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As consumers are moving more slowly to all-electric vehicles than many expected in the U.S., Hawaii has been a growing leader in EV adoption.
The tropical island state this year ranks fifth in overall EV adoption at 11.9% of new retail vehicles sold through February, according to J.D. Power. It’s No. 1 among states without certain rules intended to promote EVs and cut down on emissions.
Why Hawaii? It’s a mix of things but mainly the high fuel costs, availability of renewable energy and culture, says Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto research firm Edmunds, who lives in Hawaii.

Customers admire a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle at a Tesla store in Honolulu, Hawaii. 
Alex Tai | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

U.S. consumers have been making the move to all-electric vehicles more slowly than many expected — but a growing leader in EV adoption is Hawaii.
The tropical island state this year ranks fifth in overall EV adoption at 11.9% of new retail vehicles sold through February, according to J.D. Power.

Hawaii also ranks third – behind only California (46.1) and Washington (37) – in J.D. Power’s “EV Adoption Score,” which is weighted based on market, consumer preference and EV availability, among other conditions, with a score of 33.8.

“We measure adoption relative to availability, meaning shoppers need availability of EVs that meet their needs … before they can even consider adopting,” said Elizabeth Krear, vice president of the electric vehicle practice at J.D. Power. “In California, the quantity of EVs is much higher than in Hawaii. But when consumers are given a viable option, 33% are choosing to buy the EV.”
Hawaii also is the top state for EV adoption that hasn’t agreed to the California Air Resources Board’s Zero-Emission Vehicle program, according to J.D. Power. Those rules promote EVs and include stricter vehicle emissions and miles per gallon standards for traditional vehicles in places that have adopted the measure, including the other top five states: California, Washington, Oregon and Colorado.

Why Hawaii?

What’s going on in Hawaii that’s leading to more consumers opting for EVs? It’s a mix of things but mainly high fuel costs, the availability of renewable energy for charging and culture, according to Ivan Drury, director of insights at auto research firm Edmunds, who lives in Waikiki on Hawaii’s Oahu Island.
“There is a higher sense of responsibility towards stewarding the land versus most mainland states. If you look up ‘Aina’ in Hawaiian, you see what I mean, lots of pride for the land,” he said.

Drury also said the popularity of hybrid models in the state (at 19% in 2023) has helped in the switch to EVs, and road trip concerns – a hurdle for some buyers in the U.S. – aren’t really a problem in Hawaii.
“We’re on an island. No one is really worried about road trips unless they live on the Big Island,” he said. (For reference, the “Hawaii Belt” around the Big Island, or Hawaii Island, is only about 260 miles.)
Gasoline prices also play a factor, as they do in other states, such as California. The average price for a gallon of gas in Hawaii is about $4.72, according to AAA. That’s the highest in the U.S. other than California and $1.10 higher than the national average of $3.62 a gallon.
J.D. Power reports the top-selling EVs in the state are the Tesla Model Y, Tesla Model 3 and Ford F-150 Lightning.
“I’m really happy. I like the car. I like not buying gas,” said Scott Sageman, a 2021 Tesla Model 3 owner who has lived on Hawaii’s Big Island since moving from California in 2020.

Aloha Kia Leeward in Waipahu, Hawaii

Russell Wong, regional vice president of Aloha Kia’s seven stores in Hawaii, said customer interest in EVs continues to grow but the vehicles still remain only about 2% of the stores’ sales.
“While it is a significant percentage of our current sales compared to other dealers or other markets, it’s still a very, very small percentage,” he said. “We do see that continuing to climb.”
Wong said there’s been a lot of interest in Kia’s new EV9 SUV that’s just arriving to dealerships. The current top-selling EV at the Kia dealerships is the Niro, which also is Kia’s least expensive all-electric vehicle, and Aloha Kia has priced it starting at about $36,000.

