<p>If JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was trying to set off the bitcoin community with his criticism of cryptocurrency, he succeeded.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Dimon called bitcoin a &#8220;fraud,&#8221; described it as &#8220;not a real thing&#8221; and said, &#8220;someone is going to get killed.&#8221;</p>
<p>Crypto enthusiasts took little time in firing back &#8212; on Twitter and on TV. We emailed Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures and one of the first investors in bitcoin-related start-ups, to get his thoughts on Dimon&#8217;s comments.</p>
<p>&#8220;You have to have an open mind to be able to see the future,&#8221; Wilson said.</p>
<p>Venture capitalists and hedge fund managers that have joined in the crypto parade said that Dimon&#8217;s stance is a reflection of Wall Street&#8217;s defensive posture and attempts to downplay one of the biggest existential threats to the banking industry. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that relies on blockchain technology and isn&#8217;t controlled by banks or governments.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s no doubt that it&#8217;s a volatile trade. Bitcoin is up more than five-fold in the past year, but has dropped by 35 percent this month. So when Dimon says, it&#8217;s &#8220;worse than tulib bulbs,&#8221; which experienced a massive bubble and burst in the 17th century, Dimon is comparing bitcoin to other overhyped assets.</p>
<p>Balaji Srinivasan, the CEO of bitcoin startup 21.co, said Dimon is ignoring the functionality of bitcoin. While it doesn&#8217;t have day-to-day price stability, lacks regulation and isn&#8217;t accepted at the corner store, the currency works across borders, can be programmed to track transactions in a more secure way and doesn&#8217;t require a bank account.</p>
<p>Srinivasan refers to bitcoin&#8217;s &#8220;10X features,&#8221; or properties that make it 10 times better than what&#8217;s currently in place.</p>
<p>&#8220;With one 10X feature, you have a contender,&#8221; he said. &#8220;With half a dozen, you have something special.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dimon&#8217;s comments at the Delivering Alpha conference followed a crypto clampdown in China, which reportedly plans to ban fundraising through initial coin offerings and trading of cryptocurrency on domestic exchanges. The news caused BTC China, one of the biggest online exchanges, to shut down on Thursday and sparked a slump in the price of bitcoin.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz&#8217;s chief economic advisor, echoed Dimon&#8217;s sentiment this week and said bitcoin&#8217;s price should be cut in half.</p>
<p>Dimon has long been skeptical of bitcoin and has repeatedly criticized the value of the cryptocurrency. On Tuesday, he said bitcoin will be in a &#8220;limited market&#8221; because governments typically like to take control of their currencies.</p>
<p>Dimon said the underlying blockchain technology has more value, and JPMorgan has been exploring various uses of it.</p>
<p>The more fundamental difference between Dimon and the tech community may be in the way they define the widespread adoption of the currency. Michael Moro, CEO of digital currency trading firm Genesis Trading, said bitcoin could rise in value even if it fails to gain mainstream traction in more advanced countries like the U.S.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s because in much of the world, political and economic instability is so great that citizens are at risk of seeing their savings diminished or wiped out.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s entirely possible for bitcoin&#8217;s price to be high because of the tremendous interest from South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zmd__GZ71BE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>Erik Voorhees, CEO of Swiss-based digital asset exchange ShapeShift, said Dimon&#8217;s comment is a classic case of fearmongering because banks are concerned about bitcoin potentially taking away some of their core businesses.</p>
<p>&#8220;Jamie Dimon has every interest in the world in disparaging Bitcoin and working with his friends in government to regulate and suffocate it,&#8221; Voorhees said.</p>
<p>The threat is real, according to Ari Paul, co-founder of the newly formed BlockTower Capital. He sees bitcoin eventually displacing offshore Swiss and Cayman bank accounts that JPMorgan and other banks have opened for their wealthy clients. Trillions of dollars are held in such accounts.</p>
<p>&#8220;Cryptocurrency serves this function an order of magnitude better than the existing banking system,&#8221; Paul said. &#8220;I suspect that Dimon recognizes this, and is trying to delay the inevitable replacement of one his bank&#8217;s core services by a far more efficient upstart.&#8221;</p>
<p>The way most crypto enthusiasts see it, nothing Dimon says or does can stop bitcoin&#8217;s inevitable expansion across the globe and into more industries.</p>
<p>&#8220;Bitcoin is a bit like flood water,&#8221; said Union Square&#8217;s Wilson. &#8220;It&#8217;s hard to keep out of your society.&#8221;</p>


