Stories: connect the dot

Written

19 scenes Who Owns BlackRock and Vanguard? From a firm under Blackstone's umbrella and a fund company owned by its own funds to today’s holders, and the debate about their reach 10 scenes Behind the Success Stories Families, schools, first money and the people who opened doors for Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg 10 scenes The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union Who sponsored the Bolsheviks and why, who gained, and why the Union fell, as each side told it 9 scenes Thirteen Days, Two Stories The Cuban Missile Crisis as Washington and Moscow told it, and the threads that run from it to scripture and to SpaceX

Connections

Questions 48

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People 96

20 links Elon Musk Entrepreneur; founder and CEO of SpaceX, CEO of Tesla. 18 links Sam Altman American entrepreneur; co-chair of OpenAI at its December 2015 launch and its CEO since 2019, apart from November 17-29, 2023. 16 links Alexandr Wang Co-founder of Scale AI and its CEO until June 2025; Chief AI Officer at Meta since June 2025. 15 links Sergey Brin Co-founder of Google; its president from 1998, and president of Alphabet 2015–2019. 14 links Larry Fink Co-founder, chairman and CEO of BlackRock. 12 links Jeff Bezos Founder and executive chair of Amazon; founder of Blue Origin. 11 links Peter Thiel Investor; co-founder of PayPal and Palantir; Facebook's first outside investor. 10 links Vladimir Lenin Leader of the Bolsheviks; head of the Soviet government from November 1917 until his death in 1924. 9 links Bill Gates Co-founder of Microsoft; co-founder of the Giving Pledge. 9 links Eric Schmidt Google CEO 2001–2011 and executive chairman of Google and then Alphabet, 2011–2018. 9 links Nursultan Nazarbayev President of Kazakhstan until March 2019, when he stepped down in an address to the nation. 8 links Mark Zuckerberg Founder, chair and chief executive of Meta Platforms (Facebook). 8 links Moses Prophet and lawgiver in Judaism, Christianity and Islam; in the Hebrew Bible, leader of the Exodus. 7 links Larry Page Co-founder of Google; its CEO 1998–2001 and 2011–2015, then CEO of Alphabet until 2019. 7 links Mike Markkula Early Apple investor and director from 1977. He was chairman from 1977 to 1981 and again from 1993 to 1996, and president and CEO from 1981 to 1983. 7 links Mikhail Gorbachev Last leader of the Soviet Union: Communist Party General Secretary from 1985, President of the USSR 1990–1991. 7 links Steve Jobs Co-founder of Apple. He was its CEO from 1997 to 2011 and its chairman from August 2011 until his death in October 2011. 6 links Anne Wojcicki Co-founder of the genetics company 23andMe and its CEO from 2010 to 2025; younger sister of Susan Wojcicki and former wife of Sergey Brin. 6 links Kimbal Musk Entrepreneur and restaurateur; co-founder of Zip2 with his brother Elon Musk; Tesla director since 2004. 6 links Susan Wojcicki Google's 16th employee, whose Menlo Park garage was Google's first office; CEO of YouTube from 2014 to 2023. 6 links Timur Kulibayev Businessman; chaired the KAZENERGY association (2005–2023) and the Atameken business chamber (2013–2022). 5 links Abraham Patriarch revered in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 5 links Dariga Nazarbayeva Politician; chair of the Senate of Kazakhstan from 2019 to 2020, and earlier a deputy speaker of the Mazhilis. 5 links Greg Brockman American software engineer; OpenAI's CTO at its 2015 launch, later its chairman and president.