EV concerns

Although Hawaii is embracing electric vehicles more than some of its peers, it still has many of the same problems with EV adoption that the U.S. mainland does, including lack of charging infrastructure, affordability and a dearth of vehicle choices.
A Gallup poll released Monday found less than half of U.S. adults, 44%, say they are either “seriously considering or might consider” buying an EV, which is down from 55% in 2023. The proportion not intending to buy an EV has increased from 41% to 48%.
Sageman, who lives on the slope of a volcano, said he has not experienced problems charging, as he does so at home, but the estimated range of his Model 3 can be less than expected due to the state’s hilly terrain.
“The one thing that I’ve noticed is you do not pay too much attention to the estimated range,” he said. “You’re not going to get the same amount if you’re doing a lot of uphill driving.”  
The average cost to a consumer buying an EV from a franchised dealer (excluding Tesla, Rivian and other direst-to-consumer brands) in Hawaii this year is more than $62,600, according to Edmunds. That’s down from more than $68,500 last year and roughly $12,700 over the average price of a vehicle in Hawaii. 

High prices are a national and Hawaiian trend. Upper-income Americans across the country are the subgroup most likely to own an EV, with 14% doing so, up from 6% last year, according to the Gallup report.
“We’re sort of at the extreme ends of adoption,” Drury said. “For those in a position to take advantage of an EV, it works, sold. For those that it doesn’t, it won’t, for a very long time. Overcoming the obstacles of infrastructure and high costs of living aren’t something that can be taken care of overnight or even within a few years.” More

Macy’s and activist investor Arkhouse Management settled a proxy fight this week, with an agreement to add two independent directors to the retailer’s board.
Arkhouse and Brigade Capital Management are pressing ahead with a bid to acquire the department store operator.
CEO Tony Spring is on the clock to execute a turnaround vision, which includes closing stores that are underperforming.

Shopping bags in front of the Macy’s Inc. flagship store in the Herald Square area of New York, US, on Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. US holiday sales will grow at a slower pace this year amid economic headwinds such as higher interest rates, the National Retail Federation said. 
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tony Spring was already working against the clock to turn Macy’s around.
Now, the CEO will have two fresh faces on the department store retailer’s board of directors as it weighs whether to bet on his vision or sell the nearly 166-year-old retailer to activist investors.

The board appointments, announced this week that put an end to a proxy fight with activist Arkhouse Management, are the latest development in a broader, and so far, unsuccessful effort by Arkhouse and fellow bidder Brigade Capital Management to acquire the iconic but struggling American department store retailer.
“It stops the pressures in the here and now,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of research firm GlobalData. “But in a way, you’re letting the wolf into the henhouse.”
Arkhouse first made a bid in December to buy Macy’s and take the company private at $21 per share. Macy’s rejected the offer, Arkhouse raised its bid, and Macy’s rejected that offer, too. Arkhouse then launched its proxy fight and put forward nine nominees to Macy’s 15-person board.
For Macy’s, this week’s settlement — an agreement to name two of Arkhouse’s nine candidates to its board — could pause the distraction and high costs of a prolonged campaign for shareholder support. For Arkhouse and Brigade, the move could help hand the keys to investors whose emphasis on real estate, not retail, has spurred fears that their acquisition could spell the end of Macy’s.
Both Macy’s and Arkhouse struck a conciliatory tone in their statements this week. But one thing is clear: The battle at Macy’s is not over.

Turning the tide

Other department store chains have faced challenges from activists in recent years, and even when those efforts fall short, the pressure can bring about sweeping changes.
With Kohl’s, for example, CEO Michelle Gass left the company to lead denim maker Levi Strauss after a lengthy battle with Kohl’s activists. At the time, her predecessor at Levi, Chip Bergh, said activist investors helped drive her out of Kohl’s doors.
Even before Macy’s had activist investors breathing down its neck, Spring faced an uphill battle.
The department store — with its flagship store in the heart of New York City’s Herald Square and its Macy’s Day parade that attracts the attention of millions of families on Thanksgiving morning — holds a storied place in American retail.
But by nearly every metric, Macy’s has gotten smaller over the past decade. Its employee count, store count and stock price have fallen as the company has lost market share to competitors, including off-price chains like T.J. Maxx, big-box stores like Target, as well as online retailers and specialty stores.