Bitcoin fans fire back at Jamie Dimon after ‘fraud’ comment

<p>Germany has an election process so complex that even some Germans don’t understand it. CNBC&#8217;s Elizabeth Schulze breaks down the voting system before Germans head to the polls later this month.<br />
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How do German elections work? | CNBC Explains

<p>Nigeria is set to overtake the United States as the world&#8217;s third most populated country. So how ready is Africa for its population boom?</p>
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Is Africa ready for its population boom? | CNBC Explains

<p>In Africa, efforts to generate wind energy on a grand scale are underway.<br />
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A wind farm of epic proportions is taking shape in Africa | Sustainable Energy

<p>Sustainable Energy takes a look at some large scale projects and some small scale innovations which could transform wind power.<br />
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The innovations and projects transforming wind power, part two | Sustainable Energy

<p>Winemaker Frank Cornelissen makes wine on the slopes of Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano.</p>
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Meet the man making wine on the edge of a volcano | CNBC Profiles

<p>Gamescom in Germany is one of the world&#8217;s biggest video gaming fairs. CNBC&#8217;s Elizabeth Schulze set out to find people making their careers in gaming.</p>
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These people design and play video games for a living | CNBC Reports

<p>The demand for coworking spaces is surging around the world, with even corporates now getting into the game. CNBC&#8217;s Uptin Saiidi explores why.</p>
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Is coworking really the future? | CNBC Explains

<div class="group-container ">
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<p>We&#8217;ve often heard this saying: &#8220;Behind every successful man is a good woman.&#8221; The expression also holds true for successful women.</p>
<p>In fact, people with supportive spouses are &#8220;more likely to give themselves the chance to succeed,&#8221; according to a study published by <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/news/news-stories/2017/august/supportive-spouses-brooke-feeny.html">Carnegie Mellon University</a>.</p>
<div id="inline_movable_ad">Researchers studied 163 married couples and discovered that people with supportive spouses were more likely to take on potentially rewarding challenges. Those who accepted challenges experienced more personal growth, happiness and psychological well-being just a few months later.</div>
<p>&#8220;We found support for the idea that the choices people make at these specific decision points, such as pursuing a work opportunity&#8230;matter a lot for their long-term well-being,&#8221; Brooke Feeney, lead author of the study and professor of psychology at Carnegie Mellon, says in a statement.</p>
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<p>Many successful people have discussed the importance of having their spouse by their side. Former president Barack Obama attributes his political success to his wife.</p>
<p>&#8220;Obviously I couldn&#8217;t have done anything that I&#8217;ve done without Michelle,&#8221; <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.popsugar.com/love/Video-Barack-Michelle-Obama-Oprah-16207967">Obama tells Oprah Winfrey</a> in 2011. &#8220;You were asking earlier what keeps me sane, what keeps me balanced, what allows me to deal with the pressure. It is this young lady right here&#8230; Not only has she been a great first lady, she is just my rock. I count on her in so many ways every single day.&#8221;</p>
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<div class="group-container ">
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<p>Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg noted the vital role his wife Priscilla Chan plays in his life in a <a class="inline_asset" href="http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/05/mark-zuckerbergs-speech-as-written-for-harvards-class-of-2017/">2017 Harvard commencement speech</a>. The tech guru says Chan inspired him to volunteer his time and take on social work.</p>
<p>&#8220;Priscilla&#8217;s the most important person in my life so you can say, it&#8217;s the most important thing I built in my time here,&#8221; he says in the speech.</p>
<p>Of course, it&#8217;s not just women supporting their husbands. In a 2013 <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/beyonce-my-marriage-to-jay-z-works-because-we-were-friends-first-2013152">interview with Winfrey</a>, Beyoncé says that her husband, rapper and mogul Jay-Z, is extremely supportive and helps her &#8220;on so many levels.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I would not be the woman I am if I did not go home to that man,&#8221; says the Grammy winning artist. &#8220;It just gives me such a foundation.&#8221;</p>
</div>
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<div class="group-container ">
<div class="embed-container image">So what can one do to push their spouse to embrace new work opportunities? Express enthusiasm about an opportunity, reassure your partner and discuss the benefits of taking on a new role or challenge, says the study.</div>
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<p>&#8220;Significant others can help you thrive through embracing life opportunities,&#8221; says Feeney. &#8220;Or they can hinder your ability to thrive by making it less likely that you&#8217;ll pursue opportunities for growth.</p>
<p>Written by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ruth-umoh/" rel="author">Ruth Umoh</a> | <span class="twitter-url"><a href="https://twitter.com/ruthumohnews">@ruthumohnews</a></span></p>
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Why the secret to your success is who you marry

