at 12 1/2 billion dollars versus the 12.7 billion the street was street was at 51 m.8 to 53.8 >> ken frazierld enough there are benefits to being old. i remember what happened with ken with vioxx he was the general counsel. >> lawyer. he was general counsel and lawyer before. >> they had a ceo named richard clark that wasn't that well thought of they were trying to figure out how to navigate through vioxx which caused some heart attacks. the company was going to settle and the settlement talks were for about $50 billion. ken frazier, we had him on "squawk box" all the time. he decided and pushed as hard as he couldto go case by case, case by case, case by case they ended up winning. the total hit that they took was $5 billion instead of 50 billion. next thing you know ken, they elevated him to ceo. then after that they had a pipeline problem and he brought in this unbelievable r&d chief, perelman and developed keytruda, saved jimmy carter's life and is a transformational therapeutic so this is -- and then we know everything that happened with trump -- with president trump's ceo counsel. >> o

the company as you may know by now announcing ken frazier will step down as ceo at the end of june and succeeded by cfo robert dave, move to the role of executive chairman frazier of course one of the few black corporate chiefs in this country, ceo since 2011, and the stock has more than doubled during his tenure. jim, i know you are a fan. they do guide higher this morning as well. >> well, ken frazier has done some things here at merck that has made it so i am, he is one of my personal favorite, i lost my mom to cancer at a very young age and i would go back and forth to ken, ken did not make any claims that said his drug, which is the most important drug right now fighting cancer, was going to perform miracles and that's ken's nature, he didn't want to give people false hope, at the same time, he drove profit ability, he is leaving the company, stepping up, in very good hand, for the cfo, but carl, it takes a great deal out of the ceo to not make claims, and when you're talking about people's health, and those of us who have lost loved ones to cancer, all we ever want to hear is tru

meg has more. >> ken frazier will retire as ceo and become executive chairman for some period of time he will be succeeded by the chief financial officer robert davis. i spoke with frazier a while ago. he's been a ceo for a decade, but with merck for 30 years. frazier told me the thing he's most proud of in his years at merck was keeping the flame of the company's deep commitment to scientific research. merck's budget rose 24% during his tenure as ceo. in that time the stock has doubled, but frazier is loathe to take the lion's share for the company's success. one of the biggest moves he made was bringing back dr. roger perlmutter, so big change at the top of merck outside the industry, he's been a singular voice on justice. he joined us on cnbc last summer after the death of george floyd. >> in the long run what is in our enlightened economic self-interest is for all americans feeling like they're participants in our economy. i'll just say, joblessness leads to hopelessness. hopelessness is what we see in the streets. in the inner part of our country, hopelessness leads to the opioid

the big story is the move that ken frazier, the ceo of merck is making to become executive chairman our meg tirrell has a news alert regarding merck. meg, i think you just got off the phone with mr. frazier, is that right >> i did, scott. i sent him a note this morning saying i'd love to talk with you about your career and reflections on that career and my phone rang. it was ken frazier we had a 20-minute long conversation on what he accomplished at merck and public service is in his future there's been speculation that he'll run for office and he said that's not in my plans on running for public office. his passion have involved equity, justice and education. he, of course, is a co-founder of the 110 initiative to close the opportunity gaps for black americans. so these are things that he has focused on even as being ceo of merck. i asked him why now is the right time to resign as ceo of merck, and he noted of course, that they extended the time over the time ceos have stayed and he's over the age of 65 and they allowed him to stay. and merck's plan looks very strong >> one of the thin

. >>> merck's long time ceo is stepping down, ken frazier retiring at the end of june after 30 years with the company. you know, most chief executive changes really aren't news worthy or note worthy. this one is different. his departure will leave three black ceos at fortune 500 companies in america during his tenure, merck became a leader in the emerging field of cancer immunotherapy. his impact extends beyond the board room in recent years, he became an agent for change frasier was the first to lead the former president's advisory council. that decision in response to president trump's refusal to condemn white supremacists after the death of george floyd, he was moved to speak out. he appeared here on cnbc the interview was a real moment amid the crisis as he spoke about his experience and the educational opportunity that he was given. >> i get to sit on cnbc and have this conversation with you because of one fundamental reason and that was when i was growing up in the inner city of philadelphia, the social engineers in philadelphia at the time when dr. king was leading the protest

