The Best One Yet - 🀄👵 “Crazy Rich Aces” — Mahjong’s “GrannyCore” surge. Elon’s record bonus. NY Post’s Californiacation. Hennessey’s rap biz.

Episode Date: August 5, 2025

The hot new networking opportunity… is playing a 200-year-old Chinese game: Mahjong.Tesla gave Elon the biggest bonus in human history… during the biggest drop in business history.The NY Post is expanding to California… but the iconic tabloid actually began with Alexander Hamilton.The untold origin story of… Hennessey Cognac.$TSLA $NWSA $LVMUYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… “Hennessey 🥃 From King George to Kendrik.”Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter OUR 2ND SHOW:Want more business storytelling from us? Check our weekly deepdive show, The Best Idea Yet: The untold origin story of the products you're obsessed with. Listen for free to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks NEW LISTENERSFill out our 2 minute survey: https://qualtricsxm88y5r986q.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dp1FDYiJgt6lHy6GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Linkedin (Nick): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/Linkedin (Jack): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ About Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, The Best One Yet is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, Tea Boy, Tuesday, August 5th. And today's pod is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. I'm sorry, am I podcasting with the winner of the three-mile stand-up paddleboard championship championships, Jack? I did finish a three-mile stand-up paddleboard and race.

I wouldn't call myself the winner. Round up. But I didn't fall. Uh-huh. I didn't pass anybody. And I'm not sore. Sounds like you lost, Jack. Sounds like you lost.

No, I finished. I finished. And I'm not sore. Yet. By the way, Yeties, thank you so much for the baby. Congratulations. Isn't an easy process to get pregnant.

It hasn't been an easy pregnancy. Molly's doing fantastic, by the way. But thank you for your comments, guys. For those who didn't listen to yesterday's show, Nick announced that he and Molly are expecting their second baby. It's an IBO baby, initial baby offering. We're very excited. We got a fantastic show today for the besties.

What do we got on today's pod? For our first story, the hot new networking activity for ambitious American women is a 200-year-old Chinese tile game. Mahjong ain't just a game yet is a wild business. For our second story, Tesla announced yesterday, it's letting Elon Musk buy 96 million shares of Tesla at 2018 prices. What does that mean, Jack? It means Tesla just gave Elon Musk the biggest bonus in human human human. history in the most awkward timing ever. And our third and final story is the New York Post. The iconic tabloid newspaper is expanding to Los Angeles with the California Post.

But if you know that the New York Post actually began with Alexander Hamilton, taking his shot. But yet is before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Whoa, I mean, one of a mix of stories for T-Boy Tuesday. Whoa is the appropriate reaction to that run back. Yes, it is. That he's yesterday, we hit you up with some trivia. What product is referenced in more rap songs than any other product? This brand has the most rapper name drops of all time. We even gave you a fill-in-the-blank hint from a Tupac song. Here it is, here it is.

Forget that gin and juice. Just pour me a glass of that blank. The answer is Hennessy. Hennessy. Today, Hennessy is the biggest cognac brand in the world. And Henny is Rick Ross's muse. Get this. Hennessy controls 60% of the U.S.S. coniac market, and it's owned by Louis Vuitton.

But here's what's wild. What's beloved today by rappers was originally for French royalty. So how did Hennessy go from French castles to American rap recording studios? How did it go from kings and queens to Naz and Biggie? And then get acquired by LVMH along the way? Well, Bessie's Hennessy is the wildest brand journey, Jack and I had ever heard of. And core to the story is Aretha Franklin's famous song. R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Respect. So we'll tell you all about it in our weekly show the best idea yet. Because this week's episode reveals Hennessy's pivot to become a symbol of black ambition. We drop the link in the episode description to make it easy for you. And you're going to love it. But Jack, in the meantime, today's show is fantastic. What do you say we hit our three stories? Ready, dude.