<p>Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has been chosen to be Uber&#8217;s new chief executive, sources told CNBC.</p>
<p>That decision concluded Uber&#8217;s long search to replace former CEO Travis Kalanick, who stepped down in June following a shareholder revolt.</p>
<p>Recode reported that Khosrowshahi, an Iranian American businessman, is considered the &#8220;truce&#8221; choice for the board, which saw ugly infighting in recent weeks between Kalanick and major investor Benchmark Capital. Earlier this month, Benchmark said it was suing Kalanick on claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract.</p>
<p>Benchmark was reportedly backing Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman for the top job at Uber, while General Electric boss Jeffrey Immelt was also a front-runner to lead the troubled start-up. Immelt dropped out of the race over the weekend.</p>
<p>Amid weeks of breathless reporting on the decision for Uber&#8217;s top spot, Khosrowshahi didn&#8217;t make headlines. After he was announced, some deemed him the dark horse candidate.</p>
<p>Khosrowshahi has been at the helm of Expedia since 2005. He has been credited with expanding Expedia&#8217;s global presence through several online travel booking brands, which include Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Hotwire.</p>
<p>As Uber&#8217;s new leader, he will walk into a situation that would test even the most seasoned CEO: A $70 billion company fending off chaos on all sides.</p>
<p>The company&#8217;s ride-hailing business has suffered a series of complications — sexual harassment allegations, a slew of firings related to a workplace culture investigation, political pressure, tussles with regulators, a legal battle with Alphabet, alleged distribution of a rape victim&#8217;s medical records, a report of drug use, unflattering videos and emails from the former CEO, mergers, an exploding car, steep losses and infighting among investors — just to name a few.</p>
<p>Another hurdle is the former CEO. Travis Kalanick may no longer have an operating role in his company, but as a key player in Uber&#8217;s origin, he has a seat on the board, 10 percent of stock and 16 percent of voting rights in Uber, according to legal filings.</p>
<p>The new boss will need to flesh out the ranks of Uber to get the company back to its pre-2017 growth path. Once-critical deputies like senior vice president Emil Michael, global operations head Ryan Graves, president Jeff Jones, and president of Asia-Pacific Eric Alexander are no longer in their roles in the company. The firm is also without a chief operating officer, chief financial officer and head of finance.</p>
<p>While some tech CEOs have sought to stay out of politics, Khosrowshahi has been openly critical of President <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/">Donald Trump</a>. In a recent tweet, he said, &#8220;I keep waiting for the moment when our Prez will rise to the expectations of his office and he fails, repeatedly.&#8221;</p>
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<p>Earlier this year, during Expedia&#8217;s fourth-quarter earnings call, Khosrowshahi surprised listeners with his closing remarks. He started by thanking the company&#8217;s global employee base for the improved performance in 2016 and then added, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/09/expedia-ceos-closing-remark-on-fourth-quarter-earnings-raises-eyebrows.html">&#8220;Hopefully we will all be alive to see the end of next year.&#8221;</a></p>
<p>Some saw the remark from Khosrowshahi, who was once a refugee, as a criticism of Trump. He had reportedly been a critic of Trump&#8217;s immigration ban that prevented people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Expedia also supported a lawsuit against the ban in January.</p>
<p>Article written by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/saheli-roy-choudhury/" rel="author">Saheli Roy Choudhury</a> | <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/anita-balakrishnan/" rel="author">Anita Balakrishnan</a></p>
<p>—CNBC&#8217;s Deirdre Bosa contributed to this report.</p>


