Crypto News: The Crown

Sultan Ibrahim and Malaysia's King Abdullah in October 2023 after the nation's hereditary rulers picked a new monarch. Photographer: Mohd Rasfan/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

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Just north of Singapore, in a public square overlooking the Johor Strait, tourists gather daily to snap photos of what looks from afar like a giant spider. The structure, two crisscrossing arches topped with an enormous replica crown, opened several years ago as a monument to the billionaire living next door — one of Malaysia's richest men, who will soon become even more powerful.

Johor Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, 65, financed the crown arches on government-owned land both to attract visitors and remind the public that he oversees Malaysia's second-most populous state, according to people familiar with his thinking. Grandiose and popular with residents in the state, in many ways it's emblematic of the motorcycle-riding, Ferrari-driving, Instagram-savvy royal, who has pursued private business activities in addition to carrying out his official duties. His family assets with readily available valuations are worth at least $5.7 billion, according to an estimate by Bloomberg, and the sultan's empire reaches far beyond that.

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United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has been in the news a lot, most recently for successfully negotiating a new contract for union members and endorsing President Biden for re-election. But Fain's views may be at odds with some rank-and-file UAW members who have been shifting to the right. Bloomberg's Josh Eidelson and Gabrielle Coppola discuss Fain's ambitions on the Big Take DC podcast.

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