Plus: How Americans' 1998 Predictions About 2025 Landed

Good afternoon,

Beyoncé is officially a billionaire, following the smashing success of her Cowboy Carter tour earlier this year. 👢🐎💥

CRAZY (RICH) IN LOVE: The 44-year-old superstar joins her husband, Jay Z, who became the world’s first billionaire musician in 2019. Their combined net worth is around $4 billion, according to Cosmopolitan.

Beyoncé also joins musicians Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and Rihanna, who have achieved this milestone in the past five years.

Cowboy Carter was the highest-grossing tour this year with $400 million in ticket sales and $50 million in merchandise. It follows Beyoncé’s 2023 Renaissance World Tour, which grossed nearly $600 million and inspired a successful concert film.
WHO RUN THE WORLD?: There are roughly 3,100 billionaires in the world, with over 80% of global billionaires being men and around a third of them being American. About one new person became a billionaire every day in 2025, according to Forbes data.

To quote Queen B": “Diva’s gettin’ money.” 📈

Sam,
Associate Producer

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Largest Iranian Protests In Years As Prices Surge, Currency Hits Record Low

Thousands of Iranians are taking to the streets of Tehran and several other cities in widespread protests and strikes as hyperinflation is leading to massive price increases and the national currency plunges to record lows.

Protests from Sunday and Monday, including at the capital’s historic Grand Bazaar, reportedly included chants like “death to the dictator” and “Iranians will die but won’t accept humiliation.” Riot police then used tear gas and motorcycles to disperse crowds.

LEADING TO THE UNREST
Inflation is now running at more than 42% year over year, according to official figures. Food prices are up 72%, and medical costs have risen 50%. And, those are the official numbers the Iranian regime will admit to, meaning the actual numbers could be worse.

On Sunday, Iran’s currency, the rial, plunged to 1.42 million rials to the U.S. dollar.
What’s changed? Since the 12-day war with Israel and the U.S. in June, the Iranian currency has lost roughly half of its value. State media reports say the government is also planning tax increases next year.

The war exposed Iran’s inability to protect its population and revealed deep intelligence failures, fueling public anger at a government already unpopular for strict moral codes and economic mismanagement.

“Everybody in Iran wants change. The hardliners want a return to the past, the reformists a shift to the future and many moderates want any change. Nobody is happy with the status quo,” Mohammad Ali Shabani, of Amwaj.media, told CNN.

BIGGER PICTURE
The level of protests has not been seen since the 2022 protests sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini, which the regime violently suppressed, leading to the deaths of an estimated 500 people and the arrest of more than 22,000. Amini died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly improperly wearing her headscarf.

The public has been frustrated for years on how much money and support the regime gives groups like the Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah, and how the pursuit of nuclear weapons led to sanctions and international isolation.
Tehran is also facing water shortages and widespread power outages. A recent gasoline price hike (in a country with some of the world's largest oil and natural gas supplies) has heightened fears of renewed unrest.

Iran’s President said in a social media post Monday night that he instructed the interior minister to listen to protesters’ “legitimate demands.” However, he holds limited power compared with 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On Monday, President Trump warned that the U.S. would support Israel in conducting strikes against Iran if the regime continues to rebuild its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

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🚨 ONE THING TO FOLLOW UP ON

A Black President & Alien Contact: How 1998 Predictions About 2025 Stacked Up

In 1998, Americans were asked to predict what life would look like in 2025. In the pre-smartphone era, Gallup and USA Today polled 1,055 Americans about their expectations for the future.

State of play: Bill Clinton was president and was facing impeachment, Titanic was sweeping the Oscars, and 96% of households had landline phones.

Americans predicted the election of a Black president, the legalization of same-sex marriage, and even the emergence of a “deadly new disease.” Others, like a cure for cancer or the election of a female president, have yet to materialize.

SOME OF THE RESULTS

75% Predicted A Deadly New Disease: COVID-19 was named a global pandemic in 2020. SARS-CoV-2, which first surfaced in Wuhan, China, killed more than 20 million people.
- Five years after massive lockdowns, 72% of U.S. adults say the pandemic did more to divide the country than unite it.
74% Predicted Gay Marriages Will Be Commonplace: Same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide following the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.
- By 2024, nearly 70% of Americans support the legalization of same-sex marriage, with 64% viewing gay or lesbian relations as morally acceptable. In 1996, Gallup found that 27% of Americans thought such unions should be legal.
69% Predicted U.S. Will Have Elected A Black President: Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.
- Despite 66% of Americans in 1998 expecting a woman to win by 2025, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024 both lost their bids to Donald Trump.
56% Predicted Most Stores Will Be Replaced By Online Shopping: U.S. e-commerce sales hit $310 billion in Q3 2025, a 1.9% increase from the previous quarter. The growth outpaced total retail sales, which rose 1.5% to reach nearly $1.9 trillion, U.S. Census data shows. E-commerce now makes up more than 16% of total retail.
- Major U.S. retailers announced more than 7,300 store closures in 2024, up nearly 60% from 2023, according to Coresight Research.
About 60% Predicted Cancer, AIDS Will Be Cured: Neither AIDS nor cancer have been “cured” universally, but treatments have improved greatly.
- In 2022, there were almost 20 million new cases of cancer and nearly 10 million cancer-related deaths worldwide. Around 41 million people were living with HIV globally at the end of 2024, and around 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses worldwide.
25% Predicted Humans Will Have Made/Received Alien Contact: Not official contact, but in September, a U.S. House subcommittee unveiled never-before-seen video showing an unidentified flying object being struck by a U.S. Hellfire missile and continuing to fly.
- Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) said the “remarkable” footage appears to show the object shifting form with smaller objects trailing behind after it was hit. It was the third congressional hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), aka UFOs, since 2023.

Bottom line: Americans in 1998 were pretty accurate about social change and global instability — but too optimistic about medical breakthroughs and technological leaps.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Millions of Americans closing out 2025 with brutal winter weather (NBC)
Alleged DC pipe bomber to appear at detention hearing as his attorneys argue he should be released from jail (CNN)
State officials and daycare manager push back on viral video fraud allegations in Minnesota (FOX)
Family, friends intensify search for missing Texas 19-year-old last seen on Christmas Eve (KRCG)
Tatiana Schlossberg, a granddaughter of JFK, is dead at 35 after cancer diagnosis (NBC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Russian official threatens Zelenskyy as Moscow claims Kyiv attacked Putin residence (ABC)
UAE says it will withdraw from Yemen after Saudi strike on separatist-held port (BBC)
Turkish police detain 357 suspects in raids against the Islamic State group (AP)
Khaleda Zia, first female Bangladesh prime minister, dies aged 80 (GUARDIAN)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Oil prices steady as Russia-Ukraine peace hopes fade, Yemen tensions rise (REUTERS)
Ground beef recalled in multiple states over possible E. coli contamination (NY POST)
NASA to preview US spacewalks at Space Station in January (NASA)
AI showing signs of self-preservation and humans should be ready to pull plug, says pioneer (GUARDIAN)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Patriots’ Stefon Diggs faces strangulation, assault charges (ESPN)
Artists cancel New Year’s Eve shows following ‘Trump–Kennedy Center’ rebrand (FOX)
Taylor Swift surprises Arrowhead Stadium employee with hefty Christmas tip (ABC)
George and Amal Clooney granted French citizenship after concerns of raising children in Hollywood (CNN)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… A new analysis from Axios reveals some of the top Google search trends for 2025, including the search terms that remained consistently popular throughout the year, like “Inflation,” “Labubu,” and “KPop Demon Hunters.”