Boardroom

Sports. Business. Entertainment. Created by @KDTrey5 & @richkleiman

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For our Summer Print issue, we caught up with @DonToliver as he enters a new chapter powered by fatherhood, tour prep, fast cars, rally racing, and a No. 1 album.

His latest project, Octane, debuted at the top and racked up 138 million streams in its first week, with seven songs landing in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

But the bigger story is where the Houston artist sees himself right now. After five albums, a run with Cactus Jack, and a sound built more on mood than traditional rap rules, Toliver says he is in his prime and “1,000%” belongs in the hottest-rapper conversation. The catch? He is not interested in naming who he is racing against.

That might be the point. Don has spent years building a lane that does not run on anyone else’s terms. Call it vibe. Call it mood. Call it Octane. Whatever it is, he is moving fast, and he isn’t slowing down.

Full story drops 6.3

[Boardroom @boardroom]

JUST IN: Knicks-Spurs Game 1 averaged 16.93M viewers on ABC, the most-watched NBA Finals opener since Cavs-Warriors in 2018.

It peaked at 19.63M viewers, was up 90% from last year, and was the most-watched NBA Finals game since Game 6 in 2019, per @ESPNPR.

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Drake finished May as Spotify’s most-streamed rapper once again, finishing nearly 2 billion streams ahead of No. 2. 🤯⁠
⁠
(via @ Hip Hop All Day)

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Skyscanner’s latest data shows 57% of Americans feel overwhelmed by travel costs next year, putting affordability front and center.
⁠
(via @Skyscanner)

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Drake finished May as Spotify’s most-streamed rapper once again, finishing nearly 2 billion streams ahead of No. 2 🤯⁠

(via @HipHopAllDay)

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Drake's Janice STFU a lock for '26? 🤔⁠
⁠
(via @billboard)

[Complex Music @ComplexMusic]

Don Toliver says he has more music “ready” despite releasing ‘OCTANE’ earlier this year 👀

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m taking a vacation and I’m sitting down for a year. No, I have to be honest. I have music.”

“I’m ready to go crazy. If they told me — if my life depended on it, I’m going crazy all over again. I would damn near call this one Nitrous. You got Octane on that last one. You going to get that Nitrous. But it’s cool, man. I’m having fun. I’m just making music. That’s what I love to do.”

(via @boardroom)

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Diane Hendricks tops Forbes’ latest self-made women billionaires list.

ABC Supply, the roofing business she cofounded in 1982, now has 900+ locations and $20.2B in annual revenue.

(via @Forbes)

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Our Summer Cover Star @DonToliver reveals his top 5 original tracks.⁠
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Join CNBC Sport and Boardroom Thursday, July 16 for hashtag#GamePlan26 at Fanatics Fest in New York City for an incredible afternoon shaping the future of sports and entertainment - link below for ticket information.
https://t.co/Za1fREX31S

[Boardroom @boardroom]

From leading the WNBA through a period of unprecedented growth to shaping the future of women's sports, Cathy Engelbert has helped redefine what's possible for the business of basketball.⁠
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Hear from the WNBA Commissioner at Game Plan as she shares insights on what's next for the W and joins an already stacked lineup, including LeBron James, Lindsey Vonn, Jimmy Pitaro, Adam Silver, and Michael Rubin.⁠

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Politics, gaming, and basketball are driving some of the biggest spikes on Google over the last 24 hours.⁠
⁠
(via @google)

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'ICEMAN' marks Drake’s sixth Billboard 200 chart-topper to lead for multiple weeks, adding to a record-setting total of 15 No. 1 albums — tied with Taylor Swift for the most among solo artists.⁠
⁠
(via @billboard)

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Wemby is in rare company 👽

[Boardroom @boardroom]

@DonToliver Read more:
https://t.co/EG4TiLpl2f

[Boardroom @boardroom]

For our Summer Print issue, we caught up with @DonToliver as he enters a new chapter powered by fatherhood, tour prep, fast cars, rally racing, and a No. 1 album.

His latest project, Octane, debuted at the top and racked up 138 million streams in its first week, with seven songs landing in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

But the bigger story is where the Houston artist sees himself right now. After five albums, a run with Cactus Jack, and a sound built more on mood than traditional rap rules, Toliver says he is in his prime and “1,000%” belongs in the hottest-rapper conversation. The catch? He is not interested in naming who he is racing against.

That might be the point. Don has spent years building a lane that does not run on anyone else’s terms. Call it vibe. Call it mood. Call it Octane. Whatever it is, he is moving fast, and he isn’t slowing down.

Full story drops 6.3

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Give James Dolan his flowers.

(🎥: @CNBC)

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Getting into one Knicks Finals game now costs almost as much as going to every remaining home game for the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Jets combined.⁠

A breakdown: ⬇️
⁠
According to @TickPick, the current get-in price for Game 3 of the NBA Finals is $4,115. The combined cost to attend all remaining home games for the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Jets is $4,479, covering 123 games total.⁠
⁠
➖️Total cost to attend every NY Giants home game this season (9 games) = $732⁠
➖️Total cost to attend every NY Jets home game this season (8 games) = $639⁠
➖️Total cost to attend every remaining Yankees home game this season (55 games) = $1,883⁠
➖️Total cost to attend every remaining Mets home game this season (51 games) = $1,225

Wild.

[Boardroom @boardroom]

The GOAT is still making chart history.

Michael Jackson just became the first and only act to earn a new Billboard Hot 100 hit in each of the last six consecutive decades, spanning the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.

His song “Chicago” debuted at No. 30 this week, marking his 52nd career solo entry and first lead-role Hot 100 appearance since “Slave to the Rhythm” in 2014. The track was officially released 12 years ago and was reportedly first recorded in 1999.

[Boardroom @boardroom]

EXCLUSIVE: Sherwin-Williams is turning its least-used color into something bigger with the LeBron James Family Foundation.⁠
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The company named Offbeat Green SW 7606 as its Loneliest Color™ 2026, spotlighting the least-tinted shade in its system as part of an annual campaign built around confidence, individuality, and seeing value in what others overlook. This year, the campaign extends to the LeBron James Family Foundation Promise Project by Sherwin-Williams, a home education center designed to support first-time homebuyers in Akron.⁠
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LeBron said the campaign reflects LJFF’s mission to help families see that “nothing is beyond their reach,” with Offbeat Green representing something overlooked that still has real potential. For Sherwin-Williams and LJFF, the goal is to turn design, confidence, and homeownership resources into something families can actually build on.

[Boardroom @boardroom]

Based on a new open-source index from the AI-Driven Enterprise Institute, Nvidia is setting the pace for corporate AI adoption.

The study ranked S&P 500 companies by how aggressively they are adopting AI, using public data like earnings call transcripts, job openings, and patent applications. Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, and SLB all earned perfect company scores, with Walmart, AES, NextEra Energy, Ecolab, Digital Realty, and Chevron rounding out the top 10.

The index does not measure whether AI is already driving financial returns, but it gives companies a clearer way to compare how seriously they are building around the technology. AIDE CEO Paul Cheek said the goal is to give boards and CEOs real data when asking how they stack up against their peers.

(via @CNBC)