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Organizations 87

44 links Google American internet search and technology company, founded in 1998; part of Alphabet since 2015. 36 links OpenAI American artificial intelligence research organization, founded as a nonprofit in December 2015; it added a capped-profit arm, OpenAI LP, in 2019 and recapitalized it as OpenAI Group PBC in October 2025. 27 links Apple American maker of computers, phones and software. It started as a partnership on 1 April 1976 and was incorporated in California on 3 January 1977. 26 links BlackRock American asset manager founded in 1988. 24 links Scale AI San Francisco AI company that provides data, model evaluations and AI applications to AI labs, enterprises and governments. Founded in 2016 (Y Combinator Summer 2016 batch). 20 links U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Federal agency that regulates US securities markets. 20 links United States government The federal government of the United States. 16 links Meta Platforms American social media company founded as Thefacebook in 2004; renamed Meta Platforms in 2021. 15 links Microsoft American software and cloud-computing company founded in 1975. 14 links Amazon American e-commerce and cloud-computing company founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. 14 links State Street Corporation American financial holding company in Boston, organized in 1969; the parent of State Street Bank and Trust and of the asset manager State Street Investment Management. 14 links The Vanguard Group American investment-management company, incorporated by John C. Bogle in September 1974; it began operations in May 1975. 12 links GameStop American video game retailer listed on the New York Stock Exchange as GME. 10 links 23andMe Consumer genetic-testing company in California, co-founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki. 10 links NASA US civilian space agency, created in 1958. 10 links Soviet government The government of the Soviet Union (1922–1991). 10 links Tesla American maker of electric vehicles and energy-storage products. 9 links Imperial German government Government of the German Empire (1871–1918). 9 links Y Combinator Startup investment firm founded in March 2005 by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, Robert Morris and Trevor Blackwell; it funds startups in batches. 8 links Communist Party of the Soviet Union The ruling party of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union: the Bolsheviks under a new name, from March 1918 to 1991. 8 links Robinhood Markets American retail brokerage and financial services company founded in 2013. 8 links State Street Bank and Trust Company Custody bank in Boston and the principal banking subsidiary of State Street Corporation; it traces its beginnings to 1792. 7 links Bolsheviks Lenin's party, a faction from 1903; in March 1918 it renamed itself the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). 7 links U.S. Department of Justice Federal department that enforces US law and brings federal criminal cases.

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Places

16 links Soviet Union Federal socialist state in Eurasia, 1922–1991. 13 links United States Country in North America. 8 links Russia Country in Eastern Europe and North Asia; as Soviet Russia (RSFSR) a founding republic of the USSR, and the Russian Federation since December 1991. 6 links Moscow Capital of Russia and, from 1918 to 1991, of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union. 5 links Belarus Country in Eastern Europe; a founding republic of the Soviet Union, independent since 1991. 5 links Cuba Island country in the Caribbean. 5 links Turkey Country bridging southeastern Europe and western Asia. 5 links Ukraine Country in Eastern Europe; a founding republic of the Soviet Union, independent since 1991. 3 links Saint Petersburg City in Russia; the imperial capital, called Petrograd in 1914–1924 and Leningrad in 1924–1991. 3 links Santa Monica City in California, United States, home of the Douglas Aircraft Company's plant and the RAND Corporation's headquarters. 3 links Washington, D.C. Capital of the United States. 2 links Albuquerque City in New Mexico, United States. 2 links Germany Country in Central Europe. 2 links Kazakhstan Country in Central Asia; a Soviet republic until December 1991. 2 links Los Alamos, New Mexico Community in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States; home of Los Alamos National Laboratory. 2 links Menlo Park City in California, United States; headquarters of Meta Platforms. 2 links New York City City in New York State, United States. 2 links Seattle City in Washington State, United States. 2 links Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Federation of Soviet Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan; one of the four founding republics of the USSR in December 1922.