ken frazier announcing he will step down as ceo and transition to the role of executive chairman effective june 30th frazier joined merck back in 1992 he has been ceo for a decade stock up 135% during his tenure. cfo robert davis will take over the ceo role at merck. >>> all right. let's step out of the world of money and business and get a cnbc news update with sue herera >> good to see you, brian. thanks very much here's what's happening at this hour, everybody. another voting company has filed a massive libel suit over allegations of election fraud. smartmatic wants $2.7 billion from fox news and fox hosts as well as trump lawyers rudy guiliani and sidney powell >>> house speaker nancy pelosi saying it is very concerning that republicans have not taken action against representative marjorie taylor greene forcing democrats to require a vote on removing her from two committees >> today the house will vote to remove representative greene from her seat on education and labor and the budget committees. it is just so unfortunate. you would think that the republican leadership in the congress

ken frazier is retiring on june 30th after leading the company for the last decade. on as executive chairman. he is one of the few black corporate ceos in america. when he retires, that will leave three african-american ceo's in the fortune 500. merck is getting downgrade by keybanc to hold or sector weight. they had a earnings beat better sales with oncology and vaccines. i think the headline is the leadership change. stuart: got it. thank you very much, susan. merck is down 1 1/2%. 76 bucks a share. senator amy klobuchar unveiled a sweeping antitrust bill. lauren what does it mean for future mergers. lauren: they will be scrutinized more than ever and possibly prevented. it's a warning for facebook, alphabet and amazon specifically because they have been under fear for their monopolistic behavior. so democratic senator klobuchar who is now chair of the senate judiciary subcommittee on antitrust, she wants stronger laws and more ammunition for enforcers, ftc and doj of those laws. look, her bill faces long odds of getting republican support to pass. this is the open

nominations are in and there are a few surprising inclusions entertainment tonight's kevin frazier has the story. >>ken and pam you know this year's list of nominees is the hall's most diverse group ever with everyone from hard rock legends to rmb stars to rap >>jay z makes his first appearance on the ballot in his first eligible year as hip-hop's first billionaire his empire expanded beyond music back in 2005 made his priorities very clear i've always been a businessman for some still on his first at heart. arena rockers, the foo fighters also receive their first nom along with the go go's iron maiden and dionne warwick there's no strength like ours. >>as women there is no strength. they like mary j blige brings more woman power to the ballot on and kate bush. >>and ll cool j scores his 6th foul the parents were finally he is lucky deadline. >>tina turner already made the hall of fame in 1991 with her ex i as the carole king in 1994 with this year they were see so low now and could join stevie nicks to become the second and 3rd female artist to enter the whole thing twice. but snow from this year's li

entertainment tonight is honoring the directors and actors who've made hollywood history kevin frazier has the story. pam and ken tonight. per in tears on the show talking about a man to help change her life. mister city but first let's talk about another oprah moment, the 2014 movie selma, which recreated a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. and of course oprah teamed up with visionary director ava duvernay i got a new in my >>a film is about a a campaign that was enacted in march and they knowing they may not get in 1965 doctor martin luther king junior led a peaceful march from selma to montgomery alabama in the fight for equal voting rights when the protesters cross the edmund pettus bridge in selma, they were beaten by state troopers when you as an >>i'm so coming there as someone who'd didn't experience it. they experience it you on that bridge. it's no longer a >>i saw it in a way that i had seen it before in 2015 oprah helped organize a march on martin luther king junior day to mark the 50th anniversary of the protests, the shell march alongside proud to be a part of the >>i want to see real ch

a few days away airing this sunday entertainment tonight's kevin frazier is breaking down a few of the nominees for best kevin pam and kenlywood's biggest parties go to look a little different this year. but the competition for best picture drama is tough as always. >>you didn't do. >>and yeah it the most fun i've ever had to carey mulligan's revenge thriller promising young woman is chasing gold hoping the best globes most-nominated movie say it with back. gary oldman's old hollywood tale faces off against the semi documentary nomadland the anthony hopkins drama, the father and we go to chicago to protest the vietnam war the trial of the chicago 7th already a winner for star power the song best in the world. >>very intimidating for me. >>to be fix them a lot 5 sasha baron cohen is a double nominee. his borat sequel is up for best picture comedy slash >>competition there includes kidman cordon, kerry and street in the prom seized directorial debut music and the time looping andy samberg comedy palm springs. but the one to beat is lin-manuel miranda's hamilton wanted to capture this moment in time captured this incredible