Serve him up, baby. 15 years before this song Two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm They had an idea to cause a cultural storm It's the best one yet but the best is an norm Jack Nick, that's it I don't even think they need to practice 50% that's a fat tip

T-boy City on your at list If you know you know because we're ready to go We can't wait no more so just start the show Start the show First a quick word from our sponsor Our first story The hot new networking trend for women in their 20s is a 200-year-old Chinese game.

Majong is surging right now in America, and it's got the most unique business model we've ever seen. Ah, Mahjong. Yet he's long considered a game for grandmothers. But yeah, could I brag for a second here? My mother-in-law is the top-ranked Mahjong player on Nantucket right now. I know. That's what I heard. If you see Megan Naples, you do not want to challenge her to a mahjong game. She will take your money. What is Mahjong? Yeties. It's a tile-based game. It's basically a mix of like rummy and poker. Yeah, like if Uno and chess had a baby, but it turned into an East Asian soap opera. That's Mahjong. It was invented in China in the 1800s, and in the 1900s, then outdoorsy company, Abercrombie and Fitch, imported Mahjong to the United States for the first time and marketed

it as an exotic game. In the 1950s, Ma Zhong was banned in communist China, although now it is unband and very popular again. In the 1920s, the American Jewish community adopted this game as a social ritual in New York City. And in 2018, Mahjong took off with its most viral moment yet. Crazy Rich Asians. Yes. Everyone's finally like, oh, that game. Yes, the game at the end of Crazy Rich Asians. You don't mess with a Mahjong grandma, do you, man? Now, Mahjong is seen to have brain boosting benefits that could potentially combat dementia for old people. And during the pandemic during the board game, boom. What did we see happen with mahjong, Jack? It was mahjong mayhem. But here's what we find fascinating, eddies. Mahjong has only accelerated out there.

The game of mahjong, the game of grandmas is everywhere you look here in America. And the next time you go to a DJ dance party, it's probably going to have a mahjong table. According to data from Eventbrite, events with the word mahjong in the description are up 180% nationwide in the last year. It's Granny Corps. People are freaking out. You're doing your hair in a bonnet and you're playing mahjong. And San Francisco is where Mahjong is most popular because it's become the new female founder networking activity. Here's the plot twist. Ink magazine interviewed a dozen of female founders on how they're making business connections. And Jack, how are they making business connections? Not through pickleball, Nick, through Mahjong.

Forget that conferences and cold intros. Mahjong is the new IRL LinkedIn for ladies. Inc spoke to the founder of Parachute, the Home Goods Company, and she hosts a mahjong night with 20 other female founders at her house. Down in Austin, founders are ditching VC mixers and instead go in a Maja tournaments. There's even a startup in Los Angeles that hosts 14 mahjong events a month, inviting up to 200 people. Some nights are so big, they got to rent a warehouse for this thing with a disco ball. 10 bucks a ticket, 200 people show up. Yes.

14 events per month? Calculating? That's a 28,000 a month business. Sit down, stand up, and pass the tiles, Jack. And it brings the game full circle, because 100 years ago, Majong was considered the first socially acceptable way that Chinese American women could bring money into the family by betting on Majong. Well, today, a century later, 27-year-old female techies are meeting their co-founder over

mahjong. And it turns out, the $2.6 billion dollar mahjong industry has at its core one all-powerful company. So, Jack, in deference to my mother-in-law, what's the takeaway for our buddies playing Mahjong? Mahjong is actually a codebreaker product. Yeties, the game of Uno is owned by Mattel. The game of Monopoly is owned by Hasbro. But there is no corporate owner of Mahjong.

However, there is one nonprofit who makes huge revenue on this game, the National Mahjong League. Ah, the league. This league manages the rules for Mahjong for 350,000. players in America. They don't sell the tiles or the board you need to play, but they do sell a trademarked rule card, which is essential if you want to play the game. And here's the key. That $14 rule card, it changes every year. So each year, 350,000 people have to pay $14 for a brand new card. That's $5 million in revenue, just from a card that costs next to nothing to print and sell. Now, this is a profit puppy product, although we should point out the nonprofit donates the proceeds to health and humanitarian charities.