Macy’s shares, which hit a 10-year high of $72.80 in July 2015 and sank to a 10-year low of $4.81 in April 2020, closed at $19.30 on Friday, ending the week with a market value of $5.29 billion.
Macy’s said in late February that it expects net sales for the full year to be down slightly from the prior year. It anticipates comparable sales, which take out the impact of store openings and closures, to range from a decline of about 1.5% to a gain of 1.5% year over year on an owned-plus-licensed basis and including third-party marketplace sales.

Tony Spring, attends the Bloomingdale’s Holiday Window unveiling at Bloomingdale’s 59th Street Store on November 19, 2013 in New York City. 
Ben Hider | Getty Images

Spring, the former CEO of Macy’s higher-end Bloomingdale’s chain and the man tasked with turning the tide, stepped into the top role in early February, about two weeks after the company announced it would cut more than 2,300 jobs and close five stores.
Spring laid out his vision for the retailer earlier this year, saying it will shutter many of the company’s fledging namesake stores and invest instead in stores that have fared better. That includes Macy’s locations with stronger sales as well as its two chains that have outperformed the namesake brand, higher-end department store chain Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury.
And while it will press ahead with plans to open smaller versions of Macy’s stores in strip malls, the aggressive plan will close more than 150 stores by early 2027 — nearly a third of its namesake stores — leaving the retailer with approximately 350 Macy’s locations.
The store counts of its other two chains are significantly smaller.

Take private

At the same time, the buyout effort by Arkhouse and Brigade threatens to change the retailer’s direction entirely.
Along with adding new members to Macy’s board, Arkhouse and Brigade have begun conducting due diligence, a process that allows the suitors access to the department store operator’s books so it can get a clearer sense of the company’s finances and potential liabilities.
That in and of itself had been a hard-fought battle with the bidders, who wanted more information to secure funding commitments for the proposed acquisition. Arkhouse claims Macy’s refused to engage with it, and Macy’s rebuffed Arkhouse saying it didn’t have the financing for the takeover it proposed.
GlobalData’s Saunders said Macy’s future as a retailer could be at risk if Arkhouse succeeds in its efforts to take the company private. He said the activist investor has a background in real estate, not retail, and seems more keen on sucking the value out of Macy’s prime mall and flagship locations than investing in its business.
“It’ll become a situation much like Sears,” he said. “A very long liquidation, in effect.”
Arkhouse, for its part, has said it plans to keep Macy’s stores open. In an interview with CNBC in March, managing partner Gavriel Kahane said the activist investor wants to run Macy’s as a retailer, along with getting value out of its real estate.
“Our plan is not conditioned on store closures. It is not a part, fundamentally, of our business plan at all,” he said. “In fact, we think the real estate is so valuable, in large part, because it’s occupied by Macy’s.”
Kahane said the activist investor wants Macy’s to become “a stable and growing company that can live for decades, and potentially another 150 years.”
But, he argued, a private company is better able to achieve that goal than a publicly traded one: “We think that needs to happen behind the curtain, away from the public markets. We think that current management has really been largely solving for the quarter and when you’re so focused on sort of that near-term execution, it’s really almost impossible to ensure your long-term viability.”
Arkhouse raised its bid last month to $24 per share and said it had the backing of Fortress Investment Group and One Investment Management.

