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For years, global stars have traveled to West Africa as ambassadors of humanitarian and anti-corruption efforts: Rihanna in Senegal urging world leaders to donate aid, Bono in Ghana championing transparency as the best vaccine against corruption. All the while, Vincent Bolloré, the billionaire power broker who wields significant influence over the parent company behind their music labels, was busy building an industrial empire in those same countries. That empire is now at the center of corruption trials, sexual abuse allegations, and a sweeping criminal complaint filed by West African nonprofits. Vincent Bolloré stole money from our communities and used it to build an empire, Jean-Jacques Lumumba, the head of the anti-corruption watchdog group Restitution for Africa, alleges in a statement to Fast Company. For some UMG musicians, the accusations against Bolloré present a jarring contradiction: Artists are using their platforms to fight injustice, while a powerful figure profiting from their music built his fortune through actions that critics say undermined democracy. The Bolloré familys industrial empire traces back over two centuries to its origins in cigarette and Bible paper manufacturing. Over time, its global success allowed the family to pivot into West African industries like rubber, palm oil, and port operations. More recently, the family gained what French courts described in April as effective control of the media conglomerate Vivendi. Until 2021, Vivendi owned all of Universal Music Group (UMG), the worlds leading music company, and Bollorés fortunes were widely seen as tied to it. In 2021, Vivendi spun off UMG as a publicly traded company, unlocking $53 billion of value on its first day of trading, while allowing the Bolloré family to retain their position as UMGs largest shareholders. Worldwide, UMG manages five million titles across some of the industrys most iconic labels: Interscope, Capitol, Def Jam, Island, Republic, Virgin. Technically the Bollorés control just 28% of UMG10% directly and another 18% through Vivendi. But that gives the Bollorés outsized sway. (Kanye West once claimed he was going to bypass label execs with contract complaints and take his grievances straight to the top: Dont need the Arnaud meeting anymore, he tweeted in 2020, referring to Vivendis CEO Arnaud de Puyfontaine. I will be meeting with Vincent Bolloré.) This complex web of corporate control casts a long shadow, even as UMG artists champion causes in regions where Bollorés other ventures have come under fire. In 2022, Usher and SZA, whose songs include UMG distribution deals, went to Ghana to headline the Global Citizen Festival benefiting West Africa. That same year, fellow UMG client The Weeknd also launched a UN humanitarian fund benefiting the same region. But those actions coincided with a wave of divestment from Bollorés businesses on the part of European investment funds: Switzerlands largest pension funds put his companies on their exclusion list, and Norways $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fundthe worlds largestpulled out entirely, citing human rights reports alleging abuses in Liberia, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone, including land grabs and rape. That financial pressure mirrored growing legal scrutiny. Over the past decade, Bolloré has faced a series of corruption investigations in France tied to his business dealings in West Africaranging from election meddling to bribery and port monopolies. He was indicted in 2018, and French prosecutors continue to pursue charges related to those allegations. Critics of Bolloré contend that artists who remain silent risk inadvertently reinforcing the same exploitative systems many of them seek to challenge. “Dirty money off the backs of African communities” Last month, the French National Financial Prosecutors Office said it was still working on Bollorés corruption trial related to the Togo bribery claims. This came days after Bloomberg News ran a 4,000-word investigation into the sexual coercion of women working on Bollorés Liberian rubber plantations. Workers recently set fire to the office and managers home to protest the squalid conditions. Now, a coalition of 11 West African nonprofits known as Restitution for Africa (RAF) has filed a brand-new complaint with French authorities accusing Bolloré of using corruption, favoritism, and influence peddling to win port contracts in three additional countries: Ghana, Cameroon, Côte dIvoire. The complaint, also filed with the French National Financial Prosecutors Office and reviewed by Fast Company, accuses the Bolloré Group of a criminal graft where it conspired with corrupt politicians to build a massive port, rail, and logistics monopoly across West Africathen cashed out, selling that subsidiary (Bolloré Africa Logistics) for $6.2 billion, more than Sierra Leones annual GDP. The complaint argues the money earned should be given to citizens of those African nations. The coalition is calling the complaint unprecedented in its pan-African character. RAF followed that by launching a public petition on Thursday called Global Billionaire