure on the school website says that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will invest $50 million in surrounding communities in the coming years, including savings plans for soon-to-be former students and "transition specialists" for families. Zuckerberg was worth $235.6 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. Jeff Bezos Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos founded a whole network of preschools called Bezos Academy. He started the schools through the Bezos Day One Fund, and the first location opened in 2020. Bezos Academy runs "Montessori-inspired preschools in under-resourced communities," according to its website. Bezos attended a Montessori school himself. The schools are tuition-free and serve children between the ages of three and five. The website lists schools in Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Texas, and Washington. Bezos was worth $226.8 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a boarding school in South Africa, in 2007. More than 525 girls have graduated, according to the Oprah Foundation website. The school serves students from 8th to 12th grade and has a 1% acceptance rate, per the Oprah Foundation. Oprah posted on Instagram about attending graduation at the school in 2024, saying in the caption that she had been to 22 of the ceremonies. Oprah was worth $3.1 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers star Lebron James founded a school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, in 2018, in partnership with the local public school system. The LeBron James Family Foundation backed the I Promise School, which is "dedicated to those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks," according to its website. As a public school, I Promise is funded by the Akron Public Schools district, but receives addition funds from James' foundation, according to Case Western University. It serves students between first and eighth grade and provides wraparound services, including a longer school day. James was worth $1.2 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes. Laurene Powell Jobs Unlike the other billionaires on this list, investor Laurene Powell Jobs hasn't started one individual school but an independent nonprofit that distributes money to high schools across the country. According to its website, XQ Institute is "rethinking high school " and is based on the idea that the rapidly changing workplace and technological world demand a new educational approach. Powell Jobs, widow of Steve Jobs, co-founded XQ Institute in 2015. Powell Jobs' organization, the Emerson Collective, has invested $300 million in XQ Institute, which has also granted grants to schools across the country. However, as BI previously reported, XQ Institute has encountered some controversies over its data and efficacy in recent years. Powell Jobs was worth $13.9 billion at the time of writing, according to Forbes.
Extra.ie
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Dr Norah Patten on the less glamorous side of space training
When you picture astronaut training, chances are you're imagining extremely serious, Hans Zimmer soundtracked scenes from the likes of Interstellar, Gravity or Ad Astra. Chances are you're probably not picturing a Ballina woman perfecting her zero gravity approach; however, Dr. Norah Patten: engineer and Ireland's very own spacebound trailblazer, is the REAL face of space exploration in 2025. As she edges closer to becoming the first Irish person in space, Norah's training regimen is, as you'd expect; rigorous, technical, and full of acronyms. But it also comes with a healthy dose of chaos and very human moments. She sat down with this week to lift the visor on what really goes on behind the scenes of astronaut prep. When you picture astronaut training, chances are you're imagining extremely serious, Hans Zimmer soundtracked scenes from the likes of Interstellar, Gravity or Ad Astra. Pic: Facebook 'I think with social media, it's been great having that as a platform to share some of the some of the preparation we do, and some of the programs that we've we've worked on,' she began. 'I think people like to hear about the kind of quirky things…for example, the microgravity flights are often named 'the vomit comet' because people get motion sick on them. 'Because you're flying in this trajectory on the aircraft where it's like you're flying up and down, and you're getting this 20 seconds of weightlessness, and you then transition into like a 2g pull, so everything becomes heavy, and often in those transitions, people can get motion sick and and so people often like to hear, did you get sick? You know, and what do you eat in advance?' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Aer Lingus (@aerlingus) Norah sees her pre-flight meal as an essential part of the launch day routine, admitting she has it down to a 'fine art' by now. 'I know a chicken wrap, a plain chicken wrap, maybe two and a half hours before I fly and I'm perfect. I haven't gotten sick. If you don't eat, you're more likely to get sick. So there's all these combinations.' Another lesser-known but entirely practical part of space preparation is the use of adult nappies—yes, even astronauts have to think about bathroom breaks when suited up, with Norah spilling the beans on the less glamorous side of space exploration. Chances are you're probably not picturing a Ballina woman perfecting her zero gravity approach, however, Dr. Norah Patten: engineer and Ireland's very own spacebound trailblazer is the REAL face of space exploration in 2025. Pic: Instagram/ Dr Norah Patten 'It's a maximum absorbency garment, it's a mag, and you actually wear those on the space flight. Astronauts wear them on the way to the space station. It's just, if you did have to go to the toilet, there's no toilets on the spacecraft. So what do you do? You wear a mag on your space flight. I think it's those interesting little facts that people like to get a sense of that the human side.' Norah's journey has also quietly transformed her into a role model for a new generation of space enthusiasts, especially in Ireland. Her presence in the space world shows young people—particularly girls and those from underrepresented communities—that space isn't just for a select few. It's a career path that can start with stargazing in Mayo and lead all the way to orbit. As she edges closer to becoming the first Irish person in space, Norah's training regimen is, as you'd expect; rigorous, technical, and full of acronyms. But it also comes with a healthy dose of chaos and very human moments. She sat down with this week to lift the visor on what really goes on behind the scenes of astronaut prep. Pic: Facebook 'It's sometimes hard to put into words, because it's something I don't for one second take for granted,' she remarked of her newfound fame. 