Saunders noted the proxy settlement could buy the retailer time to carry out Spring’s turnaround strategy and try to drive up the value of the company.
The two new directors who will join the Macy’s board will bring a deep background in retail and real estate. Richard Clark spent nearly four decades in the real estate industry and was former chairman and CEO of Brookfield Property Group, Brookfield Property Partners and Brookfield Office Properties. The second director, Richard Markee, was former CEO of Vitamin Shoppe and held senior roles at Toys R Us and Babies R Us. He currently sits on the board of discount retailer Five Below.
While the two directors are independent, with no affiliation to either Arkhouse or Brigade, they’ll join the board’s seven-person finance committee, tasked with evaluating and making recommendations about the acquisition bid and any other similar offers.
Arkhouse managing partners Kahane and Jonathon Blackwell said in a statement this week that the appointments of the two new directors “will ensure that our discussions continue to be constructive and that our proposal is treated seriously and expeditiously.”
For Macy’s, agreeing to two new directors won’t tip the balance on the board. That could be seen as a victory for the retailer, since it’s a far cry from the total number proposed by Arkhouse, said Patrick Gadson, an attorney and co-head of the shareholder activism practice at Vinson & Elkins.
Still, the settlement allows Arkhouse to press ahead as a critical and persistent activist investor, said Gadson, who represented Preferred Apartment Communities, a real estate investment trust that Arkhouse similarly targeted and made a bid to acquire. Arkhouse was ultimately outbid by another buyer in that effort.
The Macy’s agreement is missing a non-disparagement clause, he said, and has “thin” standstill restrictions, or terms that can temporarily halt activist activity and muzzle the activist from making critical comments. That means Arkhouse and Brigade could still have room to run in their campaign.
“Shareholder activism is a performance-based skill set,” Gadson said. “If the company performs well, exceeds expectations markedly, then in all likelihood the performance itself would be the remedy. If the company fails to do that, then they can do all of the governance changes and all of the nonfundamental, nonoperational gymnastics they’d like, none of it will save them.”

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StubHub is eyeing a summer initial public offering.
The online ticketing service has been working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs over the past two years on the IPO.

StubHub is eyeing a summer initial public offering, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The online ticketing service is aiming for a valuation of at least $16.5 billion, which is what it was valued at in late 2021 during its latest round of private funding.

The company has been working with JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs over the past two years on the IPO. The Information was the first to report the news.
StubHub has been a longtime player in the ticketing industry since its launch in 2000. It was purchased by eBay for $310 million in 2007, but reacquired by its co-founder Eric Baker in 2020 for $4 billion through his new company Viagogo.
Online ticketing rival SeatGeek has also reportedly been evaluating a potential IPO this year. If StubHub does enter the public market, it will trade alongside competitors Vivid Seats and Live Nation. Vivid Seats has a market cap of $1.2 billion and Live Nation is valued at just under $24 billion, according to FactSet.
The live events marketplace has bloomed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as people have gravitated toward out-of-home entertainment and experiences. Record-breaking concert ticket sales, such as those seen for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, have fueled revenues for ticketing companies across the board.
StubHub, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs all declined to comment about potential timing for an IPO.

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Nike CEO John Donahoe acknowledged that the brand went too far when it iced out wholesalers in favor of its own stores and website.
“We’ve corrected that. We’re investing heavily with our retail partners,” Donahoe said in an interview with CNBC.
The sneaker giant has been working to drive direct sales but has recently renewed partnerships with wholesalers like Macy’s and DSW.

Illuminated trademark of the American athletic footwear and apparel corporation Nike, Inc. seen on the Nike Store window in Antwerp, Belgium. (Photo by Karol Serewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Karol Serewis | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Nike CEO John Donahoe acknowledged Friday that the company moved too far away from wholesale partners like Macy’s and DSW in its quest to become a retailer that primarily sells merchandise to shoppers through its own stores and website. 
“We recognize that in our movement toward digital, we had over-rotated away from wholesale a little more than we intended,” Donahoe told CNBC’s Sara Eisen from Paris. “We’ve corrected that. We’re investing heavily with our retail partners. They were all here over the last couple of days; they’re very excited about the innovation pipeline.” 