Uber announces new CEO

<p>Sustainable Energy finds out about the work being done at the ITER facility in France.<br />
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In France, researchers want to transform nuclear energy | Sustainable Energy

<p>Taking longer holidays like the Europeans could be the secret to making you a more productive worker. CNBC’s Elizabeth Schulze explains.</p>
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Does vacation make you more productive? | CNBC Explains

<p>Sustainable Energy finds out how shrimps could play a part in the future of nuclear power.<br />
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Could shrimp shells help extract uranium from the ocean to fuel nuclear plants? | Sustainable Energy

<p>Coconuts, surfing, and a massage &#8230; all in a day&#8217;s work? CNBC&#8217;s Uptin Saiidi spends a day in Bali to test out a new workday routine and meet global digital nomads.</p>
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I tried living as a digital nomad for the day | CNBC Reports

<p>As Bitcoin&#8217;s price continues to surge towards $5000, CNBC&#8217;s Tom Chitty explains whether the rollercoaster ride of cryptocurrencies could make you rich.</p>
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Should you invest in cryptocurrency? | CNBC Explains

<p>&nbsp;</p>
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<p><a class="inline_quotes" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes?symbol=TSLA" data-gdsid="74213" data-inline-quote-symbol="TSLA">Tesla</a>&#8216;s Model 3 launch highlights the need for a succession plan, especially if the top executives are spread too thin.</p>
<p>As the late-July launch of Tesla&#8217;s make-or-break mass-market Model 3 sedan neared, CEO <a class="inline_asset" href="http://pagesix.com/2017/07/31/elon-musk-tells-twitter-he-might-be-bipolar/">Elon Musk allowed himself an unguarded moment</a>on Twitter: &#8220;The reality is great highs, terrible lows and unrelenting stress,&#8221; he wrote, momentarily agreeing with speculation that he might even be bipolar, before adding that he didn&#8217;t literally mean it. &#8220;When you buy a ticket to hell, you can&#8217;t blame hell.&#8221;</p>
<p>The moment illustrates that even world-changing entrepreneurs like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Musk</a> battle stress. And having an irreplaceable, overstretched founder is a legitimate concern for any fast-growing business if there is no strong team in place as a backup should something happen to the visionary leader.</p>
<p>&#8220;When it&#8217;s your own money, fine,&#8221; said Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. &#8220;When you take other people&#8217;s money or public capital, the obligations change.&#8221;</p>
<p>Even so, many of the management challenges Tesla faces as it morphs from a niche automaker into a global renewable-energy one-stop shop apply to less-exalted businesses, from small manufacturers to midsized service companies.</p>
<p>Management experts have a playbook for scaling up management of growing companies, and Tesla is learning similar lessons on the fly. And in some cases the company isn&#8217;t there yet, by textbook standards. But the company is taking key steps on its path to growth. Most notably, it has locked and loaded <a class="inline_asset" title="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-ceo-elon-musks-37-584-salary-reflects-california-minimum-wage-1460759161" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/tesla-ceo-elon-musks-37-584-salary-reflects-california-minimum-wage-1460759161">Musk in an incentives-based compensation plan</a>that gives him a low salary, no cash bonus or incentives until he hits targets related to stock price and brings products to market. <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/20/tesla-adding-this-ceo-to-its-board-is-a-big-deal-for-silicon-valley.html">Tesla also added independent board members</a> in July to diversify its brain trust.</p>
<p>Here are important steps every company should take to ensure there is no disruption in business if something should happen to their most important asset: the visionary founder and CEO.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">1. Have a succession plan.</h4>
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<p>With Musk only 46, Tesla can be forgiven for not planning much for when he&#8217;s not around — but <a class="inline_quotes" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes?symbol=AAPL" data-gdsid="8016" data-inline-quote-symbol="AAPL">Apple</a>&#8216;s Steve Jobs was 49 when he got his first cancer diagnosis, years after he hired his eventual successor Tim Cook as Apple&#8217;s operations chief. Life comes at people fast, and business leaders need to prepare more than most people, said Andrew Sherman, a Washington-based partner at law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP.</p>
<p>&#8220;Not doing it not only puts the founders&#8217; families at risk but also people who work there and the whole supplier ecosystem,&#8221; Sherman said. A plan can also bridge gaps between baby-boomer business owners and millennials who will help run the business soon, he said.</p>
<p>Musk has said he expects to be around Tesla for years to come. He has even joked about succession, as when he was asked if he would go on a Mars space mission through his <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/15/spacex-2017-disruptor-50.html">SpaceX</a> rocket company.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d have to have a really good succession plan, because the likelihood of death is very high,&#8221; he told a questioner after a 2016 speech. &#8220;And I&#8217;d like to see my kids grow up and everything.&#8221;</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">2. Have key-executive insurance.</h4>
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<p>If Tesla has coverage on Musk, it&#8217;s not disclosed in the company&#8217;s <a class="inline_asset" title="http://ir.tesla.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1564590-17-3118&amp;cik=1318605" href="http://ir.tesla.com/secfiling.cfm?filingid=1564590-17-3118&amp;cik=1318605">annual 10-K report</a> to the Securities and Exchange Commission — or in its yearly proxy statement, which discloses executive pay (Tesla declined to add detail). Experts say that&#8217;s OK for Tesla — Musk&#8217;s value runs into the billions of dollars, so he&#8217;d be all but impossible to insure for what he&#8217;s worth. But for more-mortal executives running prosaic businesses, it&#8217;s a must.</p>
