Kylian Mbappé has added a team to his growing investment portfolio. Forbes named the French and Real Madrid soccer player among the richest athletes in 2024, with an estimated total earnings of $110 million. It appears he is putting his earnings to good use by investing in the luxury watch-shopping platform Wristcheck, which Jay-Z also backs. According to Robb Report, Mbappé’s interest in the company stemmed from their innovation in technology and creativity. “I’m thrilled to join Wristcheck as an investor through Coalition Capital,” Mbappé said in a press statement, according to the outlet.  “As a Hublot ambassador and someone passionate about watches and innovation, I see Wristcheck as a platform that truly understands the next generation of collectors. They’re reshaping the watch industry with a forward-thinking approach that blends technology, transparency, and creativity.” More recently, Mbappé became a team owner. He secured a stake in the France SailGP Team, which is owned by...

On Wednesday, the French government introduced a 3% digital tax that will primarily target big tech companies, as reported by CNBC . Locally, it’s known as the ‘GAFA’ Digital Tax after the companies it’s mainly targeting — Google, Alphabet, Facebook, and Amazon –according to Fortune. Overall, though, the tax will apply to the French revenue of about 30 major companies that are mostly from the United States. France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who has backed the tax, said, according to the Wall Street Journal , “These giants use your personal data and make significant profit from it, without paying their fair share of tax.” Le Maire thinks the tax will bring in about €500 million ($565 million) per year, according to CNBC. Companies will be taxed if they’re selling digital products from third parties, selling digital advertising, and have above €750 million ($848 million) in global revenues and French revenues of about €25 million, according to Fortune. Although the tax doesn’t...

Angel Reese has come a long way from her days working in fast food. The WNBA player shared a 2019 throwback with her 4.6 million Instagram followers, offering a glimpse into her humble beginnings working at Smashburger. At the time, she was still in high school, excelling as a standout player for St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, MD. According to USA Basketball, she was even named the Baltimore Sun Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020. Hustling Off The Court At Smashburger Amid her athletic greatness, Reese was also hustling off the court. She picked up shifts at Smashburger before heading into practice. “Humble beginnings. I used to be broke clocking in for work then going to practice,” Reese captioned on her Instagram story. “Smashburger Days IYKTYK. Sometimes I used to literally work from 10 AM to 10 PM.” NIL Era Reese’s days at Smashburger would eventually come to an end. During her collegiate years, she played at the University of Maryland and then transitioned to Louisiana...

Art Basel is one of the most highly anticipated events on the global art calendar, connecting art lovers, collectors, curators, and artists worldwide. The international art fair is held annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach, FL; Hong Kong, China; and Paris, France — with Miami Beach recognized as the premier art show of the Americas, per its website. While the event is most commonly known as a high-profile contemporary art fair, Art Basel Miami has evolved into a diverse cultural event combining art, culture, design, fashion, and business. Today, technologies like NFTs (non-fungible tokens), OVRs — online viewing rooms that let art enthusiasts join events through their computer screens — and immersive art experiences have transformed how art is viewed and purchased. As such, the fair has become a significant platform intersecting art and technology, according to a 2021 panel discussion at the event. Ahead of the 2024 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel unveiled its new...

Sports fans, or those who tuned into the 2024 Olympics , will surely recognize the name Julien Alfred. The Saint Lucian sprinter and gold medal champion made waves earlier this year with her incredible performance on the global stage, setting national records in the 100-meter event and taking home the very first Olympic medal for her home nation. Thanks to her ground-shattering performance, she is set to be one of several athletes recognized in the Netflix docu-series Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans Part 2 . The series premiered on the streamer today, Nov. 13, showcasing Alfred’s hard work and dedication in the days leading up to her performance in the Paris Olympics where her success was highlighted on the global stage. In the trailer, Alfred can be heard saying, “This is my chance to make the world know my name.” Clearly, she succeeded in this goal, having brought home the gold and glory for her country. All About Julien Alfred’s Early Life And Career Beginnings (Li Ying/Xinhua...

Michael Jordan is moving forward with a lawsuit demanding better outcomes from NASCAR. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Jordan became an owner of a NASCAR team, 23XI Racing, in September 2020 . According to NBC Sports, Jordan’s team — also owned by driver Denny Hamlin — operates under NASCAR’s charter system, which demands its 36 charter teams compete in all events. For their participation they are granted incentives such as payments, but this is contingent upon the team’s presence, performance in that event as well as over the course of the most recent three seasons, and the season-ending points fund. Despite the listed incentives, teams are not fairing well under the current structure, per AP News. In fact one team, Furniture Row Motorsports, was led to sell its charter for $6 million just a year after becoming the Cup Series winner in 2017 because it could not make a profit. Despite concerns, 13 organizations moved forward to sign NASCAR’s 100-page renewal contract on the...

Kevin Durant has struck gold overseas. Olympic Victory The athlete is fresh off a USA Basketball Men’s National Team victory at the 2024 Olympics, taking home a gold medal alongside teammates, including LeBron James and Stephen Curry, and leading against France in a 98-87 upset, according to USA Today. View this post on Instagram A post shared by USA Basketball (@usabasketball) Durant now has four Olympic gold medals, according to his Team USA profile. “My goal every time I put this jersey on was to represent my country, my state, my street, my family name, and it help put the game forward,” Durant said, per USA Today. “And since I’ve been here, we’ve done that. We built off the Dream Team in ’92, and we carried that torch and that was the main goal.” Investing In Paris Saint-Germain Besides focusing on the victory lap on the court, Durant also looked to do the same in the business world through his sports, media, and entertainment company Boardroom, which he founded in 2019...

Allyson Felix has received a grant from Melinda French Gates. Felix, who retired from the world of Olympic track and field in 2022, has a passion for the well-being of pregnant women. For example, her footwear brand Saysh gives expectant mothers a free pair of shoes since their feet change sizes throughout pregnancy, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “As we thoughtfully create our products, we think about all the ways that we can better support women through our maternity returns policy, offering women shoes once their feet changed sizes due to pregnancy, and just trying to push the industry in that direction,” she told AFROTECH™ at the time. In June 2022, Felix partnered with Pampers to champion maternal health for Black mothers. Pampers committed $250,000 to the cause and provided $100,000 to the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC) to help Black mothers receive quality care and to reduce maternal mortality rates. Felix is, once again, teaming up with Pampers during the 2024...