I’m writing this six days before the U.S. Presidential election. The stories in this issue were assigned months ago, submitted weeks ago, and are now in the final copyediting stages. Ironically, we will upload the file to the printer on election day, next Tuesday by 5pm. At that point, polls will still be open. And given our sketchy history with such things, it could be days or even weeks before the results are finalized. All the polls say it is a coin flip. The only other thing everyone agrees on is that the polls can be wrong. There is no comfort or clarity to be found there.
Even taking the editor-in-chief’s privilege of waiting until the last possible moment to hand in copy, what exactly am I supposed to say now? Where will the world be when you ready this?
By the time you read this, the president of the United States will be Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, although it seems likely that result will be rejected by nearly half the country. It is hard to imagine a more significant fork in the road. Remember when Barack Obama and John McCain seemed radically different? A few years later, McCain went maverick and saved the Affordable Care Act—we are a different place now.
Worth doesn’t pick partisan sides, we aren’t a news outlet or opinion journal. But it also doesn’t align with our focus on “Worth Beyond Wealth.” This is partly because the solutions on the extreme right and the extreme left leave no room for real-world contradictions. Can you be a profit-driven corporation and reduce your carbon footprint? Can you travel the world without being an awful tourist? Can we build the next generation of AI tools without creating massive societal inequities? Can you invest your money so that it improves the future of your family, your community, and even people you have never met?
Again, I have no certainty. If the election is a coin flip, I’d say the odds are about the same for all those other noble goals—maybe less, depending on who wins. What I do know is that we have to try. And for that, we will need inspiration.
In this issue, Worth selects its Worthy 100 for 2024. There are artists, inventors, activists, investors, founders, and CEOs. There are not many politicians, which is a good and a bad thing, but I think we can agree we don’t need more of that right now. Worth has done this series for four years now. We asked for nominations from past winners and thought leaders. The Worth editorial team chose the final honorees. I think it is our best list yet.
I’m looking forward to Techonomy 24: Leading with Intelligence in New York City on November 19th, where we’ll bring together minds shaping the AI revolution. I’m looking forward to CES, where the world’s technology firms will bring their latest innovations. I’m looking forward to Davos, where world leaders and visionaries will converge to wrestle with the challenge of building an economy that truly works for everyone. I hope to see you there.
The only thing I’m not looking forward to is next Tuesday.
