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Meet the world’s next central banker: Mark Zuckerberg

[Editor’s Note: As we’re coming up on the end of the year, we thought it would be appropriate to republish some of our most popular Notes articles of 2018. For the next five days, we will publish Notes from the Field pieces that have garnered the most attention from you and the rest

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This tiny corner of Rhode Island shows us the future of Social Security

[Editor’s Note: One of the most important topics we cover in Notes from the Field is the current state of pension funds around the world, a.k.a. the global pension crisis. Many pension funds and social security systems globally do not have enough money to cover the retirement obligations they owe to millions of

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Why Albert Einstein thought we were all insane

In the early summer of 1914, Albert Einstein was about to start a prestigious new job as Director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. The position was a big deal for the 35-year old Einstein– confirmation that he was one of the leading scientific minds in the world. And he was excited

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This is the most important meeting I attend every year

[Editor’s Note: Today’s Notes, originally published one year ago, is about one of the most impactful things I do each year. If you know a young entrepreneur who may be interested in what we’re doing, please forward this piece along. It could change their lives…] I’ve always been a big believer in entrepreneurship.

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“We choose debt. . .”

I’ve long held a working theory that US voters are completely predictable in Presidential elections. The idea is that Americans almost invariably tend to swing wildly every few election cycles, voting for the candidate who is as close to the opposite of the current guy as possible. Let’s go back a few decades

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GE just signaled the next crisis and nobody’s paying attention

Earlier this month, General Electric took a $6.2 billion charge to its insurance unit for the fourth quarter. And the company said it will set aside another $15 billion over seven years to bolster reserves at GE Capital. The charge had to do with long-term care policies (to pay for nursing homes and

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Message from Planet Japan: The good times never last forever

After having traveled to more than 120 countries in my life, the only person I know who’s been to more places than I have is Jim Rogers. Jim is a legend– a phenomenal investor, author, and all-around great guy. (His book Adventure Capitalist is a must-read, chronicling his multi-year driving voyage across the

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The time when Kiefer Sutherland beat me to the punch

Back in 2013 I had an idea for a movie. The basic premise was that some unknown domestic terrorist group executes an attack on the United States government by blowing up the Capitol during the President’s State of the Union Address. It’s a little silly, but I even wrote a small treatment for

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Social Security proposes “immediate and permanent reduction” in benefits

On a deep, dark evening last June in the spectacularly celestial deserts of northern Chile, scientists made a phenomenal discovery. It was a supernova… one that they named ASASSN-15lh. This wasn’t just any supernova. It was the BIGGEST and BRIGHTEST supernova ever recorded. Supernovas are exploding stars whose ejected mass and energy can

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It doesn’t matter that we “owe it to ourselves”

[Editor’s Note: As we’re coming up on the end of the year, we thought it would be appropriate to republish some of our most popular articles. Today’s was originally published on March 14, 2017] Thousands of years ago, as far back as 3000 BC, the ancient Egyptians had developed a highly advanced system

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Yes, governments CAN go bankrupt. And no, it’s NOT impossible…

[Editor’s Note: As we’re coming up on the end of the year, we thought it would be appropriate to republish some of our most popular articles. Today’s was originally published on March 13, 2017] In the year 1517, one of the most important innovations in financial history was invented in Amsterdam: the government

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A great story from when America was still the Land of Opportunity

[Editor’s Note: As we’re coming up on the end of the year, we thought it would be appropriate to republish some of our most popular articles. Today’s was originally published on January 2, 2017] Last week during a long overdue vacation, a close friend of mine recommended reading the autobiography of Rich DeVos

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Saxo Bank predicts Bitcoin collapse to $1,000 in 2018

It’s that time of year again– the time when everyone seems to be channeling his or her inner Nostradamus, peering into the crystal ball, and making predictions about what we’re going to see next year. There’s a great quote that’s often mis-attributed to Mark Twain: “Predictions are hard, especially about the future.” (The

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A young foreigner’s first impressions of America

Last weekend while I was in Denver, I had the opportunity to speak with a young man from the Netherlands who was attending our charity event. It was his first trip to the United States, and I’m always interested to hear people’s first impressions. He told me he was really overwhelmed with the

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The government is coming for your Bitcoin

The same day Bitcoin cracked its all-time high above $11,000, the government dealt its first blow to the crypto world… On Wednesday, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered the popular Bitcoin exchange, Coinbase, to provide the IRS with information on over 14,000 account holders. The taxman noticed that only 800-900 people reported

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