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<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s usually correlated more with closely held partnerships,&#8221; said Stuart Tauber, partner at corporate insurance consultant Meltzer Group.</p>
<p>Key-exec plans can protect either the company or the families of founding partners, Tauber said. If an owner&#8217;s family doesn&#8217;t want to stay involved in the business, it&#8217;s common to buy enough insurance to let surviving partners buy them out. Alternatively, the insurance can pay the company for hiring and paying a replacement, or reimburse for value lost when a partner dies, Tauber said. A million dollars of life insurance coverage can typically be had for about $1,000 a year, with another $5,000 to insure against disability, Tauber said. Policies should also be revisited every few years as roles different executives play in a business change, he added.</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">3. Put in place a well-rounded executive team.</h4>
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<p>How well Tesla has done on this is a matter of debate. One sore point is that perceptions of Tesla&#8217;s quality has slipped since the initial Model S&#8217;s rave reviews — a J.D. Power report this year said fit and finish of recent models isn&#8217;t competitive with BMW and Mercedes. (That contradicted a <a class="inline_asset" title="https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/22/tesla-tops-2016-consumer-reports-customer-satisfaction-survey/" href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/22/tesla-tops-2016-consumer-reports-customer-satisfaction-survey/">December 2016 Consumer Reports survey</a> that rated Tesla&#8217;s customer satisfaction the industry&#8217;s highest, a company spokeswoman noted.) Analysts, short sellers and CNBC&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2017/08/03/jim-cramer-heres-the-issue-i-have-with-tesla.html">Jim Cramer</a> have also noted Tesla&#8217;s propensity to miss production forecasts and push deadlines for new products.</p>
<p>But a fleshed-out management team is essential to business continuity planning if the boss gets sick or injured — and it will keep everyone sane even when the boss is healthy, Sherman said.</p>
<p>Tesla works without a COO, and Musk&#8217;s manufacturing knowledge was mostly learned on the job, at Tesla and his SpaceX rocket company, where he is also CEO. (In May 2016, Tesla confirmed it had <a class="inline_asset" href="https://electrek.co/2016/05/13/tesla-audi-senior-director-production-model-3-program/">hired Audi veteran Peter Hochholdinger</a> as vice president of manufacturing.) SpaceX has a president and COO, Gwynne Shotwell, despite being a fraction of Tesla&#8217;s size.</p>
<p>Tesla&#8217;s investor-relations website only bills three executives — Musk, chief financial officer Deepak Ahuja and chief technical officer JB Straubel — as corporate officers. Combined with Musk&#8217;s obsession with getting details right, strains on management have contributed to <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-elon-musk-sleeping-on-tesla-factory-floor-2016-5">Musk&#8217;s keeping a sleeping bag at Tesla&#8217;s factory</a> as production deadlines approach.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s a recipe for a stressed-out boss, Sherman said, though many companies don&#8217;t specifically have a COO. One point of being the boss is being able to enjoy success — including taking vacations sometimes, knowing the business works when the CEO&#8217;s away, Sherman said.</p>
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<p>&#8220;I intend to be actively involved with Tesla for the rest of my life,&#8221; Musk said earlier this year. &#8220;That doesn&#8217;t mean I should be CEO forever. I think my main — the most valuable thing I could contribute — is kind of product design and technology, but that&#8217;s my forte; that&#8217;s what I like doing, and that&#8217;s what I imagine doing in the sort of very long term.&#8221;</p>
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<h4 class="subtitle">4. Communicate the plan to everyone on your team — employees, customers, investors and lenders.</h4>
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<p>Even Tesla admirers give the company relatively low marks here. &#8220;I don&#8217;t have any notion of how their bench strength is,&#8221; said Theodore O&#8217;Neill, an analyst at Ascendiant Capital Markets. &#8220;It would be better for them if they were more transparent.&#8221;</p>
<p>At Tesla, lack of clarity about the team leads to Musk facing questions about management turnover, which he said on Tesla&#8217;s second-quarter earnings call is less than at comparable companies. (The <a class="inline_asset" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-03/at-tesla-departures-mount-as-carmaker-stretched-to-the-limit">question came amid departures</a>, including the company&#8217;s former chief financial officer and the head of its <a class="inline_asset" href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/06/21/former-apple-executive-chris-lattner-leaves-tesla-after-6-months-on-the-job">autonomous-car research</a> effort.)</p>
<p>Many companies put off this planning and communication and even get away with it. By most measures, Tesla has — it&#8217;s built a $60 billion market cap and is expected to boost sales next year to $20 billion as Model 3 production scales up, from $11.8 billion in 2017. &#8220;People with car experience have been pooh-poohing Elon Musk for 15 years and been proven wrong,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said.</p>
<p>But at big companies like Apple, down to more mundane businesses that turn to lawyers like Sherman, careful planning lets workers and partners breathe easier and plan their own futures.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a good governance approach that also pays cultural dividends,&#8221; Sherman said.</p>
<p><em>— By Tim Mullaney, special to CNBC.com</em></p>
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The biggest risk that will determine Tesla’s fate: Elon Musk himself

