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Thursday morning, Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced she would not run for reelection in 2026, retiring after an almost 40-year career representing her San Francisco district in Congress. “With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative,” Pelosi told constituents in a video message.
Those of you who’ve followed the 50 Over 50 list since its debut in 2021 will remember that the Congresswoman was one of our inaugural listees; Pelosi didn’t even run for Congress until she was 47 years old, and became America’s first female Speaker of the House at the age of 66.
“People make their own decisions about their timing, and they don’t have to comply with somebody else’s view of how that should be,” she told Morning Joe co-host and Know Your Value founder Mika Brzezinski—our partner in the 50 Over 50—at the time. “It’s about what works for them.”
Cheers,
P.S. Speaking of the 50 Over 50, nominations for the next 50 Over 50 Global List remain open! We’re looking for women around the world, in every country EXCEPT THE U.S., who are actively stepping into their power in their sixth decade or beyond. Know someone who should be on our radar? Put their name forward here. Need ideas? Check out last year’s list.
Exclusive Forbes Profile: China’s Richest Self-Made Woman Amasses $19.7 Billion Fortune Amid Biotech Boom
Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group’s 64-year-old chairman and CEO, Zhong Huijuan, has seen her net worth expanded by nearly two-thirds to $19.7 billion on a 70% jump in shares of the Hong Kong-listed company since Forbes last measured her fortune. China’s richest self-made woman and a former chemistry teacher, Zhong has benefited from bullish sentiment over the company’s new drug candidates and the potentially lucrative deals it has landed with global pharma giants to develop them.
ICYMI: News Of The Week
This week Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the race for Virginia governor and Democrat Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli in New Jersey’s governor’s election—marking key wins for women and for Democrats in the first big electoral test in Trump’s second term in office.
Speaking of women’s representation in higher office and leadership roles: Fewer than one in 10 S&P 500 companies are led by a female CEO, and only 26% of the U.S. Senate seats are held by women. A new set of studies suggests one explanation for this gender gap at the top is that women wait—sometimes many years—until they have more experience before putting themselves forward for higher leadership positions.
Caulipower, the gluten-free dough company founded by Gail Becker in 2016, announced this week that it has been acquired by private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners. The company, which has previously reported annual revenue north of $100 million, did not disclose the financial terms of the deal but did say that it will be folded into Pain Schwartz’s Urban Farmer brand.
Roughly three out of every four working Americans also have caregiving duties at home—whether to young kids or an aging family member. This responsibility can add a tremendous amount of stress to businesses and individuals (and to see the full cost to the economy, read our Checklist items below), but Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, cofounder and CEO of Wellthy, is building a platform that can help ease this burden. Jurist-Rosner recently sat down with ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath to talk about her company, why helping employees with caregiving demands is a business imperative, and how “every dollar invested in caregiving support [provides] a 3.6x return in value” for employers.
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s recent run of blockbuster philanthropic gifts continues. In the past week, Scott has donated $172 million to three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)— Howard University ($80 million), Virginia State University ($50 million) and Alcorn State University ($42 million). Those gifts come on top of the more than $300 million she had already donated to several other institutions and higher education organizations in recent weeks.
The Checklist
1. Use kindness to build your power. Fashion founder and philanthropist Diane von Furstenberg has found that kindness has been an unexpectedly helpful tool in business. “It’s a currency. And like money, it compounds,” DVF told Forbes contributor Penny Abeywardena for this retrospective on her career.
2. Understand the cost of being in survival mode. Personal and emotional stress contribute to an estimated $300 billion in annual costs from absenteeism, diminished performance, and turnover. Maintaining emotional steadiness through times of personal trials is not just a soft skill—it’s also a safeguard for communication, negotiation, and financial control in moments when trust and focus are paramount.
3. Get better at email. There are a bevy of phrases that have crept into workplace emailing that can actually backfire—and if you, like your trusty newsletter writer, have ever deleted an email that says “following up again,” you’ll know what this means. Here are the 10 email phrases you should cut from your vocabulary ASAP.
The Quiz
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was one of Donald Trump’s most vocal supporters during his most recent campaign, but has recently changed her tune, criticizing her party’s leaders over the government shutdown. Which of the following statements did Rep. Greene make on The View this week?
- “I am really tired of the pissing contest in Washington, D.C.”
- She referred to congressional leadership as “weak Republican men”
- “It’s an embarrassment,” referring to the House being out of session for weeks
- All of the above
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