Good Morning! The Trump Org will launch a $47.45/month mobile service as well as a $499 smartphone. Stocks are brushing off Israel-Iran escalation concerns, and Circle stock is rallying after its IPO.

Wall Street still sees impressive growth ahead for Zyn (just in time for intern szn), the Midtown fast-casual lunch is back, and OpenAI won a $200M defense contract.

Plus: Meta is finally bringing ads to WhatsApp, Tron is going public, and Ken Griffin says investors playing defense almost always guarantee losses.

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SQUEEZ OF THE DAY

Private Equity’s First Female Billionaire

Private equity has created some legendary billionaires, including Stephen Schwarzman, Henry Kravis, George Roberts, and Marc Rowan. But Lauren Leichtman just became the first woman to reach billionaire status in private equity, with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Leichtman and her husband, Arthur Levine, launched Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP) in 1984 in Beverly Hills, CA. At the time, LLCP had no staff or outside capital… just conviction.

Their strategy was simple, but radical for the time: offer structured capital to founders without taking control. Their first deal, satellite firm IDB Communications, returned 150x!

“We created this strategy when we were doing this to fund our lifestyle without investing all our capital as equity,” said Leichtman. “We didn’t have any other money, so we came up with the idea of investing a portion of the capital as a debt security and another portion as equity. At the time it was two-thirds debt and one-third equity, and the debt got a 13% cash coupon, paid to us every month.”

That model, blending downside protection with upside, became their trademark. And it worked. LLCP now manages $11.1 billion across more than 100 investments, with a 2.4x realized multiple, on par with household names like KKR and Blackstone.

In 1994, CalPERS gave them their first big check: $100 million, after they initially asked for just $10–25M. From there, LLCP scaled across sectors, everything from air quality systems to pretzel chains, sticking to revenue-generating, founder-led businesses with sticky cash flows.

Leichtman wasn’t just a co-founder in name; she was a key operator and brought legal savvy while her husband sourced deals. But she recounts having to claw for respect and dealing with execs who ignored her presence. She often had to correct them mid-meeting: “He’s not coming. You want the deal? You talk to me.”

Takeaway: Private equity has minted dozens of billionaires but just one woman. Kudos to Lauren Leichtman, who built a billion-dollar empire by staying disciplined, trusting her thesis, and playing the long game. She didn’t just break the glass ceiling, she shattered it like no one on Park Avenue’s ever seen.

P.S. Our Women in Finance Summer Collection is now live. Check the merch.

HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Trump Org launches mobile service, $499 smartphone (Axios)

• Crypto firm Tron to go public in US (WSJ)

• Why US stocks aren't bracing for escalation in Israel-Iran conflict (YF)

• Circle stock continues eye-popping post-IPO surge (YF)

• Wall Street still sees 'impressive growth' ahead for Zyn (YF)

• Fast-casual food places conquering Midtown as workers return to office (NYP)

• OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract (CNBC)

• Citadel’s Ken Griffin says playing defense almost always guarantees losses (CNBC)

• Meta is finally bringing ads to WhatsApp (CNBC)

• Blackstone taps ex-Lazard dealmaker, aims to back more banks (BB)

• U.S. Steel shares rally as Trump approves Nippon takeover (CNBC)

• Wall Street doesn't see Fed rate cuts coming anytime soon (YF)

• Roku, Amazon create ad behemoth (AW)

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CAPITAL PULSE

Markets Rundown

Market Update

• Equity markets stabilized on Monday following steep Friday losses amid escalating Middle East tensions; tech, discretionary, and communication services led gains, while bond yields edged slightly higher (10‑year at ~4.46%).

• Attention shifts to May retail sales (due tomorrow) and the June FOMC decision on Wednesday, when the Fed is expected to maintain rates, possibly revisiting cuts later this year.

• U.S. equities, international developed, and emerging-market stocks have recovered modestly YTD, but U.S. large- and mid-cap remains the favored play amid ongoing uncertainty.

Economic Data Highlights

• Retail Sales (May) expected to decline modestly; Control‑group sales forecast at +0.2% MoM.

• June FOMC likely to hold rates steady; projections for 1–2 cuts in H2 2025.

Reported Earnings

• Lennar (LEN) – Reported Friday, June 13: Fell short of expectations as higher incentives and affordability pressure weighed on gross margins (~18%).

Earnings Today (Monday, June 16)

• No significant earnings scheduled.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Roku ($ROKU) +10% after the streamer announced a deal with Amazon.

• (+) Celsius ($CELH) +6% because the energy drink maker was upgraded by TD Cowen.

• (–) ConocoPhillips ($COP) -2% after oil stocks dropped amidst relaxing Iran-Israel tensions.

Private Dealmaking

• Brookfield Infrastructure Partners bought Hotwire Communications for $7 billion

• 365 Retail Markets bought Cantaloupe for $848 million

• Supernus Pharmaceuticals acquired Sage Therapeutics for $795 million

• Commerce Bancshares bought FineMark for $585 million

• Ramp, a financial operations platform, is raising $200 million

• Fermat, a commerce platform, raised $45 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

BOOK OF THE DAY

Careless People

Description: A jaw‑dropping memoir from a former Facebook (now Meta) public policy director, peeling back the curtain on the company’s inner workings—from misogyny and censorship to decisive actions on global crises like the Rohingya genocide. What unfolds is a searing, darkly funny take on corporate recklessness and the immense influence wielded by technocratic elites.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 on Audible

Book Length: 382 pages (print)
Audible Length: 13 hrs 16 mins, narrated by the author

Ideal For: Tech skeptics, corporate watchdogs, policymakers, memoir fans, and anyone wanting a behind‑the‑scenes tour of Big Tech’s greatest excesses.

“Darkly funny and genuinely shocking… [Wynn‑Williams] has the storytelling chops to unspool a gripping narrative.” — Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times

DAILY VISUAL

German Workers Work Fewer Hours

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DAILY ACUMEN

Sleep Deprivation

It turns out your worst workplace behavior may not be a character flaw—it might just be the fallout of a bad night’s sleep.

A new study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior reveals that sleep quality can temporarily amplify the so-called “Dark Triad” traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.

On days when employees slept poorly, they were significantly more likely to act manipulative, cold, or self-absorbed—not because they suddenly became villains, but because their emotional resilience was down.

Sleep, it seems, acts like a shield against our more toxic tendencies, and when it’s weakened, so is our impulse control.

The findings challenge the assumption that dark personality traits are fixed and instead show how something as mundane (and fixable) as rest can shape how we show up to others.

The takeaway? If you want to lead with empathy, collaboration, and integrity—start by getting some decent sleep.

Otherwise, your inner Machiavelli might just make tomorrow’s team meeting…interesting.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Short Squeez Picks

• The most valuable unicorns created in 2025

• The hidden cost of time management

• World’s oldest practicing doctor reveals enemy of longevity

• How to build your leadership reputation before you’re in the room

• The best 8 tips from happiness experts

MEME-A-PALOOZA

Memes of the Day

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