Disney’s Avatar returns after more than a decade

This week SBF gets arrested, Musk finds himself in second place and Avatar returns after more than a decade. These are the five big stories from the week that was.

1. I’m Blue (Da Ba Dee)

James Cameron’s highly anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water” is set to take the box office by storm, with estimates projecting that it will earn between $150 million and $175 million in the United States alone during its opening weekend.

The first Avatar debuted in 2009 with $77 million in the U.S, but went on to gross $2.92 billion globally and hold the no. 1 spot for seven weeks.

2. Worst. Vacation. Ever. 

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been arrested in the Bahamas.

The arrest was made on charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy and money laundering.

FTX collapsed last month, with billions of dollars disappearing from the platform. The US is expected to request Bankman-Fried’s extradition.

3. If you’re not first, you’re last

Elon Musk is no longer the wealthiest person in the world. A decline in Tesla’s share price has resulted in LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault taking the top spot. Arnault made his fortune building the world’s largest luxury conglomerate, which includes brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Tag Heuer, and Celine.

Musk held the title of the world’s wealthiest person since September 2021, when he overtook Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. 

4. Merry Christmas

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in 15 years in an effort to combat inflation. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to increase the overnight borrowing rate by half a percentage point, bringing it to a targeted range between 4.25% and 4.5%.

5. It Begins

OpenAI, a research organization co-founded by Elon Musk and funded by Microsoft, expects to generate $1 billion in revenue by 2024 through its chatbot, ChatGPT.