Rachel Carlson’s Guild Education Hits $4.4 Billion Valuation In The Wake Of Buzzy Female Exec Departures

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There have been better times for high-profile female leaders. Last week, Glossier cofounder Emily Weiss abandoned the chief executive post of the beauty brand she grew to a $1.8 billion valuation. This week, Meta COO and resident adult-in-the-room Sheryl Sandberg announced her departure from the social media giant.

So as we search for signs of powerful women growing companies and getting promoted, here’s the biggest one of the week: Rachel Carlson, who made the Forbes Under 30 list in 2017, has catapulted her company Guild Education to a $4.4 billion valuation after raising $175 million, led by Wellington Management and others including Oprah Winfrey (!). Because Carlson owns about 14% of the company, we’re estimating her net worth to be $570 million, solidifying her spot on Forbes’ Self-Made Women list.

Guild makes money from corporations, such Walmart, Chipotle and Disney, that pay it to enroll their workers in higher education programs—advancing their staff personally and professionally, and cultivating employee loyalty along the way. “We just hit this massive inflection point where the market—not just the innovative companies, every company—is now saying we have to do this,” Carlson tells Forbes, referring to investing in worker reskilling and education benefits. “For the next two decades, America doesn’t have enough skilled workers.”

Read the full story here.

LeBron James Is Officially A Billionaire

James made the inaugural Forbes Under 30 list a decade ago. At the time, the 27-year-old Miami Heat forward was an NBA all-star and owned a small stake in Liverpool FC. Look at him now.

This Week’s Money Moves

After visiting his friend’s gorgeous apartment, Seungjae Lee started a platform for interior design called oHouse. Now shoppable, the 34-year-old’s platform is worth $1.6 billion with $261 million in funding, making it Korea’s top lifestyle app. (Forbes)

Do we really need to investigate everything that Elon Musk tweets? The journalist in me says, maybe; the internet citizen in me says, please no. That said: This is a great listen on the actual goodness and reality of ESG investing after Musk called ESG a “scam.” (Wall Street Journal)

Regardless of how you’d answer the question about his tweets, you must know about Musk’s younger sister who runs a streaming service to adapt erotic fan fiction and romance novels for the small screen. (New York Times)

The fetishization of youth continues (and yes, I’m a huge perpetrator). This time it’s Kim Kardashian saying she’d eat poop to look younger as she launches her new skin care line. (New York Times)

Scams continue to plague Web3: A former high-ranking OpenSea employee was indicted for fraud over what prosecutors say was insider trading of NFTs. (Forbes)

Last week we talked about Alexandr Wang, who became a billionaire at 25. This week my colleague talked with Giuseppe Crippa, who became a billionaire at 87. (Forbes)

Healthtech unicorn Carbon Health is laying off 250 employees. Under 30 alum CEO Eren Bali cites the “macro environment with more volatile capital markets” as reason to shift focus from growth to profitability, and cut staff. (Forbes)

Need to lay people off yourself? Here’s how to do it with grace. (Fortune)

A writer on nearing 30 at a somewhat cringe, somewhat amazing, wholly millennial Taylor Swift dance party. (Vox)

Six of the nine deadliest U.S. mass shootings in the last four years have been by gunmen who were 21 or younger. Here’s a dive into the correlation between youth and mass shootings. (New York Times)

Watch: Vimeo’s 38-year-old CEO discusses how she built the business into a billion-dollar brand. (Forbes)

Here’s How Young Palestinian And Israeli Entrepreneurs Are Forging Co-Existence Through Startups

As part of the 2022 Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA, members of the Under 30 community harnessed their rich entrepreneurial spirit and sense of innovation to help bridge the gap toward coexistence in the region.

Now Open: Forbes Under 30 2023 Nominations

Do you know someone building the next Guild Education? (Yes, you count.) Tell us.