Over the past several years, Nike has worked to transform its business from a brand that primarily sold its sneakers and clothes in department stores and specialty athletic shops to one that does the bulk of its sales direct to consumers. 
The strategy allowed Nike to earn far more from its sales and gain better insights about its customers through data collection. Over the last four years, Donahoe said Nike tripled its mobile and digital business from about 10% of overall sales to 30%.
However, it’s a tough strategy to pull off and one that can pressure margins in the short term. Shifting to a direct model is capital-intensive and saddled Nike with the headaches of returns and owned inventory, which had typically fallen on wholesale partners.
On top of that, department stores and specialty shops are massive customer acquisition engines. Without them, brands have to spend more on marketing, which has become more expensive and challenging to do online. 

Some analysts have said Nike’s decision to shun wholesale partners was a mistake. They argued it set the company back and is part of the reason why it fell behind on innovation and products. It also had a negative impact on Foot Locker, which has long relied on Nike to drive sales and now doesn’t receive the same assortment of products that it once did. 

In its push toward a direct model, Nike temporarily cut ties with retailers like Macy’s and DSW, but it restored those partnerships last year as it began to shift its tone on wholesalers. 
The change comes at a difficult time for Nike, which has faced criticism over its product assortment and losing market share to upstarts like On Running and Hoka. In December, it announced a broad restructuring plan to reduce costs by about $2 billion over the next three years. It also cut its sales guidance as it warned of softer demand in the quarters ahead. 
Two months later, Nike said it was shedding 2% of its workforce, or more than 1,500 jobs, so it could invest in its growth areas, such as running, the women’s category and the Jordan brand.
During Friday’s interview, Donahoe reiterated that consumers today “want to get what they want, when they want it, how they want it” — a refrain he has used over the past year when discussing Nike’s shifting sales strategy. 
“There’s not digital shoppers versus physical retail shoppers. There’s not shoppers who only shop in mono-brand stores versus multibrand shoppers,” Donahoe said. “Consumers want to get what they want across multiple channels. … The consumer will have a choice to come to Nike directly digitally, to come to a Nike door or to go to one of our wholesale [partners].” 

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Nike CEO John Donahoe blamed remote work for the company’s innovation slowdown and dearth of fresh products.
Donahoe said the Nike employees worked from home for 2.5 years and “it’s really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe on Zoom.”
The company is in a bit of a rough spot and has been criticized for falling behind on innovation and ceding market share to upstarts like On Running and Hoka.

Nike President and CEO John Donahoe.
Source: Nike

Nike CEO John Donahoe on Friday blamed remote work for the company falling behind on innovation, saying that it’s tough to be disruptive when people are working from home. 
In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen from Paris, Donahoe was asked about the company’s lack of fresh new products in its assortment, which had been a concern among investors. 

“What’s been missing is the kind of bold, disruptive innovation that Nike’s known for and when we look back, the reasons are fairly straightforward,” said Donahoe.
He pointed out that footwear factories in Vietnam were forced to shutter during the Covid-19 pandemic but said “even more importantly,” Nike’s employees worked from home for 2.5 years.
“In hindsight, it turns out, it’s really hard to do bold, disruptive innovation, to develop a boldly disruptive shoe on Zoom,” Donahoe said. “Our teams came back together 18 months ago in person, and we recognize this. So we realigned our company, and over the last year we have been ruthlessly focused on rebuilding our disruptive innovation pipeline along with our iterative innovation pipeline.” 

Donahoe said Nike’s innovation pipeline “is as strong as ever,” and consumers can expect to start seeing new product drops each season, as well as the fresh storytelling the brand has long been known for. 
The chief executive’s comments come at a tough time for the company. Some analysts and investors have criticized the sneaker giant for falling behind on innovation and losing market share to upstarts like On Running and Hoka, which have won over a new generation of runners and have grown rapidly in recent years. 

