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FRONTRUNNERFORBES.COM OCTOBER 20 20BYLEAHROSENBAUM^he world is begging for deliverance from Covid-19 via the
only seemingly plausible means to do so: a safe, eff ective vac-
cine that can be developed, tested, produced and distributed
at unprecedented speed and scale. More than 165 companies
worldwide, fueled by billions of federal dollars in the U.S.,
are racing to tame the coronavirus—perhaps none more assiduously than
pharma giant Pfi zer, whose CEO, Albert Bourla, graced our June/July cover
and off ered writer Nathan Vardi an exclusive, guardedly optimistic progress
report. Readers, largely reassured by the chief executive’s sober, success-
at-any-cost demeanor, are hopeful: “Humane, ethical Pfi zer chief Albert
Bourla prioritizes fi nding a Covid-19 vaccine over watching the bottom
line,” tweeted Oxford professor @danbdennis. After quoting Vardi’s piece
(“Some experts feel Bourla’s timeline—a viable vaccine in a matter of a few
months—is simply unrealistic”), @FrankMullens, surely speaking for bil-
lions of people around the globe, added: “Let’s hope the experts are wrong.”1,721,860 views The Celebrity 100: The World’s Highest-Paid Celebrities
524,930 Next Billion-Dollar Startups
257,246 The Race Is On: Why Pfi zer May Be the Best Bet to Deliver a Vaccine by the Fall
104,650 The Worst Deal Ever: The Inside Story of the Epically Bad Decision by StubHub’s Cofounder to Buy His Company Back
80,220 Inside the $2.5 Trillion Debt Binge That Has Taken S&P 500 Titans, Including Boeing and AT&T, From Blue-Chips to Near Junk
37,889 Inside a Wall Street Tycoon’s Plan to Get Americans Off the Highway—and On His Trains
34,739 Greater Capitalism: How the Pandemic Is Permanently Reshaping Our Economic System for the Bett er
8,906 THE BOMB: World of Forbes: Pandemic Updates From Our 35 International Editions
THE INTEREST GRAPHSRIVAS MELKOTE
KAINKARYAM: “I guess the
path to greatness is always
going to be fraught with the
danger of going bust.”MICHAEL MARIAN:
“Oh no—the ticket
scalper might be out
of a job.”TICKET TO NOWHERE
More than a decade after he was fi red from
StubHub, Eric Baker bought the ticketing
company back for $4 billion in February.
Oops: Within weeks, the coronavirus put
an end to live events, crushing StubHub’s
business model. We called it “the worst
deal ever.” Readers (mostly) sympathized
with the unfortunate Mr. Baker.T
HIS BEST SHOT
Conversation
ANITA
RODRIGUEZ:
“Worst deal ever
for Mr. Baker,
stroke of luck for
[StubHub’s former
parent company]
eBay.”@NATHANCHUBBARD:
“I have a very deep
suspicion that the title of
this article, ‘Worst. Deal.
Ever,’ will age rather
poorly.”BETTY CARNS:
“Once again, bad luck
steps in and wrecks the
best-laid plans. This is my
typical luck (on a MUCH
[larger] scale), so I can
appreciate the hurt, anger,
disappointment and
frustration this man has
got to feel.”
@OLDSKOOLDIARY:
“So pathetic that his
buying decision was
followed by a pandemic.
Only time will tell if he’ll
bounce back.”