Forbes Daily: LeBron James’ Surprise Exit From Lakers And His Rumored Next Team

Even after an unprecedented 23 seasons in the NBA, billionaire basketball legend LeBron James isn’t done yet—though he does plan on changing things up.

The four-time NBA champion shocked the sports world Tuesday with news that he won’t be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers. Speculation abounds over where he’ll land, with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers emerging as frontrunners.

James, 41, was born to a 16-year-old single mother who struggled to find steady work and a stable home. He ranked No. 5 on our recent list of the Greatest Self-Made Americans, and is the first and only active NBA player to achieve billionaire status.

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First Up

The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, and the president called on Congress to instead pursue the policy through legislation.

Trump disclosed more than $100 million in bitcoin holdings in an ethics filing Tuesday, and Forbes now estimates the president’s total exposure to the cryptocurrency amounts to about $500 million.

The Trump administration lifted its restrictions on two advanced AI models from Anthropic, after initially banning them due to national security concerns.

Business + Finance

Job openings hit a two-year high in May, with the month’s job listings improving slightly over April and surpassing expectations. Hiring did slip from April’s totals, and layoffs ticked up. Despite the larger-than-expected total for added jobs, the labor participation rate, or the share of Americans working or looking for work, settled at 61.8% in May—the lowest rate since December 2021.

Wealth + Entrepreneurship

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s upcoming wedding comes amid an unprecedented financial peak for the 36-year-old pop star. Thanks in part to the massive global success of her Eras Tour, Swift enters her wedding weekend with a net worth that Forbes estimates is north of $2.1 billion, cementing the last three years as the most lucrative stretch of her career to date.

For the first time in two decades, billionaire Warren Buffett will not make a midyear donation to the Gates Foundation. The Wall Street Journal reported that the legendary investor and his team have been in contact with the foundation’s leadership to learn more about its links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and Buffett told CNBC in March that he hadn’t spoken with Gates since the release of the Epstein files.

Money + Politics

While Maine’s Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has said he wants to “ban billionaires buying elections,” that hasn’t stopped some deep-pocketed donors from supporting him. Platner doesn’t have a dedicated super PAC supporting his candidacy, so his fundraising relies on direct donations that are capped at $7,000, but campaign filings show that at least five billionaires have given relatively modest sums to his campaign.

Sports + Entertainment

Excitement for the World Cup reached a fever pitch this week, as 32 countries entered the knockout stage—double the number from previous events. With the action ramping up, Forbes dug into some of the tournament’s more eye-popping numbers, from the $713,000 World Cup trophy to the $50 million in prize money that’s set aside for the winning team.

Daily Cover Story

The KC Current Are Ready To Expand Their Pioneering Soccer Stadium

When Angie and Chris Long first decided to build a stadium for their National Women’s Soccer League team, the Kansas City Current, they didn’t exactly have a model to look to—every other franchise in the NWSL shared its home field with one or more men’s clubs.

So the new team owners took their inspiration from more intimate venues, settling on a capacity of 11,500 to create a fan experience that was loud, crowded and coveted.

By the time CPKC Stadium opened in March 2024, Kansas City had fallen in love with soccer. The Current became the first team in league history to sell out all of its home matches that year and now has a season-ticket base of around 8,000—more than four of the league’s 16 clubs are averaging in total attendance this year.

The downside of that success: Many fans haven’t been able to get in the door. As robust as the army of season-ticket holders is, there are still more than 5,000 names on the waiting list, and the number crunch leaves only a couple of thousand seats available for single-game sales. So barely two years after the stadium opened, the Current are ready to expand it.

This week, the team unveiled plans to increase capacity to 18,000, after Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas proposed a tax increment financing district and up to $235 million in bonds to help finance the renovation and surrounding development earlier this month.

Public support for the project would be a shift for the Longs and their co-owners, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany. The group privately financed the original $140 million stadium—with $5.5 million in tax credits—and says it has invested a total of $350 million to date in the development. The full project is now expected to cost $1.4 billion and will feature public trails and park space, apartments, restaurants and shops, in addition to the stadium.

MORE Serena Williams Isn’t Returning To Tennis For The Money

Facts + Comments

The U.S. took a key step toward overturning the ban on supersonic flight within its borders, with the Federal Aviation Administration submitting plans to instead set a maximum noise level for civil aircraft:

1973: The year the FAA first banned supersonic flight

Around 660 mph: At high altitudes, a plane traveling faster than this speed breaks the sound barrier, creating a sonic boom

‘Eliminate the old sonic boom’: New technology makes supersonic flight less disruptive to residents who live near airports, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford

Strategy + Success

While the conventional wisdom among parents and educators tends to favor banning cellphones in schools, the latest research shows only modest academic improvements when student phone use is restricted. Screens in the classroom are increasingly a nuanced issue, and as digital learning platforms and AI-powered educational tools become a bigger part of the curriculum, all screen use shouldn’t be seen as equivalent.

Video

Quiz

American tech company Apptronik announced plans for a new 90,000-square-foot facility in Austin, Texas, to “train” its flagship product. What emerging technology does Apptronik produce?

A. Wearable exoskeleton suits

B. Remote-operated consumer vehicles

C. Autonomous drones

D. Humanoid robots

Check your answer.

Thanks for reading! This edition of Forbes Daily was edited by Chris Dobstaff and Caroline Howard.

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