Taylor Swift may be one of the most-talked-about billionaires right now, but a Charleston real estate mogul has once again made Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's wealthiest.
Bob Faith, the founder, chairman and CEO of global multifamily housing giant Greystar, was No. 511 on the "Richest in 2024" with an estimated net worth of $5.8 billion, according to the publication. He was tied with 11 others, including the owners of the San Francisco 49ers.
Greystar CEO Bob Faith.
Faith, who ran the S.C. Commerce Department for a few years as Gov. Mark Sanford's first Cabinet appointee in 2002, made his debut on the Forbes list two years ago. His company is a real estate developer, owner and manager that specializes in apartments and student housing and is headquartered at 465 Meeting St. in downtown Charleston. It operates on four continents.
Greystar said Faith declined to comment.
Bernard Arnault of the LVMH luxury goods empire sits at the top of the new Forbes list with an amassed net worth of $195 billion. His company's 75 fashion and cosmetics brands include Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
Blackbaud’s biggest shareholder wants to buy out the other investors and take the Daniel Island technology company private.
Baird on Blackbaud
The latest proposed buyout bid for one of South Carolina’s largest publicly traded companies is an improvement from the previous offer more than a year ago.
But it still might not be enough to get the job done, according to Baird, which follows Blackbaud Inc.
The Milwaukee-based asset management firm issued a report following Clearlake Capital’s recent decision to bump up its long-dormant purchase proposal for the Daniel Island technology company from $71 per share to $80.
Baird said it wasn’t surprised by the West Coast fund’s “reengagement.” It also noted that it believes Blackbaud’s improved financial profile could support a higher takeout price, possibly in the $90 or more range.
It also said the new offer could be viewed as “setting a potential floor.”
Clearlake’s new "nonbinding indication of interest" values the business at about $4.2 billion. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based firm already owns more than 18 percent of Nasdaq-listed BLKB.
In a written statement last week, Blackbaud said its board will consult with its advisers and "carefully evaluate" the new bid. It rejected the first buyout offer in March 2023 after a few days.
The company, which went public in 2004, develops and sells software and analytical services designed specifically to help donor-funded organizations raise money.
Clearlake co-founder Behdad Eghbali said in a letter to the board of directors that his firm still believes in Blackbaud's potential but that the operational challenges “can practically only be addressed as a private company with the support of a strategic party or sponsor … that can provide the necessary financial and institutional support."
He added that Clearlake could pull off the deal by mid-May.
Shares of Blackbaud climbed about $2 Monday and were trading around $78.50.
A screenshot taken around 8 a.m. on April 17 shows an inadvertently posted news item about the PGA Championship returning to Kiawah Island. The official announcement was to be under wraps until 11 a.m. that day.
Early tee time
Nearly a week ago it was announced that the PGA Championship will return in May 2031 to Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course for the third time.
Turns out, someone inadvertently released the decision a full day early on the event's official website.
The Professional Golfers' Association of America had a set time for the announcement. The group would disclose it publicly April 17 at 11 a.m. on the nose.
But occasionally reports about such big sporting events leak out early, and that was the case in this instance. But it wasn't a rogue media outlet that jumped the gun.
Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, a news item popped up on Google under the headline, “2031 PGA Championship Returns to Kiawah Island." By that time, it had been online for 21 hours, according to the search engine, or since 11 a.m. last Tuesday.
The mistake was identified before word got out, and the link to the announcement was disabled — or declared "Out of Bounds!" according to pgachampionship.com — though the headline and a few details continued to live online.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, shown during a Charleston town hall during his failed presidential run last fall, was back behind the microphone in the Lowcountry earlier this month to speak at an ultra-exclusive business conference on Kiawah Island.
Kiawah confidential
An ultra-exclusive Kiawah Island business gathering that centers on sports, finance, media and technology is now among the conference circuit's equivalent of Truman Capote's famous "Black and White Ball."
So surmised The Wall Street Journal in an article last week titled: “The Secret Retreats That Have CEOs, VIPs and Billionaires Jockeying for Invites.”
The report included on its list, as a relative newcomer, an annual corporate global leadership summit organized by Bruin Capital and Penske Media’s online news outlet Sportico. It was held for the third consecutive year earlier this month at the seaside resort’s posh Sanctuary hotel.
The roughly 150 invitees to the 2024 Kiawah confab included billionaires, league commissioners, team owners, broadcast executives and financiers “to play golf and talk about more than sports,” according to the Journal, which was told that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and ex-PIMCO CEO Mohamed El-Erian, a longtime CNBC economic commentator who’s also president of Queens’ College in England, were among the speakers. Jacinda Ardern and Sanna Marin, the former leaders of New Zealand and Finland, respectively, also participated.
The other confirmed attendees were New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro, innovation investor Cathie Woods and Ted Leonsis, whose company owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Wizards and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
Michelin makes Earthmover tires in Anderson County.
Tire talk
One of South Carolina's biggest manufacturing sectors will be in focus this week when the Global Tire Industry Conference rolls into the Upstate.
Executives, suppliers and representatives from government and academia will discuss trends, challenges, regulatory issues and economic impact data during the three-day gathering that starts April 23 at the Greenville One.
The event, dubbed "Where the Rubber Meets the Road," is described as a "comprehensive conference designed to address developments throughout the field of tire design, research and manufacturing" across all sectors.
Harry Lightsey, the head of the S.C. Commerce Department, will deliver the opening-day keynote remarks. Other scheduled speakers include executives with Giti Tire, Sumitomo Rubber USA, Bridgestone, Michelin and the S.C. State Ports Authority.
It has been more than 50 years since Michelin announced it would build its first U.S. plant in Greenville County. South Carolina now houses a dozen major manufacturing sites that turn out roughly 144,000 tires every day. The Palmetto State leads the nation in export sales of tires, with sales reaching $1.8 billion in 2023 — more than 34 percent of the total U.S. market share.
Holding steady
South Carolina's unemployment in March was a repeat of February.
The jobless figure for the state held at 3.1 percent, while the national rate was 3.8 percent, according to the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.
DEW chief William Floyd said South Carolina’s economy "continues to show stable strength” as each month sets a new record for the number of residents who are employed.
Meanwhile, little progress was made in lifting the state's chronically low labor force participation rate, which at 57.1 percent remained well below the national average in March. Nearly 2.48 million South Carolinians were either working or actively seeking employment last month.
Laura Ullrich of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's Charlotte office said the labor force grew by 5,000 in March and the number of jobs is now 162,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
