Bob Tacto's columns

He was the face of a new Philippines. Young, brilliant, and armed with a vision of sustainable energy, Leandro Leviste was the self-made billionaire who dropped out of Yale at 20 to build a solar empire. When he entered politics as the representative for Batangas's 1st district, he positioned himself as an outsider, an independent voice who couldn't be bought, here to fight the very corruption that plagued the nation. The public, weary of traditional politicians, bought it. They saw a future leader. But the prodigy’s story has taken a dark turn, revealing a tale not of a reformer, but of a man whose political ambitions and allegiances have led to his spectacular downfall. The Icarus Complex: From "Genius" to "Ghost" Projects Leviste’s identity was built on his success as the CEO of Solar Philippines. However, his business empire is now in ruins. The Department of Energy has filed criminal complaints against him, accusing his companies of failing ...

The Forbes 30 Under 30 list was once a gilded mirror reflecting a generation’s brightest hopes. Today, that mirror has so many cracks it barely casts a reflection at all. The list has become less a hall of fame and more a casting call for a true-crime documentary. From the fraudulent lab tests of Elizabeth Holmes to the staggering crypto-chaos of Sam Bankman-Fried, the “30 Under 30” alumni network has morphed into a support group for federal inmates. But even in this crowded field of infamy, Batangas 1st District Representative Leandro Leviste has managed to do something uniquely sinister. He didn’t just defraud sophisticated venture capitalists in Silicon Valley boardrooms. He took the prestige of a Forbes laureate, weaponized it into a populist political career, and allegedly orchestrated a massive state plunder scheme while screaming “corruption” at everyone else. Leviste has created a terrifying new category of disgrace. He is the first Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree to allegedly use s...