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- Anna Wintour chooses her Vogue successor
Anna Wintour chooses her Vogue successor
Plus: You'd turn down a free Tesla!?
Matt Davis
September 03, 2025
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Hello, N2K’ers!
The subject of this week’s News HaikuTM competition is OpenAI boss Sam Altman saying we might be in an “AI Bubble.” Send me your entry by Thursday at noon eastern for the chance to win a gif, and of course, capture the glory.
Now, let’s talk about the news you Need2Know?
—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor
News You Need2Know
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What’s the stock market up to, eh?
Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter
Conde Nast, OpenAI, $META ( ▲ 0.25% ) , $WFC ( ▼ 1.86% ) , $NVDA ( ▼ 0.53% ) , $AMZN ( ▼ 0.29% ) , $GOOGL ( ▲ 8.59% ) $KHC ( ▲ 3.4% )
Anna Wintour taps Chloe Malle as Vogue successor
Anna “Devil Wears Prada” Wintour has named Chloe “I’m Not Really In Charge” Malle as the new head of editorial content at Vogue. While Malle steps into the iconic role, Wintour, 75, isn’t going anywhere — she will continue as Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director for Vogue and its 27 international editions.
Malle, 39, who has long been part of the Vogue family, brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Since joining the magazine as a social editor in 2011, she has steadily risen through the ranks. “Vogue has already shaped who I am, now I’m excited at the prospect of shaping Vogue,” Malle said. Under her leadership as editor of Vogue.com, the platform has doubled its traffic, now boasting 14.5 million unique visitors each month, which is almost as many as Cheddar’s website gets.
Wintour heralded Malle’s ability to balance the publication's storied history with its future. “Chloe has proven often that she can find the balance between American Vogue’s long, singular history and its future on the front lines of the new,” Wintour said, presumably sharpening her steak knife and readying to plunge it between Malle’s shoulder blades.
Do you think she wants her to succeed? Let us know in today’s poll below ⬇️
Song of the day: Conrad Herwig, ‘Bianco’s Waltz’
“The trio of trombonist Conrad Herwig, the late pianist Eddie Palmieri and bassist Luques Curtis manage to capture the intoxicating rhythms and beautiful melodies of Latin jazz without all the fuss,” says one reviewer of this rather nice jazz album. I’ve enjoyed listening to it as I’ve written today’s ‘sletter.
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Now you can sign up for an optional ad-free version of Need2Know! Subscribe for just $5 a month, or $50 a year, and you can continue to enjoy this reasonably high-quality newsletter uninterrupted. Bonus: The immense satisfaction that comes from supporting journalism*!
How 433 Investors Unlocked 400X Return Potential
Institutional investors back startups to unlock outsized returns. Regular investors have to wait. But not anymore. Thanks to regulatory updates, some companies are doing things differently.
Take Revolut. In 2016, 433 regular people invested an average of $2,730. Today? They got a 400X buyout offer from the company, as Revolut’s valuation increased 89,900% in the same timeframe.
Founded by a former Zillow exec, Pacaso’s co-ownership tech reshapes the $1.3T vacation home market. They’ve earned $110M+ in gross profit to date, including 41% YoY growth in 2024 alone. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.
The same institutional investors behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay backed Pacaso. And you can join them. But not for long. Pacaso’s investment opportunity ends September 18.
Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.
*This counts as journalism, right?
Chatbot firms: We need to better respond to suicidal teens
OpenAI and Meta $META ( ▲ 0.25% ) have announced new measures to better respond to suicidal teenagers but critics remain skeptical. Jay Edelson, representing the family of a 16 year old who tragically died after interacting with ChatGPT, criticized OpenAI’s efforts as “vague promises to do better.”
This follows reporting in the New York Times about the suicide.
Others, like RAND Corporation researcher Ryan McBain, called the changes "incremental steps," urging for independent safety benchmarks and enforceable standards. When the RAND Corporation says you need to try harder to be ethical you might want to consider whether you’ve gone far enough, eh?
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, revealed it will roll out enhanced parental controls this fall. These updates will allow parents to link accounts with their teenagers, disable certain features, and receive alerts when their teen shows “acute distress.” OpenAI plans to redirect “high-stakes conversations” to more advanced AI models designed to provide improved responses.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has similarly pledged to block its chatbots from engaging in conversations with teens about sensitive topics such as self-harm or disordered eating. Instead, affected users will be directed to professional resources. No word on whether those include therapists or people.
