Happy Wednesday Everyone! Todayâs newsletter: 1,096 wordsâŚ4 mins
đ Todayâs Edition: Musk, Ronaldo and The Crown Prince: Inside Trump's $1 Trillion Saudi Power Play, U.S. Tests a New Ukraine Peace Framework, Europe and Mossad Breakup Hamasâ âOctopus Networkâ, Klimt Portrait Sells for $236M, xAI Goes Big in Saudi Arabia⌠& much more!
đ¨ Watch For:
President expected to sign the Epstein Bill shortly
đTHE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Clockwise from top-left: The President with the Crown Prince to his right and the First Lady to his left; Selfie posted by David Sacks which includes Robaldo, Elon and Howard Lutnick; Cristiano Ronaldo walking to his seat; Elon Musk at the dinner table.
đ˝ Musk, Ronaldo and The Crown Prince: Inside Trump's $1 Trillion Saudi Power Play
Last night, the East Room became the global capital of power as President Trump rolled out a black-tie, candlelit dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanâwith pistachio-encrusted lamb in tow.
The guest list looked like the Forbes gala met the World Cup after-party: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, Jeff Bezos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Schwarzman, Wirth, Fraserâbasically the PIFâs LinkedIn network IRL.
đŻ Surprise Guest: The headline presence was Elon Muskâhis first return to the White House since his public feud with Trump earlier this year.
The dĂŠtente wasnât subtle. Muskâs appearance was a political and economic tell: if Silicon Valleyâs highest-voltage CEO is back in the room, the relationship reset is real.
đ¨The Headline Moments: Trump used the moment to announce Saudi Arabiaâs new status as a major non-NATO ally, unlocking priority access to U.S. weapons systemsâincluding F-35sâand accelerated tech, energy, and nuclear cooperation.
He also touted nearly $1 trillion in Saudi investment headed for the U.S., a figure that will dictate how Wall Street positions itself for months.
âĄThe Viral Moment: The Crown Prince delivered the nightâs viral moment, joking about prediction markets betting on whether heâd ditch traditional attire for a tux:
If you bet on the black suit, you get 17x⌠sorry, you lose.
â˝ RonaldoâSaudiâs unofficial brand ambassadorâjoined the festivities after strolling the White House grounds with Trump and chatting with Barron (Cool dad points secured, Trump bragged). His appearance doubled as soft-power PR ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
đĄBottom line: This wasnât just a dinner. It was a strategic alignment ceremonyâwith celebrity gloss and trillion-dollar stakes.
âď¸THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
đşđ¸ đşđŚ U.S. Tests a New Ukraine Peace Framework
Washington has dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff to Kyiv to explore a 28-point Ukraine-Russia peace outline he developed with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
The plan touches on European security guarantees, Ukraineâs military posture, future U.S.-Russia-Ukraine relations, and potential territorial arrangementsâareas Kyiv views as highly sensitive.
U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll arrived for follow-up talks after consultations with Marco Rubio and Witkoff, underscoring that the administration is formally assessing diplomatic options.
Kyivâs response so far: cautious and unconvinced.
đĄNext phase: U.S. briefings with European partners as evaluations continue.
đź Klimt Portrait Sells for $236M, Becomes No. 2 All-Time
A rare Gustav Klimt portrait, Elisabeth Lederer, sold for $236.4M at Sothebyâs New York, making it the second most expensive artwork ever auctioned.
The 20-minute bidding war far beat expectations ($150M) and capped a remarkable journey: Nazi looting, near-destruction in WWII, rescue in 1948, and decades in private collections including EstĂŠe Lauder heir Leonard Lauderâs Fifth Avenue home.
Other Klimts from the Lauder collection fetched up to $80M.
đĄ Fun twist: An hour later, a fully functional gold toilet by Maurizio Cattelan sold for $12.1Mâbuyer is a famous American brand, apparently.
đŁ Europe & Mossad Break Up âHamas Octopusâ Network
Mossad and European agencies have dismantled what investigators dubbed the âHamas Octopusââa coordinated network preparing attacks on Jews, synagogues, and Israeli sites across Europe.
Months of surveillance across Germany, Austria, and others uncovered weapons caches, explosives, and drones allegedly positioned for activation âon command.â
A major stash in Vienna was tied to Muhammad Naim, son of a senior Hamas figure.
European officials say meetings in Qatar point to high-level approval despite Hamas denials.
đĄ Why it matters: Recent arrests in Germany highlight Hamasâs push to expand operations abroad. Intelligence cooperation, for now, is keeping Europe ahead of the curve.
đ˝THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
â Larry Summers Steps Down from OpenAI Board
Larry Summers, former Treasury Secretary and ex-Harvard president, resigned from OpenAIâs board amid fallout from recently released congressional documents detailing his extensive personal correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers admitted wrongdoing and called his actions âdeeply shameful.â OpenAI said it respects his decision.
âĄThe resignation is part of a broader retreat from public roles for Summers, including think tanks and media positions, as Harvard launches a new probe into his Epstein-linked activities.
đ Abbott's Texas-Sized Terror Tag
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just designated CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist orgs, blocking them from buying land.
Abbott's move aligns with U.S. allies like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, which already designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.
CAIR fired back, calling it a "publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation" and promised a legal battle, noting the U.S. government doesn't recognize the designation.
âĄThe move comes amid heightened scrutiny on CAIR, including reports of the group cutting $1,000 checks for students protestors who were disciplined for anti-Israel protests.
đ¤ CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AIâs Black Mirror Moments
Elon Musk and Jensen Huang at the American-Saudi Investment Forum today
đ¤ xAI Goes Big in Saudi Arabia
Elon Muskâs xAI is teaming up with Saudi state-backed Humain to build a 500 MW data centerâthe largest xAI facility outside the U.S.âto power Grok and other AI workloads.
The project leans on Nvidia chips and aligns with Saudi plans to handle 6% of global AI processing by 2030.
âĄBacked by $15B in Saudi investment and potential easing of U.S. export controls, this deal cements Muskâs growing tech ties with the kingdom.
⢠Microsoft Goes Nuclear for AI Growth
The Department of Energy just greenlit a $1B federal loan to Constellation Energy to restart Pennsylvaniaâs Three Mile Island reactorânow the Crane Clean Energy Center.
The reboot is anchored by Microsoft, which signed a 20-year deal to buy 100% of the plantâs 835 MW to fuel its expanding AI data centers.
âĄSet to reopen in 2027, the project covers most of its $1.6B price tag and marks a major bet on nuclear as the backbone of U.S. digital infrastructure.
đş FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
A is for absent
No spelled-out number before "one thousand" uses the letter A. Plenty of Eâs, Iâs, Oâs and Uâs though.