Accountability Project. Over the past month, it has worked to solicit support from 50 major artists under contract with UMG labelsthey include Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Sam Smith, The Weeknd, Usher, SZA, U2, Sting, Alicia Keys, and Billie Eilish. The group sent a letter asking them to demand that Bolloré divest from UMG, arguing that UMG artists are financially tethered to a corporate entity accused of profiting from illicit and exploitative activities. The letter concludes: We want to ensure youre aware that these ill-gotten gains have been funding Bollorés ownership of UMGdirty money off the backs of African communities. UMG declined to comment. A representative for Vincent Bolloré and the Bolloré Group did not respond to multiple inquiries by Fast Company. Restitution for Africa says so far none of the artists have responded to their letter. Fast Company also sent requests for comment to the publicists of more than a dozen UMG artists who prioritize social impact work. This includes all the artists mentioned above, other industry heavyweights like Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar, as well as Angélique Kidjo, the French-Beninese five-time Grammy winner who has served as a UNICEF oodwill Ambassador in Africa since the mid-2000s. Their representatives did not respond. Bonos ONE Campaignpublisher of 2014s widely read Trillion Dollar Scandal report warning that shady business practices in places like West Africa were siphoning up to a trillion dollars every year from developing countriesalso didnt respond to an inquiry. While many artists publicly support causes that would seem to pit them against Bollorés business pursuits, stars might fear speaking out could carry contractual and professional risks. In recent years, boldface entertainment names have publicly accused UMG of prioritizing profits over artist interests. Musicians from Drake and Iggy Azalea to Limp Bizkit have spoken outeven suedover unpaid royalties, licensing conflicts, and disputes over control of their work. And to be sure, pressuring UMG is not without risk, particularly for smaller artists who depend on the corporations support to stay afloat. Restitution for Africa is led by the anti-corruption watchdog group Transparency International and Jean-Jacques Lumumba, a former a former banker who in the mid-2010s exposed billions of dollars worth of embezzlements by Congolese President Joseph Kabilas government and now lives in exile in Europe. At Restitution for Africa, hes turned to different corruption occurring in his part of the world. This is not a man who global musicians at Universal Music Group should be OK with taking money from, Lumumba tells Fast Company. The French government has long grappled with its role in allowing political leaders in postcolonial Africa to steal from their own people, then park that stolen wealth back in France, or elsewhere. In 2021, President Emmanuel Macrons government enacted a new law strengthening the legal pathway to return such corrupt assets, once seized, to their countries of origin. This followed years of high-profile cases involving hundreds of millions of euros laundered by leaders of countries like Equatorial Guinea and Congo to fund lavish Parisian real estate, high-end art, and expensive cars, the types of corruption Bono protested while in Africa and his ONE Campaign called out in its Trillion Dollar Scandal. Past cases primarily targeted corrupt heads of state and their families. But more recently, nonprofits have sought restitution for ill-gotten corporate gains. The most prominent example involves French energy giant TotalEnergies operations in Congo. In 2019, two anti-corruption nonprofits filed a criminal complaint against Total alleging that it won oil exploration rights through bribery. The case is still being argued five years later, demonstrating the complexities of expanding the target to include companies. But if a whistleblower hadnt revealed a web of suspicious financial transactions tying Total and Congolese political elites to various bank accounts, it wouldnt have had legs. That person was RAFs Lumumba. In 2021, under mounting pressure, Bolloré Group parent company Bolloré SE paid 12 million to settle the Togo bribery charges brought against the corporation. Two years later, the Bollorés sold Bolloré Africa Logistics and started investing more heavily in the media industry, similar to a certain free speech absolutist tech billionaire in America. The African sale, combined with UMG artists profits, has helped breathe life into a rightwing French media juggernaut. Chanez Mensous, head of litigation and advocacy at the French corporate ethics watchdog Sherpa, calls this quite symptomatic of the Bolloré business approach. (Sherpa has joined previous criminal corruption cases against Bolloré, and will be a party to his individual trial next year, distinct from the 2021 corporate settlement, involving the Togo port bribery allegations.) They prey on countries with weak governance standards, Mensous says. They have the financial strength to consider sanctions and fines a reasonable economic risk they can absorb. Their relative impunity is made possible by