There's a story at the Washington Post which I will gift link: A Trump-branded nuclear power project thrilled investors. Then came the crash.
Some highlights:
When the start-up Fermi America announced plans to build the Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus near Amarillo, Texas, last year, investors clamored for a chance to cash in on the artificial intelligence boom sweeping through the U.S. economy.
Wow, talk about your red flags, right in that name! Putting the words "Donald Trump" in that close a proximity to "Advanced...Intelligence"?
Next red flag:
Fermi’s co-founders include Rick Perry, energy secretary during President Donald Trump’s first term, and his son Griffin. The company said construction of the world’s largest data center would begin at the site by the end of 2025. It aimed to break ground on four nuclear plants bearing Trump’s name, it said in a news release last month, “on July 4th — with the President.” Investors valued the company at more than $13 billion after its initial public offering in October, making the stakes owned by Griffin Perry and the family of chief executive Toby Neugebauer each worth billions.
Remember I've noted before how Rick Perry is a convert to the medical use of psychedelics (or at least, ibogaine)? That whole movement has suspiciously grifty aspects to it.
Third red flag: that Toby Neugebauer guy:
Neugebauer, who owns a 17,000-square-foot Dallas mansion modeled after the White House, and is the son of former congressman Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), still sits on Fermi’s board...
And get this:
Neugebauer previously founded an “anti-woke” bank called GloriFi that offered credit cards made out of bullet casings. It went bankrupt months after opening in 2022. In bankruptcy litigation, Neugebauer was accused by GloriFi’s court-appointed trustee of spinning a “fairytale” to deflect blame for the bank’s demise and “complete disregard and disdain for corporate governance.” Neugebauer has denied the allegations in court and said misconduct by others caused the bank to fail. The case is ongoing.
Anyhoo:
...stock traders have been fleeing Fermi since and dumped more shares last week after Neugebauer was forced out by the board. Construction appears to have stalled in Texas, and Fermi, which said in federal filings that it has never generated any revenue, has been unable to secure a tech company tenant for its planned data center. Griffin Perry and other company executives have cashed out tens of millions of dollars in Fermi stock in recent weeks, according to regulatory disclosures. Shareholder lawsuits accuse the company of overhyping its prospects for success, and its stock price ended Monday 81 percent below its public debut.
Anyone who invested in that and lost money - it's hard to have sympathy...
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