But the business model is selling a rule card that unlocks the game for all, that reminds us of a code breaker. Code breakers. Encrypted messages are worthless unless you have the code, just like these tiles, are worthless without this year's rule card.

That's how this nonprofit generates $5 million in revenue, simply by printing new cards each year. Ah, the Mahjong leak. It makes millions without any innovation. And that is one of the most unique things we've ever seen in business. For our second story, Tesla just announced it's hooking up Elon with $30 billion, the biggest bonus for any CEO ever.

Here's why Tesla thinks the world's richest man also now needs the world's biggest bonus. All right, Jacob, we're going to tell this story. I'm just going to pull a book off the shelf. One second, one second. Elon Musk and the Delaware Chancery Court. It does sound like the 8th Harry Potter, doesn't it? But it's actually just the context you need to understand Monday's news. Because Yetis as CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk has made his shareholders incredibly rich. We're talking Draco Malfoy rich. Because the stock has risen from $23 in 2018 to $300 today.

Tesla went from $50 billion valuation to a $1 trillion valuation. And here's the shocker. Elon was not paid a single dollar from Tesla. since 2018. He's arguably the full-time CEO, and yet Tesla pays him no salary, zero annual bonus. Why are they not paying the CEO? Here's why. In 2018, the board of Tesla gave Elon the ultimate put-up or shut-up pay-up pay-up pay-up. What does that kind of a pay-package look like, Jack? Elon would only get paid if the stock rose. And rise, it did. Faster and further than any stock in history, except in Vidae, ever.

But you probably remember last year when the court in Delaware blocked his unique bonus twice. And that is why Furious Tesla abandoned Delaware as its corporate home and moved on down to Texas. Which brings us to today. Tesla is trying to make good on the money Elon is owed. And this time, Delaware can't stop him. So on Monday, Tesla's board announced they're giving Elon 96 million shares of Tesla two years from today. Okay, that's the news. Let's dive in T-Boy style, Jack. Can we break down this paycheck, please? In two years, Elon Musk will get the right to buy Tesla stock at 2018 prices, because 2018 is when he agreed to that big compensation plan.

Okay, we got to sprinkle on even more context here, Jack. How much exactly? Is 96 million shares of Tesla worth today if it was bought at 2018 prices from seven years ago? That would be a bargain worth $30 billion. $30 billion. Besties, $30 billion is as big as Kraft Heinz. It's as huge as Lulu Lemon. With that much money, you could buy Snap twice. You could buy Lyft six times. Jack, this is the biggest bonus in human history since Genghis Khan treated himself to the Balkans.

I'd fact-checked that, but I don't know anything about Genghis Khan. Trust me, he just took. Seriously, Eddie, he's buying Tesla shares in 2018. That's like buying a cottage in the Hamptons in the 1950s. That's a good deal. So the pay package is going to be voted on by Tesla shareholders at their November shareholder meeting. But here's what Jack and I find fascinating.

Jack, can't you share it with the Yetis, please? The board said yesterday that they're not paying Elon this gigantic bonus for his past performance. They're paying him to incentivize him to remain at Tesla. Which leads to a question that led to our takeaway. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Tesla? Does a little more money incentivize the? the already richest person in the world?

Yeties, to be clear, Elon got rich on Tesla just like everyone, because he is Tesla's biggest shareholder. Which brings us to the incredible headline of yesterday. Tesla is paying the richest man in the world, the biggest bonus ever, while the company is doing worse than ever. Remember, Basties, Elon splits his time as CEO of X and XAI and SpaceX and the boring company, and Neurrelink and Tesla. And the most active Twitter user of all time.