In December, Nike announced a broad restructuring plan to reduce costs by about $2 billion over the next three years. It also cut its sales guidance as it warned of softer demand in the quarters ahead. 
Two months later, it said it was shedding 2% of its workforce, or more than 1,500 jobs, so it could invest in its growth areas, such as running, the women’s category and the Jordan brand.
Donahoe insisted Friday that Nike is still “gaining share” and remains a dominant force in running and all things sport. 
“We’ve done more to advance running than any brand in the world over the last 50 years and we continue to lead with elite runners,” said Donahoe when asked about On Running and Hoka.  “Innovation has always been what’s marked Nike in running, as in other categories and so we’re not just going to copy what other people do, we’re gonna bring innovation.” More

European Union drug regulators found no evidence that highly popular weight loss and diabetes drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic are linked to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and self-injury.
The European Medicines Agency conducted a nine-month investigation into so-called GLP-1s, which have skyrocketed in demand over the last year.
The review examined several drugs from Novo Nordisk, including Wegovy and Ozempic, but did not include Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro.

Boxes of Wegovy made by Novo Nordisk are seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain March 8, 2024. 
Hollie Adams | Reuters

European Union drug regulators found no evidence that highly popular weight loss and diabetes drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic are linked to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and self-injury, the regulator said Friday. 
The European Medicines Agency conducted a nine-month investigation into so-called GLP-1s, a blockbuster class of treatments that mimic a hormone produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite. Those drugs have skyrocketed in demand over the last year despite their hefty price tags and spotty insurance coverage.

The review examined several drugs from Novo Nordisk, including Wegovy and Ozempic. It did not include Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro, two versions of the same drug sold for weight loss and diabetes. But the probe did include the active ingredient in an older diabetes treatment from Eli Lilly called Trulicity. 
In a statement to CNBC, Novo Nordisk confirmed the findings of the EMA’s investigation and said it will continue to monitor reports of adverse reactions to its GLP-1s, including suicide and suicidal ideation.
The agency’s verdict is the latest in a series of reassuring reports on suicide risk for GLP-1s. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration came to a similar conclusion in January but said agency officials couldn’t definitively rule out that a “small risk may exist.” 
Clinical trials from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have not demonstrated a link between GLP-1s and suicidal thoughts. Still, researchers and doctors have been on the lookout for any new unwanted side effects or added risks as thousands of new patients start taking the drugs. 
The EMA first launched its investigation in July after the Icelandic Medicines Agency flagged three cases of suicidal thoughts and self-injury in patients taking drugs containing liraglutide and semaglutide, the active ingredients in the popular treatments.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient used in Wegovy, Ozempic and Novo Nordisk’s diabetes pill Rybelsus. Liraglutide is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s older weight loss drug Saxenda. The probe also included other active ingredients in older weight loss and diabetes drugs, including dulaglutide, exenatide and lixisenatide. 
The EMA on Friday said it analyzed results from a large U.S. study and did not find a direct association between the use of semaglutide and suicidal thoughts. Results from another study conducted by the agency also did not support a link between GLP-1 drugs and the risk of suicidal thoughts. 
Both the studies were based on electronic health records.
If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in distress, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 in the U.S. or the Samaritans in the U.K. at 116 123 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. More

Name, image and likeness regulations are funneling more money into college athletes’ bank accounts — and making financial literacy more important.
Athletes like Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne and University of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark have NIL valuations over $3 million, according to college sports site On3.
“All of the issues that pro athletes have dealt with for years are now going downstream,” said former NFL player and CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board member Brandon Copeland.

Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes waves to the crowd during senior day festivities after the match-up against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 3, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Matthew Holst | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

Three years after three little letters revolutionized collegiate sports, a billion-dollar industry is funneling more money into college athletes’ bank accounts — and financial literacy has never been more important.
In 2021, college athletes in the NCAA gained the opportunity to benefit financially from their name, image and likeness — known as NIL regulations. That meant that they could get paid for signing autographs or posting on social media as brand ambassadors, among other things.

