Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. It's gotta be the shoes! Why else would people be willing to drop at least $1,100 on a pair of sneakers? I'd never shell out that much, but I am tempted to go try on Wall Street's favorite pair of kicks.
Move over, Mark Zuckerberg. Sam Altman is the world's new minister of thought.
This week's dispatch
Imagine you work for a company and your stock price has just skyrocketed. Think Nvidia, up more than 1,100% over the past few years to become a $4.5 trillion company. Employees of these companies must be feeling pretty good right about now. What could possibly go wrong?
As is often the case, though, there is a catch. In this instance, it's known as "golden handcuffs" — the notion of feeling stuck because it's too risky or expensive to move or change.
- Stock payouts unlock over time. Quitting before shares vest can potentially mean leaving a substantial amount of money on the table.
- Companies use restricted stock as a retention tactic. It's one that has been utilized from Wall Street to Big Tech, with a similar dynamic now occurring in the AI boom.
There's a new thought leader in town
For the last 20 years, Mark Zuckerberg has been the world's Minister of Thought. Starting with Facebook, the Meta CEO has transformed how we view ourselves and each other. Now, Zuckerberg appears to be ceding that title to OpenAI's Sam Altman.
The man behind Beyond
Dimitri Semenikhin is the 29-year-old day trader whose thesis helped spark a massive rally in Beyond Meat. What makes Semenikhin and Beyond different.
The AI divide at EA
At the video-game giant Electronic Arts, management is gung-ho on AI. Workers, on the other hand, say AI is actually making their jobs harder and they fear it could be game over if they're training their replacement. Player v. player.
Loyalty > Pay
When push comes to shove, would you want a higher salary or a more loyal employer? Make corporate America loyal again.
This week's quote: "Somebody decided, 'I'm gonna sell,' or whatever the case may be, and it just triggered profit taking." — Peter Perkins, a global strategy partner at MRB Partners, on gold's pullback.
How a pistachio gold mine grew out of California. The state is now the world's top supplier of pistachios.
More of this week's top reads:
- RIP Zoomtowns: Why home prices are dropping in WFH-era hot spots.
- I checked out The Row's sample sale line. People camped overnight for the quiet luxury brand. Some got paid to do it.
- "KPop Demon Hunters" is a huge hit for Netflix. So where are all the Halloween costumes?
- Tariffs are taking a bite out of "Shark Tank."
- Meta tells some employees their jobs are being replaced by tech — read the memo.
- The hot new trend in marketing: hating on AI.
- Amazon is 'last place' in the AI cloud race. Why that might not be a "death sentence."
- His firm doesn't promote partners. Here's how he got promoted anyway.
- Workers are back in offices — and so are the bedbugs.
- The JD: tutoring a 1-year-old for $240,000 a year. The response: virality, criticism, and an "outstanding application field."
Are you ready to leverage the AI boom and keep your employees happy and committed? Dive into the fascinating world of golden handcuffs, thought leaders, and the loyalty-pay dilemma to navigate the evolving landscape of the workplace.
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By: srussolillo@insider.com (Steve Russolillo)
Title: The AI Boom: How Companies Keep Employees Happy and Stay Put
Sourced From: www.businessinsider.com/ai-boom-employee-pay-restricting-golden-handcuffs-big-tech-2025-10
Published Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2025 10:45:01 +0000
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