So we're not sure increasing his ownership in Tesla from 13% of the company to 16% is going to change many things. We're also not sure that keeping Elon as the CEO for the next two years is the best thing for the company. But the board does think so, don't Jay Jack? They're offering them 96 million shares to stick around for two more years. And you know what? Shareholders agree. The stock rose 3% on Monday on that very decision. But only time will answer the question.

can a little more money incentivize the already richest person in the world. May have worked with Genghis Khan? Don't know if it's going to work really a lot. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, America's oldest newspaper, the New York Post, is launching its second newspaper, the California Post. Newspaper or tabloid, we'll discuss the difference and connect it all to Alexander Hamilton. Yeah, that Alexander Hamilton. But besties, funny thing about the New York Post, that print newspaper actually made its way

all the way up to Vermont when Jack was growing up to your front porch, right, man? Not to my front porch, but my dad would buy it at the store every day. I knew they couldn't make it all the way there. And, dude, every road trip, I was reading, like, baseball statistics from the backseat. Oh, I can understand, I understand. When I would wake up in the morning, Jack, there'd be a stack of newspapers in our elevator. New York Post was honestly the biggest one. You know, my favorite headline ever.

This is so good. Headless body found in topless bar. That is the most epic New York Post headline. Yeah, like the New York Times probably covered the story. Murder at Gentleman's Club. But the New York Post? But the New York Post said, Headless Body found in topless Bar.

The New York Post. The headlines are poetry. The sports page has a cold following. And page six, that is the world gossip column, baby. If the New York Times is the straight A student sitting in the front row of class, The New York Post is in detention.

But it's the most popular kid in the whole class. Yet this Yeties. The New York Post actually is America's oldest still running newspaper. Because it was founded by Alexander Hamilton. I feel like Lynn Manuel forgot to mention this to the play. It could have been a whole other act in the musical jazz. I know. Founded in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton.

The New York Post was used to oppose Thomas Jefferson's presidential run. So it began as propaganda. Right. The whole point of the Post was to advocate for federalism, which won out as I weigh up evidence, by the way, instead of Jefferson's state-dominated union that he wanted. Alexander Hamilton, my name is Alexander Hamilton, and there's a million things I haven't done, except start a newspaper, which still exists today. It's the New York Post. Now, some would argue that the New York Post is still engaged in propaganda because it's owned by Rupert Murdoch. Rupert Murdoch, the Australian right-wing billionaire who owns Fox News and the Wall Street Journal, as,

part of News Corp. News Corp did $8 billion in revenue last year, and they actually report earnings today. But Besties, despite all the attention on Trump right now, the New York Post has actually seen a surprising slowdown. They announced last quarter that their digital reach fell by 25%. So, Yeties, the New York Post is doing what anyone uncertain of their future does. They move to California.

I thought you were going to say they're doing what the Brooklyn Dodgers did. But I like yours better. The New York Post is expanding to California. with a print newspaper, taking their talents to lovely Los Angeles in 2026. It's going to be called the California Post. So if you're wondering who is Leonardo DiCaprio dating these days? Check the New York Post if he's currently at his New York condo. But check the California Post if he's hanging out at his Beverly Hills mansion.

Here's the strategy. Rupert Murdoch thinks that the decline of the Los Angeles Post leaves a void in the newspaper market. This is just before the World Cup, the Olympics, the governor's election. The next year is going to be really big in Cali. Plus, 90% of the Post's digital readers are outside of New York, and the biggest market is the 7 million readers from California. So add it all up, and real life, Logan Roy is leveraging his famous New York Post brand for a California Post brand starting next year. Not just digital, it's going to be in print as well. Can you believe a new daily print newspaper just launched?

So besties, here's the question. We're wondering, do you call this new creation a newspaper, or do you call it a newspaper? or do you call it a tabloid? Because there's actually a difference. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the California Post? L.A. is a tantalizing target for a tabloid. Yet these, few realize this, but technically a tabloid just means it's printed on smaller paper than a newspaper. There's one fold instead of two folds in the paper.