Athletes like Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne and University of Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark have NIL valuations over $3 million, according to college sports site On3, which combines an athlete’s projected value to his or her roster and their licensing and sponsorship prospects to estimate an overall annual value.
The NIL regulations have resulted in athletes younger than ever cashing in and saving up, creating a need for financial literacy specifically tailored to them.
UCLA quarterback Chase Griffin has used the experience of securing NIL deals to learn valuable lessons about money.
Griffin is a two-time winner of the National NIL Male Athlete of the Year award and has inked nearly 40 NIL deals, each ranging from four figures to nearly six figures, he said.

Quarterback Chase Griffin #11 of the UCLA Bruins looks to pass the ball in the game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Rose Bowl on November 28, 2020 in Pasadena, California. 
Jayne Kamin-oncea | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

He says his framework around money has come a long way since his freshman year of college, back when he received stipend money from the university.

“With my stipend, that was the first time I had that much money in my bank account. What I found was that I wasn’t as good with financial literacy as I thought,” Griffin told CNBC. “I knew I was getting another stipend the next month, so I was spending my entire stipend. As I’ve gotten older, I look at money through the means of what it allows me to do.”
Griffin is now saving his NIL money to buy a house after graduation. He’ll graduate from UCLA with a master’s degree in legal studies in June.
The NIL era has allowed college athletes to save for the future and seek professional financial advice in a way many 18- to 22-year-olds can’t.
NCAA athletes hire agents and financial advisors to help them negotiate NIL deals, ushering in new financial responsibilities.
“Athletes are going pro earlier, which is great,” said former NFL player and CNBC Global Financial Wellness Advisory Board member Brandon Copeland. “All of the issues that pro athletes have dealt with for years are now going downstream.”

Copeland is the CEO of Athletes.org, an organization that focuses on helping college athletes navigate this new world. Athletes.org works with NCAA athletes around the country to provide free, on-demand support for key decisions in their life such as finding a lawyer to review an NIL deal. It also provides a forum to discuss everything from negotiation tactics to mental health.
“The first thing athletes should know is taxes are real,” Copeland told CNBC. “That number you see is not exactly what you’re going to get. Don’t go and spend it all in one place at one time.”
Financial advisors also help to fill in those who need advice with what to do with their money.
Morgan Stanley’s head of Global Sports and Entertainment, Sandra Richards, and her team work with several NCAA athletes. Richards said she works to make sure her advisors help their clients identify their financial goals from the beginning.
“It’s forcing these young people to have the conversation about, what do I want this money to do for me,” Richards said. “What are we playing for, and why are you in this, and what do you want to do with this money? I’m optimistic about these young people. You have so much access to information and social media.”

As part of its National Financial Literacy Month efforts, CNBC will be featuring stories throughout the month dedicated to helping people manage, grow and protect their money so they can truly live ambitiously.

Social media is one of the biggest ways to reach NCAA athletes with critical financial information. Videos on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, for example, can offer tips or insights, although it’s important to vet the quality and sources of that advice.
Retired NFL player Carl Nassib uses his own social channels to gain knowledge about personal finance, adding that he wished NIL was around while he was in college. Nassib was a walk-on college football player at Penn State from 2011 to 2015, and once had to sell his books to pay for a broken pipe in his apartment.
Nassib is excited about what higher levels of financial literacy will mean for college athletes of the present and future.
“It would be nice if you get some athletes who are role models in financial wellness,” Nassib told CNBC. “I think the ripple effects of that will be extremely positive. I have been working with so many players in the NFL, trying to get them on a better path. If we can move that learning curve back four years, that’ll just be so special and so impactful.”

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Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole more than $16 million from Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to cover millions of dollars of gambling debts.
Ohtani had no knowledge of the fraud and is considered a victim in the case, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Mizuhara faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the charges and is expected to make a court appearance in the next couple of days.

