Philanthropy on a New Scale: The Dell Foundation’s $6.25 Billion Gift

Michael and Susan Dell just rewrote the script on philanthropy. They’re putting $6.25 billion into investment accounts for 25 million American kids. It’s one of the biggest donations in recent memory, and it’s not your typical charity. The Dells are using Invest America accounts (once called “Trump Accounts”) to help kids from families earning under $150,000 a year. Every eligible child under 11 gets $250 invested on their behalf. That’s about 80% of kids in that age group, across three-quarters of U.S. ZIP codes.

Michael Dell Just Made His Biggest Ever Donation Of Dell Stock 

Here’s the plan: these accounts grow over time, tracking the market through low-cost index funds. Michael Dell told NPR it’s about giving kids “a head start on saving for the future.” And the timing? Pretty remarkable. This one move is more than double everything the Dell Foundation has given away in 26 years. Remember, Dell started his company in a college dorm with $1,000. Now he’s worth around $150 billion. At the White House announcement, he put it plainly: “We believe that investing in children is the wisest investment we can make.”

A Business Approach to Giving

Dell brings a business mindset to charity. In an interview with Fortune, he said, “We’re very results-oriented, data-driven, outcome-focused. We took all the lessons from business and treat every grant like an investment.” It’s a growing trend among tech leaders—philanthropy as an investment, not just a handout. And apparently, the Dells aren’t done yet. They hinted there’s more big news on the way.

Investment Account for Kids 

Crypto Woes: Bitcoin’s Rough Ride and Corporate Headaches

December has been brutal for cryptocurrency. Bitcoin tumbled below $90,000 as of December 1, dropping over $18,000 during November alone—the sharpest monthly fall since the middle of 2021. That kind of drop doesn’t just hurt investors. Companies with big crypto holdings, like Strategy Inc.—the world’s biggest corporate Bitcoin owner—are feeling the pain too. The fallout’s still unfolding, and nobody’s sure what the next move will be.

Bitcoin’s price has been on a wild ride lately, and Strategy Inc. is feeling the heat. On December 1st, the company slashed its 2025 earnings forecast in a big way. They used to think they’d make $24 billion if Bitcoin hit $150,000 by the end of next year. Now? They’re talking about anything from a $600 million profit to a loss of $5.5 billion. That’s a massive turnaround, one of the biggest corporate U-turns we’ve seen in a while. Investors didn’t take it well—Strategy’s stock dropped about 8% that afternoon.

Charted: Bitcoin price rallies as crypto analysts eye  

Trying to steady the ship, Strategy set up a $1.44 billion cash reserve, funded by recent stock sales. Michael Saylor, the company’s founder and executive chairman, says this stash should cover at least a year’s worth of dividends and interest payments, and he’s aiming to double that. “Building up a USD reserve alongside our Bitcoin is just the next step for us,” Saylor said. “This gives us more breathing room to ride out market swings and keep pushing to be the world’s top digital credit issuer.”

The chaos in crypto right now shows just how jumpy investors have gotten after months of hype. One analyst put it bluntly: “Bitcoin’s constant slide has hammered Strategy. The stock’s at one-year lows, even though some folks thought it would bounce back at earlier dips.”

Meanwhile, over in Europe, Patrick Drahi is making waves of his own. He’s cranking up the pressure with creditors at his Altice telecom group, pulling off some bold moves to restructure the company’s debt. His latest trick? He labeled two big Altice International subsidiaries as “unrestricted,” putting them out of creditors’ reach and locking away key assets.

This isn’t Drahi’s first rodeo. It’s actually his third major attack on creditors in just two years—and one of the biggest asset shifts in European business history. To strengthen his hand, Altice International borrowed another €750 million and lined up €2 billion more in funding, which shoved older loans and bonds further back in the repayment queue. Credit markets aren’t happy. People are seriously questioning how long Drahi’s debt-heavy empire can hang on.

The fallout came fast: Altice International’s bonds, both secured and unsecured, tanked to record lows after news broke about the unrestricted subsidiaries. Investors scrambled to get on the phone with lawyers and financial advisors, trying to figure out what all this means and what their next move should be.

Telecom and Cellular Perks from AT&T and Verizon | CNECT 

All of this points to a bigger shift in how companies deal with debt. More borrowers are finding creative legal and financial ways to guard themselves from creditors. The outcome of Drahi’s high-stakes maneuvers could change the game for debt negotiations everywhere—maybe even rewrite the playbook for who actually holds the power.

Global Economic Backdrop: Resilience Amid Uncertainty

The global economy keeps bouncing back, no matter what gets thrown at it. Even with all the trade fights that kicked off earlier in 2025, growth is holding steady. Global GDP should hit about 3 percent this year—same as last year. Unemployment stays low almost everywhere, and stock markets just wrapped up another solid run.

Trade is booming, too—$7.7 trillion in the first quarter alone. Still, inflation keeps nagging at policymakers and investors. It’s stuck above the 2 percent target that central banks across the OECD set, and that’s making things tricky for anyone trying to steer monetary policy. Back in April, when trade tensions spiked, people worried things could spiral into a real economic mess. But, so far, those fears haven’t come true.

India’s not slowing down either. The country’s expected to grow by 6.8 percent this year, cementing its spot as one of the fastest-growing big economies out there. Foreign direct investment should hit around $90 billion, fueled by a push into manufacturing and tech, as companies look for new supply chain options.

Global trade hits record $7.7 trillion in first quarter of  

All these big-picture trends set the stage for this week’s business news. Any major announcement or philanthropic move is happening in a world that’s unpredictable, but full of chances for those ready to make a move.