Good morning and Happy Halloween.I saw some ghoulish decorations outside a house in Riyadh last night, illustrating a shift in cultural norms inside the kingdom where celebrating the holiday was once forbidden. My Uber driver was a woman, who would have been banned from driving prior to 2018. I can’t say what’s changed in Saudi Arabia as this is my first trip, but conversations with dozens of people across its capital suggest a genuine excitement with the reforms and modernization initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). For women, in particular, life is better.There’s been plenty of debate about geopolitics in the halls of the FII Institute. What felt fresh were conversations about investing in arts and culture as a source of wellness, innovation and resilient growth. Anyone who has been to the historic city of Diriyah or read Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 knows that the goal is to create a global hub that embraces the old and the new.Culture is also big business. Witness the success of Art Basel, which hosts annual art fairs in Basel, Hong Kong, Paris and Miami Beach. “We exist to power the careers of artists,” said CEO Noah Horowitz, “but also create inspiring moments of connectivity and ultimately transform cities … developing local ecosystems that can fundamentally shift people’s views of the society in which they live.”I also spoke with Katherine Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which funds education programs, research, preservation, grants, and iconic Los Angeles museums. In addition to providing beauty, expression and opportunities to connect on a deep level, she notes that creating and consuming art is tied to wellness. “It makes us happy. It makes it possible for us to express emotion,” she said, “We know that looking at art reduces your blood pressure and gives you an endorphin rush.”And, of course, it’s an investment. When I asked what each would do if someone gave them $100 million, Horowitz paused. “We’re a business that’s almost intentionally chaotic to create a moment of urgency,” he said. “What would an institution of permanence look like, where could we support and service the sense of place that the Getty has?”And Fleming? “I’d be delighted to put their name on a fabulous new education facility around art for K-12 education,” she says. “Culture is core to the most fundamental form of human success.” More news below. Diane Bradydiane.brady@fortune.comFollow on LinkedInTOP NEWSDoes Musk meddle with the X algorithm?A new Fortune study involving 12 test accounts on X found that at least one of owner Elon Musk’s posts appeared on the accounts’ timelines within two scrolling sessions, even though they did not follow Musk or engage with his content. The study seems to corroborate claims that Musk manipulates the algorithm of the site to boost his own posts.Labour government presents U.K. budgetU.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a £40 billion ($51.9 billion) increase in taxes on Wednesday as part of the Labour party’s new budget. The plan includes increasing the range of capital gains taxes from 10% to a maximum of 24%, spurring anxiety among founders and CEOs in the country.Tech earnings recapMicrosoft announced on Wednesday that it generated $65.6 billion in revenue for its most recent quarter, beating Wall Street estimates. Meta outperformed estimates as well but saw its stock drop nearly 3%, which some speculate came from the company’s announcement of more intense investment in AI infrastructure.AROUND THE WATERCOOLERSam Altman’s decade-old investment in Reddit is now worth over $1 billion by Paolo ConfinoChanel’s CEO went to Microsoft HQ and asked ChatGPT to show her a picture of her company’s leadership. They were all men in suits by Sasha RogelbergApple is challenging hackers to break into the company’s servers—if you’re successful, you could earn up to $1 million by Jane ThierExclusive: Election betting site Polymarket gives Trump a 67% chance of winning but is rife with fake ‘wash’ trading, researchers say by Leo SchwartzThe CHRO of DHL says a new plan to upskill 160,000 employees will be key to ‘internal fluidity’ by Emma BurleighJack Dorsey hits Tidal with another mass layoff: “We need to build like a startup again” by Kali HaysMicrosoft and Alphabet’s latest earnings show once again that it’s all about the cloud by Sharon GoldmanAI chatbot prompted a 14-year-old’s suicide, mom’s lawsuit alleges: ‘We are behind the eight ball.’ Here’s how to keep kids safe from new tech by Beth GreenfieldThis is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read global insights from CEOs and industry leaders. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
