BlackRock back in Texas, pride out everywhere, Zevra’s proxy battle, “reverse discrimination”, and Taser billions
Story of the Week (DR):
The Baby Billionaire Bromance is Over: Savannah Guthrie Says Elon Musk and Donald Trump Are 'Giving 7th Grade Girl' as President Says Tesla CEO 'Has Lost His Mind'
"It's so confusing isn't it? So much going wrong, so much to say, and all of it happening so quickly. The pace of oppression outstrips our ability to understand it. And that is the real trick of the Imperial thought machine.”
BlackRock removed from Texas boycott list after quitting climate groups
In a notable reversal, Texas removed BlackRock from its investment blacklist
This decision followed BlackRock's withdrawal from several climate-focused initiatives, including the Net Zero Asset Managers alliance and Climate Action 100+
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar cited these actions, along with BlackRock's support for the new Texas Stock Exchange, as reasons for the delisting.
“More than $4 billion in Texas funds are invested with BlackRock,” the rep said.
The Larry Fink-led company had $11.55 trillion in assets under management at the end of the fourth quarter in 2024.
0.0346% Is that possible?
Larry Fink; $31M; $11M bonus: “These amounts represent the discretionary annual cash Bonuses … The amount of incentive compensation awarded … was based on subjective criteria”
“Lead in a changing world: Completed the creation of a more modern and unified Corporate Affairs function and leveraged the function to refresh the firm's corporate narrative and strengthen its brand.”
“Corporate sustainability: Achieved BlackRock’s 100% renewable electricity match goal and enhanced the Company’s approach to procuring market solutions.”
32% said NO on Pay (BlackRock owns 6% of BlackRock)
99% said NO to Bowyer Research’s theatrical request for a report on “risks related to a perceived shift away from a traditional understanding of fiduciary responsibility to stakeholder capitalism, implied by its assent to the Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, as well as a high-profile embrace of ESG and DEI.”
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has some words of wisdom for leaders navigating the age of populism and social media: Watch what you say: "You have to be a lot more guarded. I can't say everything I really want to say to all of you right now. The reality is you have to be a lot more systematic in what you say and how you say it internally or externally. I mean, we live in a terrarium today. We live in a glass bottle."
Big brands are pulling back on Pride merchandise and events this year MM
Corporate America Pulls Back from PRIDE in 2025, No Rainbow Logos from Big Brands as June Starts
UnitedHealth Group AGM:
94% average director support
93% Stephen Hemsley
Hemsley is stepping forward to acknowledge the fallout and chart a new course, promising a comprehensive review of some of the company's most controversial practices.
The Wall Street Journal noted in its report on the company's annual shareholder meeting on Monday that Hemsley apologized for UnitedHealth's recent performance and cited a need to rethink many internal processes.
99% for directors like Paul Garcia (2021/ former CEO of Global Payments) and Kristen Gil (2022/former VP, Business Finance Officer at Alphabet)
92% for Michele Hooper (2007/Lead Independent Director/CEO of The Directors’ Council, a private company she co-founded in 2003 that works with corporate boards to increase their independence, effectiveness and diversity)
-12% gender influence gap/only 3 women/zero committee chairs)
Lowest vote is John Noseworthy, M.D. (86%) former CEO of the Mayo Clinic
40% NO on Pay
SHP excessive golden parachutes 13% YES
The board authorized the payment of a cash dividend of $2.21 per share, up from the prior dividend of $2.10, to be paid June 24 to common stock shareholders of record as of the close of business June 16
Hemsley: as of the proxy date: $2.8M (as of 5/16: $3.8M)
The previous dividend was $2.10 per share, paid on March 18, 2025
The company also suspended its 2025 outlook.
Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):
DR: The Trump EPA tried to bury some good news
A climate report acquired by a Freedom of Information Act request shows that U.S. climate pollution declined in 2023.
The EPA report documents that in 2023, U.S. climate pollution fell by 2.3%. That’s about 147 million metric tons, or MMT, of reduced carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases.
2023 was the first full year after President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the Democrats’ signature climate law that committed hundreds of billions of dollars to reducing climate pollution.
DR: How a Peruvian farmer’s legal defeat raised new risks for companies DR
Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya filed a lawsuit against German energy company RWE, asserting that the company's greenhouse gas emissions contributed to the melting of glaciers near his hometown of Huaraz, Peru.
This glacial melt increases the risk of flooding from Lake Palcacocha, threatening his community. Lliuya sought approximately $17,500 from RWE, representing 0.47% of the estimated $4 million needed for flood defenses, corresponding to RWE's estimated share of global emissions since the industrial era began.
On May 28, 2025, the Higher Regional Court in Hamm, Germany, dismissed Lliuya's lawsuit. The court acknowledged the legal principle that major greenhouse gas emitters can be held liable for climate-related damages. However, it concluded that the specific threat to Lliuya's property was not sufficiently imminent to warrant compensation.
While Lliuya did not secure the compensation sought, the court's recognition of potential corporate liability for climate damages sets a precedent. This acknowledgment may influence future climate litigation, encouraging individuals and communities to hold major emitters accountable for their contributions to climate change.
MM: Hahahahahahahahaha
Musk says SpaceX will decommission Dragon spacecraft after Trump threat
Elon Musk Declares That He's "Immediately" Cutting Off NASA's Access to Space
Musk Privately Complaining That His Immense Donations to Trump Didn't Even Buy Him Control of NASA
Elon Musk claims ‘without me, Trump would have lost the election’
Assholiest of the Week (MM):
Proxy advisors
ISS added, “...the board’s concerns about having a former CEO on the board and potential disruption are valid.”
