— This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on October 29, 2021, Friday.
Angela Merkel, one of the most popular politicians in Germany, ended her 16-year tenure as German chancellor on October 26, but she will remain caretaker chancellor until a new government is in place. She left office with broad international respect, but the German economy is facing uncertainty as Merkel steps down. During her tenure, the German economy grew by 34%, that's 15% higher than its neighbor France. Bundesbank said this week that fourth-quarter economic growth may slow down sharply.
The German economy relies on manufacturing and trading. The global supply chain disruption that we witnessed this year is a big blow to Germany. In addition, reduced car production due to chip shortage as well as Covid resurgence are headwinds to its economic recovery and also challenges to Merkel's successor.
Tesla's market cap hit $1 trillion this week. The net worth of its founder and CEO Elon Musk reached $289 billion, becoming the richest person in Forbes history. While Musk is basking in the glory of his wealth, he also drew some criticism. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called Tesla's use of full self-driving "misleading" and said she has sent a letter to Musk himself to call on Tesla to change the design of Autopilot. In addition, General Motors CEO told the media that their EVs' sales will definitely surpass Tesla's by 2025.
How will the richest man use his money? David Beasley, executive director at United Nations World Food Programme gave some suggestions in an interview this week, saying Musk, Bezos and other billionaires could give a small part of their net worth to relieve worldwide starvation. One hunger-related death will occur every 4 seconds, and the billionaires need to step forward to help. However, both of them seem to be lukewarm to charity, according to statistic released by Forbes in October, Musk and Bezos each donated less than 1% of their assets.
When it comes to spending money, a female billionaire made headlines by her generosity. Sara Blakely, founder of shapewear company Spanx, was once the youngest self-made woman billionaire according to Forbes. She announced that she would give a pair of first class air tickets and $10.000 travel allowance for each of her 500 employees.This is as the market cap of Spanx surged to $1.2 billion after BlackStone bought a big stake in the business.
Sara Blakely
Founder of Spanx
"When i start this company in Virginia Highlands, on the white board in my room, I wrote a goal down, and i said this company will one day worth 20 million dollars,and everybody laughed at me, and you know, i said i really believed that, and so you are here to see it today."
Blakely has a humble beginning. She made her first pot of gold by selling fax machines, and later built her shapewear business based on one invention.