Shohei Ohtani answers questions and Ippei Mizuhara translates during the Shohei Ohtani-Los Angeles Dodgers press conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Dec. 14, 2023.
Rob Leiter | Major League Baseball | Getty Images

Shohei Ohtani’s former translator Ippei Mizuhara allegedly stole more than $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star to cover millions of dollars of gambling debts, the U.S. attorney’s office announced Thursday.
The office, which filed a criminal complaint against Mizuhara alleging bank fraud on Thursday, also said Ohtani had no knowledge of the fraud and is considered a victim in the case.

The bets were not placed on baseball games, the office said.
Mizuhara had been Ohtani’s translator for years. During that time, the attorney’s office discovered Mizuhara had full access to Ohtani’s bank accounts. Phone records indicate he accessed them online and lied to the bank, pretending to be Ohtani, the office said. He refused to give access to the accounts to Ohtani’s agent and other advisors.
On March 20, 2024, Mizuhara admitted to a bookmaker in an encrypted text message that he had stolen the money from Ohtani, according to the complaint. “Technically I did steal from him. It’s all over for me,” he wrote.
Mizuhara has been the subject of a federal investigation surrounding millions of dollars in wire transfers originating from Ohtani’s bank account to an illegal bookmaker beginning in November 2021.
“Due to the position of trust, he had unique access to his finances and he used and abused that place of trust to take advantage of Mr. Ohtani,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.

Attorneys for Ohtani, Mizuhara and the Dodgers declined to comment on the charges.
The Ohtani fraud was first discovered as the U.S. Department of Justice was looking into illegal sports bookmaking operations in Southern California and the laundering of the proceeds of those operations through casinos in Las Vegas. The investigations have led to criminal charges and/or convictions of 12 criminal defendants, the complaint said.
While sports gambling is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., it is illegal in California, which has driven some bettors to illegal operations.
Mizuhara faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for the charges and is expected to make a court appearance in the next couple of days.
Estrada said Mizuhara kept his winnings in his own bank account.
Despite owing bookmakers millions of dollars in losses, Mizuhara repeatedly asked them to increase his betting limits.
“Bad run,” he texted a bookmaker. “Any chance you can bump me again?? As you know, you don’t have to worry about me not paying!!”
By November 2023, Mizuhara’s debts had become crippling. He messaged the same bookmaker saying he ended up losing a lot of money on crypto investments in the past couple of years and took huge hits with the sports betting, too.
“Is there any way to settle on an amount? I’ve lost way too much on the site already … of course I know it’s my fault,” he said.
Law enforcement officials said Ohtani has been fully cooperating and allowed them access to his electronic devices.
Ohtani told officials he believed his accountants and financial advisors were monitoring his accounts and because he received income from both foreign and domestic sources, he would generally not ask about specific accounts, but rather, an overall picture of his investment profile. Yet, due to the language barrier, financial agents and advisors communicated through Mizuhara to translate to their client.
In a March 25 press conference, Ohtani said he had just learned about the theft and said he felt sad, shocked and betrayed by someone he had trusted.
“I’ve never bet on baseball, any other sports or never asked somebody to do it on my behalf,” Ohtani said through another translator.
Previously, Mizuhara had said Ohtani knew about the debts and was helping him pay them off. He later backtracked from those statements.
Ohtani is one of the biggest stars in Major League Baseball. The 29-year-old Japanese-born pitcher joined the Dodgers on Dec. 9 with a record 10-year, $700 million contract following six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.
Ohtani is the only MLB player to win the American League MVP by unanimous vote twice and the first Japanese-born player to lead the major league in home runs.
If Ohtani was found to be involved, he could be in violation of the MLB’s gambling policy. Punishments range from suspension of a season to being permanently ineligible.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Shohei Ohtani’s first name.

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