Whereas the New York Times is a newspaper. To open that thing up completely, you need an entire library table. It's huge. Better reason why the post is known as a newspaper. tabloid, what is it, Jack? It's that the Post is not known for deep investigative journalism, like their cross-town rivaled in New York Times. The Post is more known for gossip. And where there are powerful, famous, and beautiful people, there in lies gossip. Look at what Los Angeles offers in terms of gossip. You got two NFL teams, two NBA teams, two MLB teams, and two

NHL teams. But you also have a bit of news there, like an entertainment. The Beverly Hills Hotel at 8 a.m.? That restaurant is the source of eavesdropping on whatever Hollywood studios are about to merge. And then in tech, SpaceX is based in LA County, and every AI company is somewhere between L.A. and the Bay Area. So this is what we find fascinating. Even in a digital and fractured media landscape, one physical paper with a reputation for gossip and some news could actually become the one source to check. Plus, e-news just shut down, leaving an even bigger void in the market. So, Basties, the way we see it, the New York Post's first expansion in 225 years? It's actually long overdue. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy

Tuesday? Mahjong is the tile and card game from Crazy Rich Asians that's now played by female founders in America. But at its core is a code break in nonprofit that makes five million bucks a year selling rule cards. For our second story, Tesla is awarding Elon Musk with a $30 billion bonus to incentivize him to focus on Tesla. But the big question, will boost in Elon's ownership of Tesla from 13% to 16% really motivate him on Tesla. And our third and final story. The New York Post is expanding to L.A. With the California Post, a daily print tabloid starting next year.

Lovely Los Angeles, with its sports, celebs, and power people is the perfect headline for a tabloid. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, American Eagle's stock is Maga memen right now. Something we have never seen before. First, American Eagle stock surged 15% on a genes collaboration with Sidney Sweeney. But then the stock fell 10% on backlash about the genetics undertones of her good genes. But then it surged yesterday 17% after American Eagle doubled down and defended the ad.

And Trump weighed in praising the ad and reports that Sidney Sweeney is registered as a Republican. Second, Amazon is reorganizing the Wondery podcast studio that it owns, including sadly, with over 100 layoffs. As Amazon put it, podcasting is shifting to video and creators. So Wondery will too. As many of you know, Wondry manages the ads for this show and as a production partner for our other show. But we want to let you know that neither of our shows is affected by this news from everything we know so far.

But we have worked with many Wondery people. They're extremely talented. They're hardworking. They're impressive. And we feel terrible for any of the layoffs. It's an amazing group of people. We've been so impressed with everyone who works there. So really terrible to see the news.

We will vouch positively for all of them in the future. future. And finally, the points guy is turning from a website into a hotel booking app. The points guy became famous for hacks about how to optimize your credit card points. But now points fatigue has gotten so bad, he's building his own hotel booking system. It's basically an alliance of independent hotels, and it ensures you get a discount just by booking directly with the website. What we're saying here, Jack, I think, is the points guy is disrupting William Shatner. Finally. Now time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me for T-Boy Tuesday.

Happy birthday to the traffic light. Yeah, happy 111th birthday. You don't look a day over, I want to say 56. The first ever traffic light was installed in Cleveland, Ohio. So it was red, it was yellow, and it was green. Yeah, actually hasn't changed that much. So we actually did a story on AI traffic lights that are coming soon. And if you remember that story, then you know how big a deal today is.

By the way, we got a link in the episode. episode description for you to submit your best fact yet and get on the pod. Or leave us a voicemail and we can get your fact and your voice on the pod. Yeties, you look fantastic today. And if you're looking to pour yourself a little post pod beverage, I think Jack and I know exactly what you should be serving. I'm not Tupac, but the lyric to fill in here is Hennessy. We got a whole episode on the story of Hennessy.

It's wild. It starts with the French kingdom. It ends in a rap studio. There's a link in the episode description. Check it out, and Nick and I will see it right back here tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy 50th birthday to Augusto Perez celebrating over in lovely Madison, Wisconsin. Happy birthday to Farah Asmison in Wayland, Massachusetts. And Jeff Rodriguez is enjoying some wallball in Baltimore.

Happy birthday, Jeff. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a tea boy. Celebrate the Majong wins. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Nick own stock of Lulu Lemon.