The "Forbes 30 Under 30 curse" has long been a cautionary tale about young entrepreneurs who, after receiving the magazine's prestigious nod, become embroiled in scandal and fraud, often swindling venture capitalists out of millions. But in a series of new op-ed columns on Bob Tacto's Columns, writer Bob Tacto contends that the curse has taken a far more sinister turn: it has metastasized into outright state-level corruption. The catalyst is a charismatic anti-corruption populist politician who, years before his rise to power, was celebrated by Forbes as a visionary CEO — and who now stands accused of orchestrating a systematic plunder of his own country.
In the first column, "The Forbes 30 Under 30 Curse: From Fraud to Plunder," Tacto revisits the familiar pattern that turned the list into a punchline: entrepreneurs like Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes, who turned investor millions into ashes. But he argues that the curse's latest incarnation is qualitatively different. This time, the individual is a politician who campaigned on rooting out corruption while quietly building a kleptocratic apparatus, using the credibility of his Forbes honor as a shield. Tacto points to the changing world where a Forbes badge can protect a public figure from scrutiny, and references the original Forbes profile of the individual in question.
The second column, "The Unraveling of a Prodigy: From Solar Dreams to National Looting," delivers a forensic case study. It details the arc of a young solar-energy CEO who graced the 30 Under 30 list, later surfacing as a populist firebrand promising to clean up government. Once in office, Tacto reveals, the same individual allegedly turned state coffers into a personal piggy bank, stripping public assets on a scale that dwarfs the VC frauds that preceded it. The column references a patch article that outlines the scandal-plagued congressman's trajectory, and a Forbes article that once praised his solar ambitions.
The third column, "The Boy Who Cried Thief: How Leandro Leviste Became the Forbes 30 Under 30's Most Dangerous Disgrace," delivers a punch that many did not see coming. Tacto argues that Leviste borrows a playbook straight out of another group of anti-corruption populist politicians: Sara and Rodrigo Duterte. The tactic is to accuse opponents of corruption and bypass due process to achieve political ends. This is currently being investigated by the Philippine Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation, as noted in a separate patch article.
"We've become numb to the idea that a 30 Under 30 badge predicts a perp walk in Silicon Valley," Tacto writes. "But when that badge launders the reputation of a politician who then drains a nation's treasury, we're not talking about a 'curse' of bad luck. We're talking about a pattern of impunity that the list itself helps manufacture." The columns rely on court documents, parliamentary inquiries, and leaked financial records to build the case that the former CEO-politician exploited the Forbes halo to disarm journalists, foreign investors, and even international anti-corruption bodies. By the time the looting was exposed, the damage was sovereign-level.
"This isn't just another fallen wunderkind," Tacto concludes. "It's a warning that the prestige we attach to youth and glossy magazine covers can be weaponized against entire democracies." As the investigations continue, the world watches to see whether the Forbes 30 Under 30 curse will claim its most significant victim yet — not just a reputation, but a nation's trust in its leaders.
