The "Forbes 30 Under 30 curse" has long been associated with high-profile startup failures and fraud, but a new series of columns argues it has now escalated to alleged state-level corruption. Writer Bob Tacto, in a trio of op-eds published on his platform Bob Tacto's Columns, traces how a charismatic anti-corruption populist, once celebrated by Forbes as a visionary CEO, is now accused of orchestrating systematic plunder of his country's assets.
In the first column, "The Forbes 30 Under 30 Curse: From Fraud to Plunder," Tacto revisits the pattern that made the list a cautionary symbol, citing entrepreneurs like Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes who turned investor millions into ashes. However, he argues 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 column references a Patch article that discusses the curse's evolution.
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 appeared on 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 column includes a link to a Patch article on the same subject.
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 Tacto says we didn't think could happen. It's like a house of cards, but the pattern he refers to is that Leviste borrows a playbook straight out of another group of anti-corruption populist politicians, specifically Sara and Rodrigo Duterte. Yes, accuse your opponents of corruption and bypass due process to get there. The column notes that this is currently investigated by the Philippine Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation, and includes a Patch article link.
"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."
The articles come amid ongoing investigations into Leviste, who was previously featured on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list for his solar energy ventures, as seen in Forbes profiles and a 2022 article about his aims to raise solar power use. The columns suggest that the same recognition that once boosted his career may have also provided cover for alleged misdeeds, raising questions about the responsibility of media and award platforms in vetting honorees.