Out of 92,594 active directors in MSCI data from February, 3,123 are tagged as “former executives” at the company they’re on the board of
522 US companies are on the list - FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY TWO
That includes at least one company - National Healthcare Corp - with FOUR former executives on the board
It also includes 104 large cap companies - like Hewlett Packard, with 3 former execs!
Glass Lewis highlighted, “Mr. Regan has limited, dated, and unrelated public board service,”
Egan-Jones also questioned the relevant expertise of Mangless’ nominees, stating, “…we do not believe Mr. Regan’s background in proxy solicitation offers meaningful value in the context of Zevra’s boardroom.”
Unrelated public board experience?? So you definitely suggested voting against Dana White at Meta? Or Peltz at Disney and his deep media experience?
We look at director knowledge pulled from every bio, school, and degree we can get our hands on and standardized the knowledge types in our data
So we know the average type of knowledge of directors in a given sector - and who DOESN’T have it
Our data suggests that only 22% of directors have direct/core knowledge relevant to their industry - less than 1 in 4
Shall we vote against the other 78% of directors??
Glass Lewis also said that “publication of certain social media activity by Mr. Regan appears to suggest something of a blithe approach to compliance...”
Elon?
Robots
FBI says Palm Springs bombing suspects used AI chat program to help plan attack
OpenAI to appeal copyright ruling in NY Times case as Altman calls for 'AI privilege'
“Talking to AI should be like talking to a doctor or lawyer”
Walmart plans to expand drone deliveries to three more states
Waymo's Self-Driving Taxis Have a Hilarious Problem That's Driving People Bananas
They honk when backing up
“Reverse discrimination” DR
Dismissed by DEI: Trump’s Purge Made Black Women With Stable Federal Jobs an “Easy Target”
Quay Crowner was among the top education officials who enrolled in the “diversity change agent program.”
Crowner was abruptly placed on leave under Trump’s executive order to dismantle DEI programs across the federal government.
Her current job as the director of outreach, impact and engagement at the Education Department was not connected to diversity initiatives.
More troubling, she said, was that she was the only person on her team who had been let go, and her bosses refused to answer her questions about her dismissal.
When she and colleagues from different departments began comparing notes, they found they had one thing in common. They had all attended the training encouraged under DeVos. They also noticed something else: Most of them were Black women.
“We have observed approximately 90% of the workers targeted for terminations due to a perceived association with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are women or nonbinary,”
Trump Appoints 22-Year-Old Ex-Gardener and Grocery Store Assistant to Lead U.S. Terror Prevention
The data:
We don’t have proxy season results in the system yet, but we do have data between August 2024 and May 2025 with results lag
The early results for US companies:
54 have become “more manly” - added men, removed women
95 have become “more womanly” - added women, removed men
GOOD RIGHT? Or…
1,163 companies had man “power ups” - men got more influence
1,075 companies had female “power ups” - so men are getting fewer board seats, but more power at more companies?
SECRET: expand the board and add men! 422 boards expanded between Aug and May, and 362 seats went to men and 181 to women - literally 2:1 ratio!
574 US companies now have 2 or fewer women on the boards - up 8 companies between Aug and May, and results aren’t even in the antiwoke Trump era
Retail investors
VOTE
US-Boeing deal over 737 Max crashes ‘morally repugnant’, says lawyer for victims’ families
Lowest vote result from April for board: 92% in favor of Robert Bradway, everyone else 94% or better - including 98% in favor of Ortberg
Headliniest of the Week
DR: In light of headlines like this: Meta's Platforms Have Become a Cesspool of Hatred Against Queer People I wanted to point out this op-ed from the NYT: Anthropic C.E.O.: Don’t Let A.I. Companies off the Hook
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei opposes a proposed 10-year federal ban on state AI regulation, calling it "too blunt" for the rapidly evolving technology.
He argues that AI could fundamentally change the world within just a couple of years, making a decade-long freeze risky and impractical.
Amodei warns the ban would leave states unable to act and the nation without a coherent federal policy, exposing the public to AI risks.
He cites real-world examples of risky AI behavior, such as Anthropic’s own model threatening to leak user emails, to highlight the need for oversight.
Instead of a moratorium, Amodei urges Congress and the White House to establish a national transparency standard requiring AI companies to publicly disclose testing protocols, risk mitigation strategies, and safety measures before releasing new models
Who Won the Week?
DR: The meritocracy: Meet Thomas Fugate: 22-year-old ex-gardener and grocery store assistant to lead $18 million terror prevention team
MM: After reading no fewer than 12 hours and 500 stories of the Musk/Trump feud, I’ve concluded this week there are no winners. We’re all losers.
Predictions
DR: Musk Challenges Trump to Cage Match on Mars: ‘Winner Gets X, Loser Gets Truth Social" but actually… their hatred for all things DEI/gay is too much to keep them apart, especially in the month of Pride and Juneteenth
MM: The 19 analysts covering Palantir stock are given umbrellas by their respective firms after Trump may team with a tech company to create a database of Americans, just two months after CEO Alex Karp said that Wall Street analysts who "tried to screw" the company should be sprayed with "light fentanyl-laced urine" from drones.
CALLBACK ALERT: Glass Lewis also said that “publication of certain social media activity by Mr. Regan appears to suggest something of a blithe approach to compliance...”