<p>Former President Barack Obama tweeted a picture and a quote in response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend, and he has gotten a record-setting amount of engagement from Twitter users. The first of his series of threaded tweets has accumulated about 2.8 million &#8220;likes,&#8221; making it the most approved of tweet of all time.</p>
<p>Citing Nelson Mandela, Obama wrote, &#8220;No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion &#8230; People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love &#8230; For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.&#8221;</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-281157 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Obama_Tweet.png" alt="" width="590" height="467" /></p>
<p>The former record-holder is a tweet from pop star Ariana Grande telling fans that she was &#8220;broken&#8221; after a bombing of her concert in Manchester killed at least 22 people, including some children. It has about 2.7 million &#8220;likes.&#8221;</p>
<p>The third most-popular tweet of all time is far more lighthearted: Ellen DeGeneres&#8217; Oscars selfie.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has fumbled while using the social media platform. He retweeted and then deleted two messages on Tuesday, one that featured a cartoon train running down a character intended to represent the news network CNN and one that called the President a fascist.</p>
<p>Also on Tuesday, after three CEOs stepped down from their positions on his manufacturing advisory council, Trump used Twitter to accuse them of being &#8220;grandstanders.&#8221; Shortly after that tweet went up, a fourth CEO also stepped down.</p>
<p>The President has come under criticism for his overall handling of the events in Charlottesville. On Saturday, instead of criticizing racists and neo-Nazis by name, Trump referred to violence &#8220;on many sides.&#8221; Only two days later, on Monday afternoon, did he explicitly condemn white supremacists. By then, much of the PR damage had already been done</p>


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