'Sometimes I get recognized out, you know, with little kids coming up, and they're like, 'oh, there's Nora!' And it's really, really special to see. 'I just want to be able to use the flight as a means of engaging with as many, not just kids, adults too, in Ireland, just to share what we're doing, inspire them and If there was some big dream or ambition they had, to find possible routes to make it happen.' Norah has been selected for a mission on board Virgin Galactic's second generation of spacecraft that will hopefully launch in 2026 Aer Lingus has since partnered with Dr Patten ahead of her historic space mission, with the Irish airline proudly flying Norah as she crosses the Atlantic while undertaking this vital space research.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Three lawsuits confirm that Kansas lawmakers concocted menacing attacks on civil rights
The Ad Astra statue atop the Kansas Statehouse takes aim against a wall of gray clouds on May 2, 2025. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) In their apparent eagerness to save money and do right by taxpayers, perhaps Kansas Republican leaders could try passing laws that don't trample on the rights of their constituents. That's my only response to lawsuits filed throughout May that highlight the downright sloppy lawmaking that has become a hallmark of our state's rushed, secretive legislative session. Bills are introduced and rubber-stamped in committee, testimony from experts is ignored, and the House and Senate send them through with nary a speed bump. Afterward, the taxpayers of Kansas have to foot the bill for any carelessness. Let's take a quick look at the lawsuits and their subjects. Up first, Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith, who reported the following May 28. Two transgender teenagers and their parents are challenging a new Kansas law that bans gender-affirming care for minors. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the national ACLU filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Douglas County District Court on behalf of a 16-year-old trans boy and a 13-year-old trans girl. The lawsuit argues the new law violates state constitutional rights for equal protection, personal autonomy and parenting. Senate Bill 63 prohibits health care providers from using surgery, hormones or puberty blockers to treat anyone younger than 18 who identifies with a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Health care providers who break the law may be subject to civil penalties and stripped of their license. You can read the law here. You can read the lawsuit here. Next, Reflector reporter Anna Kaminski wrote about another lawsuit on May 19. A Kansas reproductive rights advocacy group, backed by a Washington, D.C., law firm, sued state officials over a new law banning financial contributions from 'foreign nationals' to support or oppose constitutional amendments. The group, Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, argued in a complaint filed in federal court Friday that House Bill 2106, which passed the Legislature in April and is set to go into effect July 1, is broad, vague and unconstitutional. The group said the bill inhibits its ability to advocate for or against future constitutional amendments. Kansans for Constitutional Freedom and its donors have received contributions from foreign nationals, the lawsuit said. The complaint drew a connection between HB 2106 and opposition to the 2022 ballot measure that sought to limit reproductive rights. Voters rejected the proposed constitutional amendment by a 59-41 margin. You can read the law here. You can read the lawsuit here. But wait, there's still more! Here's senior reporter Morgan Chilson on May 6. Three advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit Monday in Douglas County District Court challenging the Kansas Legislature's attempt to 'arbitrarily' reject advance ballots of voters if the mail system fails to deliver them by Election Day. Kansas Appleseed, Loud Light and Disability Rights Center of Kansas are asking the court to find Senate Bill 4 unconstitutional. Defendants are Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew. SB 4, which the Legislature passed this year, disqualifies any mail-in ballots not received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Previously, mail-in ballots were counted if they were postmarked by Election Day and arrived within three days later. You can read the law here. You can read the lawsuit here. We covered all of these proposals at various stages, from twinkles in legislators' eyes to enshrinement in the statute books. Leaders sent the anti-trans bill to Gov. Laura Kelly as their first act of business in the 2025 session. She allowed the foreign nationals ban to become law without her signature and a warning that it 'went too far.' The advance-voting bill was called 'pure partisan politics' by former Rep. Ann Mah. Sure, the deluge of wastewater emanating from the Statehouse in 2025 may have overwhelmed at times. But none of this should have come as a surprise. If people or groups believe the government has infringed on their rights — to medical care, to advocacy, to voting — no one can be surprised if they bring legal action. When senators and representatives cast votes on such issues, they decide whether the state should place a barrier in front of the people they represent. No amount of victim blaming or sanctimonious claptrap obscures the truth. Defending the laws falls to Attorney General Kris Kobach and his office. Who pays their salaries? You and me and all the people of Kansas. We're all on the hook for legislative foolishness. The state may win some or all of these suits. So may those who filed them. Regardless, their mere presence suggests that our elected officials tread far too easily into the swamps of ideological overreaction. Rather than representing all, they have bowed and scraped in service to a hateful few. We will see the consequences play out before judges in the months ahead. Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Netflix adds 'criminally underrated' movie starring Brad Pitt with near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score that's been hailed as a 'genuine masterwork'