Events 32

17 links Dissolution of the Soviet Union The end of the USSR in December 1991: Gorbachev resigned on 25 December and the Union ceased to exist on 26 December. 15 links Cuban Missile Crisis Thirteen-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles in Cuba. 12 links October Revolution The Bolshevik seizure of power in Petrograd on 7 November 1917 (25 October in the old Russian calendar). 10 links Cold War Rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies, about 1947–1991. 10 links GameStop short squeeze GameStop's share price rose about 2,700% between 8 and 28 January 2021, then fell more than 86% by early February. The episode is widely called a short squeeze. 9 links Founding of the Soviet Union The 30 December 1922 declaration and treaty uniting Soviet Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian republic as the USSR. 8 links Common ownership of US airlines Large investment firms holding shares in several competing US airlines at once; a 2018 study measured it on US routes from 2001 to 2014. 8 links End of the Cold War The winding down of the US–Soviet rivalry, from the revolutions of 1989 to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. 8 links Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Separate peace signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers, taking Russia out of the First World War. 7 links Game Stopped? hearing Virtual hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services on the January 2021 trading in GameStop and other stocks, with six witnesses. 6 links Jupiter missile deployment in Turkey Stationing of US nuclear-armed Jupiter missiles in Turkey, arranged through NATO, until 1963. 6 links Operation Anadyr Code name of the 1962 Soviet deployment of missiles and troops to Cuba. 6 links Space Race Cold War competition in spaceflight between the United States and the Soviet Union. 6 links The Exodus Narrative of the Israelites' departure from slavery in Egypt, told in the Book of Exodus. 5 links Belovezha Accords The agreement of 8 December 1991 in which Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared the Soviet Union dissolved and founded the Commonwealth of Independent States. 5 links IBM–Microsoft operating-system deal IBM's 1980 contract with Microsoft for the IBM PC's operating system, which Microsoft bought from Seattle Computer Products. 5 links Withdrawal of the Jupiter missiles from Turkey Removal of the US Jupiter missiles from Turkey in April 1963, after the Cuban Missile Crisis. 4 links August 1991 coup attempt The failed attempt by hard-line Communist officials to remove Gorbachev, 19–21 August 1991. 4 links Project Vanguard US Navy-led program of 1955–1959 to launch the first American satellite. 4 links Robinhood trading restrictions of 2021 Robinhood's temporary limits on customer purchases of GameStop and other volatile stocks, 28 January to 5 February 2021. 3 links Chernobyl disaster The explosion of reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Soviet Ukraine on 26 April 1986. 3 links Fall of the Berlin Wall The opening of the border between East and West Berlin on 9 November 1989. 3 links February Revolution The uprising in Petrograd in March 1917 (February in the old Russian calendar) that ended the monarchy. 3 links Google's garage office Google's first office, a garage in Menlo Park owned by Susan Wojcicki, used from September 1998 to February 1999.

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Works

8 links Common Ownership Does Not Have Anticompetitive Effects in the Airline Industry Study of common ownership and ticket prices on US airline routes by Patrick Dennis, Kristopher Gerardi and Carola Schenone, published in The Journal of Finance in 2022. 6 links Anticompetitive Effects of Common Ownership Study of common ownership and ticket prices on US airline routes by José Azar, Martin C. Schmalz and Isabel Tecu, published in The Journal of Finance in 2018. 5 links Quran The central religious text of Islam. 4 links A Refutation of ‘Common Ownership Does Not Have Anti-Competitive Effects in the Airline Industry’ Working paper by José Azar, Martin C. Schmalz and Isabel Tecu answering the study by Dennis, Gerardi and Schenone, posted in August 2022. 4 links Bible The holy scripture of Christianity: the Old and New Testaments. 4 links Book of Exodus Second book of the Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. 3 links Gutenberg Bible Latin Bible printed in Mainz around 1455; the first major book printed in Europe with movable metal type. 3 links Torah The five books of Moses; the first part of the Hebrew Bible. 2 links Horizontal Shareholding Essay by Einer Elhauge in the Harvard Law Review (March 2016) on shareholdings in competing firms and antitrust law. 2 links Pacem in Terris Encyclical by Pope John XXIII on peace, issued on 11 April 1963.

Artifacts

5 links PGM-19 Jupiter US intermediate-range ballistic missile of the late 1950s, developed by the Army under Wernher von Braun. 4 links Sputnik 1 First artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. 3 links Moscow–Washington hotline Direct communications link between the US and Soviet heads of government, agreed in June 1963. 3 links Printing press Machine that pushes paper against inked movable type; Johannes Gutenberg designed and built the first known mechanized one in Europe, about 1439–1450. 2 links 86-DOS Operating system written at Seattle Computer Products; bought by Microsoft and shipped with the IBM PC as PC DOS. 2 links ARPANET Packet-switched computer network funded by ARPA from 1969; a forerunner of the internet. 2 links Google Earth Virtual globe software launched by Google in 2005, based on Keyhole's EarthViewer. 2 links IBM PC IBM's first personal computer, launched in August 1981. 2 links Latin alphabet Alphabet of the Romans, developed from the Etruscan alphabet before 600 BCE; today the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world.

Concepts

3 links In God We Trust Official national motto of the United States since 1956. 3 links Union republics' right to secede The formal right of each Soviet republic to leave the Union, written into the 1922 Union Treaty and later Soviet constitutions. 2 links Packet switching Way of sending data through a network in separate blocks, or packets, each routed on its own and reassembled at the destination. 2 links Soviet state atheism Soviet policy that sought to eliminate religion and promoted atheism. 2 links Strategic Defense Initiative Reagan administration program, announced on 23 March 1983, to research a missile defense system.

Traditions

5 links Christianity Religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. 5 links Islam Monotheistic religion based on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad. 3 links Judaism Monotheistic religion of the Jewish people.