the control they have over the media. They use SLAPPs [strategic lawsuits against public participation] to silence civil societies and journalists covering these cases. The family currently controls the telecom giant Canal+, Europe 1, various magazines, and Frances only Sunday newspaperalong with CNews, a free Canal+ channel that Harvards Nieman Reports recently criticized for its role in mainstreaming far-right ideas. That shift began accelerating after 2017, the year Bolloré took over the channel. Since then, CNews has added figures like Éric Zemmour, the far-right TV pundit turned politician repeatedly convicted of racial and religious hate speech. In the past few years, the network has been a place to find anti-vax histrionics, calls for Muslims to renounce their faith, interest in the Great Replacement Theory, suggestions that immigrants caused Pariss pre-Olympics bedbug infestation, and full-blown panic over le wokismethis as many UMG artists worldwide were busy promoting COVID vaccination efforts, calling out police brutality, and condemning white supremacy. Last summer, CNews rose (briefly) to the rank of Frances #1 news channel. Bolloré is also credited with empowering the far-right French leader Marine Le Penechoing her brand of nationalism, as well as her warm feelings toward Russia. Weeks ago when Donald Trump berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, Bollorés outlets took cues, turning friendly fire on Ukraines European allies. The far-right broadcasters and newspapers owned by Vincent Bolloré are backing Vladimir Putin, Le Monde told readers. “The French Rupert Murdoch” Meanwhile, Bollorés outlets have undergone an ideological purge serious enough to inspire Reporters Without Borders to produce a documentary chronicling their repeated attacks on press freedom and the independence of editorial offices, then denouncing them as an unprecedented threat to democracy. During Frances latest elections in 2022, hundreds of journalists and activists formed Operation Stop Bolloré, a coalition that accused Bolloré media of breaking with all journalistic ethics, arguing it is no longer a matter of informing citizens, but of transforming minds. On top of that, Bolloré lawyers have done their best to silence critical reporters and nonprofits that dig into the companys business operations, like in 2016 when three newspapers (Mediapart, LObs, and Le Point) and two nonprofits (Sherpa and ReAct) reported that a Bolloré company bulldozed West African villagers land. In 15 years, the company has hit journalists and activists with at least 20 gag lawsuits. The Bolloré media arm is eyeing expansions back in Africa, too: If a deal awaiting approval closes, the Bollorés will own South African-based satellite TV provider MultiChoice, via the continents largest-ever media acquisition, giving them a subscriber base in sub-Saharan Africa of more than 20 million viewers. Of course, Bollorés right-wing crusade puts UMG artists in a bigger bindwhether they champion African causes or not, do they want their music profits to flow, in part, to a so-called French Rupert Murdoch who is bankrolling a political agenda many of them have publicly denounced? UMGs ownership structure already presents an ethical dilemma for its most socially conscious performers: Beyond the Bollorés 28% control, the next largest shareholder, with 20%, is Tencentthe Chinese tech giant the U.S. government labels a Communist military asset. Noted Trump booster Bill Ackman controls the third most, with 10%. Taylor Swift isnt active in Africa, but she has repeatedly condemned racism and the oppression of women, and has lamented the naiveté that we used to have about [bigotry]. The Imagine Dragons band members, signed to Interscope, are vocal official ambassadors of the Ukrainian state charity United24. Kendrick Lamars music criticizes racial injustice and systemic oppression, while Lady Gaga has used her platform to condemn far-right rhetoric as an attack on democracy and human rights. And thats just four of UMGs better-known artists. While Bolloré Group got blacklisted by Swiss funds in 2023 over human rights abuses, its harder to find examples of controversial investors caving to public pressure and divesting from publicly traded companies. That highlights the challenge of holding powerful billionaires accountable who can shield themselves from accountability. It also explains RAFs long-shot strategy of seeking to leverage the platforms of celebrities whose careers arent directly impacted by a French shipping mogul, and who have largely ignored outside requests to speak out against him. However, since RAFs letters went out, one artist has taken note of Bollorés business practices: Drake. The rapper is currently suing UMG over Kendrick Lamars Grammy-winning diss track Not Like Usa blistering takedown featuring the line Drake, I hear you like em young, with cover art showing a sex-offender map plastered with pins around Drakes Toronto home. Just days after receiving the petition, Drakes lawyers referenced Bollorés growing scandals in a legal filing, arguing that recent headlines involving UMGs largest stakeholder call for greater transparency from the label.