Today on the ‘gram: What happens in Vegas
Post of the day: Me, also…
waited 45 minutes on the white house livestream for it to just be about space force
— Sydney🧍🏻♀️ (@sydbug_2018)
6:55 PM • Sep 2, 2025
Quote of the Day
Less income from [tariffs] could also force the U.S. government to borrow more to pay its bills.
Nestlé dismisses this guy after he has relationship with a subordinate
Swiss food giant Nestlé has fired its CEO, Laurent “Freaky” Freixe, following an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate — a breach of the company’s code of conduct.
Freixe, who had been with Nestlé since 1986 and assumed the CEO role in September 2024, will be replaced by Philipp “Not As Freixe, Hopefully” Navratil, a seasoned executive within the company.
Prounouncably named chairman Paul Bulcke described the decision as essential to maintaining Nestlé’s ethical standards. “This was a necessary decision,” Bulcke said, emphasizing that “Nestlé’s values and governance are strong foundations of our company.” The company provided no additional details about the investigation.
Freixe’s dismissal is the latest in a series of leadership changes at Nestlé. There is no immediate word on whether the firing will affect my favorite product, the Toll House Cookie. Thoughts and prayers.
Should you check your 401(k) today?
👎️
No freaking way (see below)
Wall Street has worst day in a month
Investors returning from Labor Day break on Tuesday were hit with fresh uncertainty in trade policy after a federal appeals court ruled most of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs illegal, setting up a potential showdown at the Supreme Court.
Wall Street saw sharp declines on Tuesday as rising bond yields created turbulence in the stock market. Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute $WFC ( ▼ 1.86% ) , explained that tariffs and debt uncertainty amplified these challenges: "Less income from [tariffs] could also force the U.S. government to borrow more to pay its bills."
The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, putting it on track for its worst day in a month.
Big Tech bore the brunt of the losses. Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 0.53% ) , which has spearheaded the AI chip movement, saw shares plunge 2%, making it the largest drag on the S&P 500. Amazon $AMZN ( ▼ 0.29% ) also fell 1.6%, and Alphabet $GOOGL ( ▲ 8.59% ) shed 0.7%. The broader market declined as the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.27%, reflecting higher bond market pressure.
Kraft Heinz undoes blockbuster merger
Kraft Heinz $KHC ( ▲ 3.4% ) , one of the largest food manufacturers in the world, is splitting into two separate companies after nearly a decade of falling sales. It marks the end of a blockbuster 2015 merger that aimed to dominate the processed food market.
The new companies — temporarily named Global Taste Elevation Co. and North American Grocery Co. — will divide the brand portfolio. Global Taste Elevation Co. will include well-known products like Heinz ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese, and Kraft Mac & Cheese. Meanwhile, North American Grocery Co. will house slower-selling brands such as Oscar Mayer, Lunchables, and Maxwell House.
Seriously, they couldn’t name the companies something a little more imaginative?
The separation is expected to finalize by 2026.
“Kraft Heinz’s brands are iconic and beloved, but the complexity of our current structure makes it challenging to allocate capital effectively,” Executive Chairman Miguel Patricio said.
The 2015 merger, engineered by billionaire Warren Buffett and investment firm 3G Capital, initially seemed promising. However, consumer tastes evolved, favoring healthier and less-processed food options, which undercut the company’s strategy. Buffett admitted to CNBC that the merger “certainly didn’t turn out to be a brilliant idea.”
Food marketing expert Russell “No Comment” Zwanka explained that while the split likely won’t affect consumers, it raises concerns for Kraft Heinz’s 36,000 employees. “The brands will survive,” Zwanka said, “you just hope the people will move with the brands.”
Poll of the day: Devilish?
Poll results: You’d turn down a free Tesla!
We asked: “Someone offers you a free Tesla. Do you:”
You answered:
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ A. Take it, drive it home and feel totally fantastic? (279)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ B. Take it, drive it home and feel guilty and worried? (166)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 C. Refuse it with thanks, explaining that you have concerns over the reputation of Elon Musk. (436 votes)
881 Votes via @beehiiv polls
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