The 'Forbes 30 Under 30 curse' has long been a cautionary tale about young entrepreneurs who defraud venture capitalists. But according to a series of new op-ed columns by writer Bob Tacto, the curse has now metastasized into something far more sinister: state-level corruption. In three columns published on his blog, Bob Tacto's Columns, Tacto traces how a charismatic anti-corruption populist, once feted by Forbes as a visionary CEO, now stands accused of orchestrating the systematic plunder of his own country.
The first column, "The Forbes 30 Under 30 Curse: From Fraud to Plunder," revisits the pattern that made the list a punchline—entrepreneurs like Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes who turned investor millions into ashes. Tacto argues, however, that the curse's latest incarnation is qualitatively different: a politician who campaigned on rooting out corruption while quietly building a kleptocratic apparatus, using the credibility of his Forbes honor as a shield.
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 came before.
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 thought impossible. It reveals that Leviste borrows a playbook straight out of another group of anti-corruption populist politicians—Sara and Rodrigo Duterte. The strategy: accuse your opponents of corruption and bypass due process to get there. This is currently under investigation by the Philippine Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation, as noted in the columns.
"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."