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Like other famous structures of similar dimensions, the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid, a revolutionary 70s modernist skyscraper and San Francisco icon, has a bit of history buried beneath its ground floor. [Photo: Nils Huenerfuerst/Unsplash] A recently unearthed time capsule, buried in 1974 and discovered during a recent round of renovations, offers a picture of San Francisco’s past. The site of the structurethen a parking lotwas initially part of the original shoreline of the city that reeked of historical significance, from the citys growth as a shipping and banking capital. The capsule even contains a recipe for Pisco Punch, a cocktail that was invented at the nearby Bank Exchange Saloon, site of the citys original stock exchange. [Photo: courtesy SHVO] Part of an exhibit in the building lobby opening May 18, the time capsules contents are timeless: pictures of the buildings steel frame beginning to stretch skyward, or vintage news clippings and images of the city after its last 60s flowering. But within the cylindrical steel capsule, which looks a bit like a large propane tank, theres also a narrative about building in America, and how thats radically changed in the last 50 years. [Photo: courtesy SHVO] The battle over the permitting and construction of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco from 1969 to 1972 offers a flashback to a different time in development, real estate, and construction. The tower was proposed and built in just three years, a sprint compared to the time it takes today to build a signature part of a city skyline. Construction alone for the One World Trade in New York City took eight years; the Comcast Tech Center in Philadelphia, which had issues with cracks in some of the steel frame, took five years; and the St. Regis in Chicago took four years. An analysis of high-rise buildings by Construction Physics found building speeds decreased significantly over the past century, in many cases extending the time it takes to finish by roughly 50%. [Photo: courtesy SHVO] Buildings are more complex and require more permitting today, including complicated environmental review processes. This time-consuming process of development has led to backlash against what opponents call stifling building regulations. It has also led to more engagement from architects around code reform issues including elevator rules and exit stairs, and the formation of the abundance agenda, a center-left push by pundits like Ezra Klein to get the nation building fast again. The pace of the approval and the construction here is unbelievable, says developer Michael Shvo, who paid $650 million to acquire the Transamerica Pyramid in 2020, at the depths of the COVID office freeze.. The Mayor was very determined to get this thing approved, and Transamerica was very determined to get a building built, and with all the controversy, once they got the green light, they ran as fast as possible. They built it in two years, we couldnt do that today. [Photo: courtesy SHVO] A more humane debate Transaerica was then a massive business conglomerate with interests in banking, financial services, and insurance. According to former public relations staffer John Krizek, who worked for Transamerica during the pyramids construction and ultimately created the time capsule, the back-and-forth between protestors and developers at the time was more humane, more respectable, and more amusing. The conversation around the Transamerica Pyramid was, at the time, a larger debate about images, architecture, and aesthetics. The tower was not just a unique shape, but would tower above the skyline. It was to be the citys tallest building, and wouldnt be surpassed until 2018s Salesforce Tower. [Photo: courtesy SHVO] Artists and community members protested the building for aesthetic reasons, and general distrust of large corporations. Posters passed around the city at the time proclaimed San Francisco Gets the Shaft or Artists Against the Icicle. The citys then planning director called the pyramid, designed by architect William Pereira, inhumane. [Photo: courtesy SHVO] During early street protests in front of the companys office, Transamerica execs sent secretaries to bring ice tea to the protestors lining up outside. During another protest, Krizek and his colleagues printed up fake fortune cookies at a nearby Chinatown bakery, frantically stuffing messages like TransamericaNot a square outfit or People who protest pyramid seek Che-ops publicity. Krizek recalled that the company was determined to break ground in