Netflix has added a 'criminally underrated' movie starring Brad Pitt with a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score to the streaming service. Ad Astra, written by James Gray and Ethan Ross, has been hailed as a 'genuine masterwork'. The science fiction film, which is distributed by 20th Century Fox, hit our screens in 2019. Now, six years on, fans can rewatch it on Netflix. The movie's Rotten Tomatoes synopsis reads: 'Thirty years ago, Clifford McBride led a voyage into deep space, but the ship and crew were never heard from again. 'Now his son - a fearless astronaut - must embark on a daring mission to Neptune to uncover the truth about his missing father and a mysterious power surge that threatens the stability of the universe.' Ad Astra also boasts a star-studded cast which includes Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland. It has received pretty impressive reviews online, with various fans rushing to review site Rotten Tomatoes to share their thoughts. Ad Astra managed to bag a whopping 83 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. Others shared their positive thoughts, with one saying: '[Director James] Gray's Ad Astra, as a reflection upon loss and masculinity is as illuminating as the sun, personal in its careful inspection, and a repressed masterpiece.' 'This is an EXCELLENT film! It is one to watch multiple times to keep picking up little details. It may not appeal to folks with low attention spans who are afraid to think or commit to a film. For those who want to take a journey for a night, it's a 5/5!' 'Words can't describe how much I love this movie. I really wish it caught a better audience because most of the people writing reviews either didn't watch it or didn't experience it for the movie I see it as. 'Also a lot of people were really mad at the physics in this movie which I think is really, really stupid.' 'Requires focus and patience as it powers up but it is well worth the ride once it flies. Psychologically compelling, visually astute and thought-provoking. Many have rushed to review site Rotten Tomatoes to share their positive reviews on the 2019 film 'For one, it captures enough of the emotional impact of extended space travel as to convince even those who love the idea of doing so to reconsider.' 'Wow... Astonishing! Probably one of the best films I've ever seen. 'Fantastic photography, excellent acting by Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones, and a captivating script. 'I felt immersed, exploring the space while the film masterfully guided me.' 'A great gripping movie, a fresh story, Brad Pitt solo performance definitely carried this space adventure.' Hollywood legend Brad took on the role of Roy Richard McBride. Tommy Lee Jones plays Roy's dad H. Clifford McBride, while Ruth Negga plays Helen Lantos. Liv Tyler has taken on the role of Roy's wife Eve McBride, Donald Sutherland plays Colonel Thomas Pruitt and John Ortiz plays Lieutenant General Rivas. It comes after Netflix fans raved over a gangster film with the 'greatest fight scenes ever' and a whopping 92 per cent Rotten Tomatoes scare. They ended up hailing it as a 'no-holds-barred bloodbath'. The Night Comes For Us, made and released by the streamer in 2018, follows a gangster named Ito, whose job as a crime enforcer is to use violence to ensure the syndicate's rules are followed and its business is protected. It stars Indonesian actors Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais respectively as the hero and a gangster who hunts him down, with the latter known in Hollywood for co-starring with Mark Wahlberg in 2018 espionage action film Mile 22.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scarlett Johansson & Miles Teller Join Adam Driver in Ad Adstra Director's Paper Tiger Cast
Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller have joined the cast of . Paper Tiger is a new film going into production next month in New Jersey that comes from director James Gray, who is known for making 2016's The Lost City of Z and 2019's Ad Astra, among other titles. Along with Teller and Johansson, the movie will also star Adam Driver. Character details are being kept under wraps at this time. 'Paper Tiger is a tense and gritty story, two brothers pursue the American Dream —only to become entangled in a scheme that turns out to be too good to be true,' the synopsis reads. 'As they try to navigate their way through an ever-more dangerous world of corruption and violence, they find themselves and their family brutally terrorized by the Russian 'Mafiya.' Their bond begins to fray, and betrayal—once utterly unthinkable—now becomes all too possible.' RT Features' Rodrigo Teixeira and AK Productions' Anthony Katagas serve as producers on the movie alongside Raffaella Leone, Gary Farkas, Marco Perego, Carlo Salem, and Andrea Bucko. Executive producers include Lee Broda, Jeff Rice, Riccardo Maddalosso, and Emille Salveson. Johansson, known for playing Black Widow in the MCU, will soon be seen playing a character named Zora Bennett in Jurassic World Rebirth, which opens in United States theaters this coming July. She's also starring in Wes Anderson's next movie, The Phoenician Scheme, which arrives later this month. Teller is set to play John Branca in the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, titled Michael. He'll also soon be seen starring alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph in David Freyne's Eternity. In addition to The Lost City of Z and Ad Astra, Gray previously made 1994's Little Odessa, 2000's The Yards, 2007's WE Own the Night, 2008's Two Lovers, 2013's The Immigrant, and 2022's Armageddon Time. A release date for Paper Tiger has not yet been announced. The post Scarlett Johansson & Miles Teller Join Adam Driver in Ad Adstra Director's Paper Tiger Cast appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