December 1969. The building plan was announced in January of that year, and there was a tax break worth approximately $750,000 expiring at the end of December. Since Krizek and his coworkers knew that as soon as the company was given approval to build, there would be an appeal, they planned to move fast and break ground before paperwork was filed. To head off any challenges, they staged a tractor and truck near the site and sent someone to pick up the approval during the midday lunch break; they were able to get a time-stamped photo of someone digging at site while those opposing the project saw their appeal delayed as staffer enjoyed their lunch. The emotions around this building, Ive never seen this for any other building in the world, says Shvo. The debates today are more practical; this structure will block my view or cast a shadow. You cant say that about this building, it was a pyramid designed to let the light down to the street level. It didnt block views, the only thing people could complain about was this idea of the Manhattanization of San Francisco. Originally, Pereiras design was meant for a new building for ABC in New York City. The network passed on the project, deeming the design too futuristic, and went with another architects vision. Today, the Transamerica Pyramid stands as an icon in San Francisco, with 80% of the space leased in a challenging office market. The building ABC picked instead? Its since been demolished.
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E-Commerce
Students are still setting fire to their Chromebooks for TikTokand now they’re facing the consequences. Fast Company first reported on the #ChromebookChallenge trend last week, following a series of school evacuations caused by students igniting laptop fires. The fires are started by inserting items such as pencils, paper clips, and pushpins into the charging ports of school-issued Chromebooks. This can cause the battery to overheat, potentially sparking a fire or explosion that releases toxic fumes. The #ChromebookChallenge reportedly began in Connecticut and has since spread rapidly. Newington High School was the first to evacuate students on May 1 after a laptop caught fire and the fire department was called. Since then, two students at Southington High School were arrested in connection with a separate laptop fire on May 7. The teens were charged with reckless burning, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and second-degree breach of peace. On May 8, a Plainville middle school student was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and is now facing criminal charges for deliberately causing the incident. That same day, Belleville High School in New Jersey was evacuated after a laptop fire started outside a classroom. Responding officers and firefighters found a charred Chromebook just outside the building. A 15-year-old student has since been charged with arson and criminal mischief. The trend has spread westward: As of late last week, Denver Public Schools had received 30 reports of students attempting to ignite their laptops, according to Axios. The Colorado Springs Fire Department has reported at least 16 similar incidents. With no sign of the trend slowing, schools across the countryincluding in California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Washingtonhave issued warnings about the reckless challenge. Parents and guardians are also being urged to talk to their children about fire safety and the dangers of blindly following social media trends. A TikTok spokesperson tells Fast Company that it takes down content that violates the platforms Dangerous Activities and Challenges policy. The company is currently working closely with the National PTA to fund programs in high schools about online safety and civility. In addition, searching for the term Chromebook challenge on TikTok brings up a safety warning: “Some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing, or even fabricated,” it reads. “Learn how to recognize harmful challenges so you can protect your health and well-being.” However, the trend is still circulating under other hashtags, such as #ChromebookDurabilityTest and #FStudent. Many of these videos go viral, garnering thousands of views and comments from fellow students and baffled adults. The clips often feature a sound bite from fitness podcaster Ben Azoulay: The F students are inventors, Azoulay says. Theyre so creative that they couldnt sit in class. Now theyre sitting in jail cells.
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E-Commerce
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