Month: August 2025

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
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Welcome back! Are you looking to infuse your diet with protein and fiber? One sports dietician shared the six meals she swears by for more energy and stronger muscles.

On the agenda:

• Your phone can now tell you how fast you’re aging.
• Men are ditching suits for loose pants and pricey tees in the RTO era.
• Would you spend over $5,000 to remove your under-eye bags?
• Sharon Stone reveals how Robert De Niro upset her on the “Casino” set.

But first: Sharing is caring.

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This week’s dispatch

Welcome to friend socialism

Would you care if your best friend saw what’s in your Amazon cart — or what your neighbor is streaming on Netflix?

Sharing subscription passwords with your family is one thing. But as subscription costs rise, Business Insider’s senior correspondent Emily Stewart writes that more Americans are expanding the definition of “family” — to friends, neighbors, and even strangers.

“The average US consumer pays for about five video subscriptions a month,” Stewart writes. “So, people figure out all sorts of ways to game the system.”

One person told Business Insider she isn’t afraid to share her Nintendo Switch Online subscription with absolute strangers she found on Reddit. Another said she’s opting to share a phone plan with her roommate.

“I was just like, we will literally save so much money if we just do this together,” Nicole Nikolich told Business Insider. “It’s been smooth sailing for years.”

While sharing passwords may have been a way for companies such as Netflix and Disney to hook people onto their services, they’re now cracking down. Even HBO Max has warned customers: Users will “actually start to see some messaging” advising them to pay up, WBD streaming head JB Perrette said.

Meanwhile, other companies such as AT&T seemingly couldn’t care less how their customers use their family plans, as long as they’re using them. A spokesperson for the company told Business Insider that families can “mean a lot of different things.” AT&T even launched a new tool to help different people split payments more easily.

Turns out it takes a village — or at least a good group chat — to afford subscription services these days.

Your face as a medical device

Have you ever wondered how fast you’re aging? There’s an app for that now. Harvard’s “FaceAge” algorithm uses photos of your face to determine your biological age.

FaceAge is an AI-assisted version of a practice doctors have been using for years: getting a quick visual, and then making inferences about how patients are doing. Scientists hope it could one day help physicians diagnose diseases earlier and treat patients better.

We tried — and tricked — it.

Welcome to the smart casual era

As more companies call workers back into the office, men’s workplace dress codes are changing. The stiff suit is no longer the norm; now, it’s all about refined comfort.

Looser silhouettes and even shorts have entered some offices. Some men are taking inspiration from TV shows like “The Bear.”

For suits, tailoring is key.

Ditching your baggage

Lower blepharoplasty (aka “bleph” on TikTok) is a cosmetic surgery that removes excess skin, fat, or muscle in the lower eyelid. Though the average patient is in their 50s or 60s, the procedure is gaining steam among those in their 20s and 30s.

The surgery has become popular as interest in longer-lasting procedures rises. At $5,100 for what is generally a one-time operation, some patients find it a better deal than regular rounds of filler.

Would you pay up for it?

Sharon Stone’s biggest moves

Stone’s breakout role in “Basic Instinct” catapulted her to stardom in 1992. The 67-year-old actor has led a fruitful career in film in the decades since.

In an interview with BI’s Jason Guerrasio, Stone discussed her journey in Hollywood, from rollerskating to auditions to working with Robert De Niro. She still models, too — and said she makes more money in that industry than in film.

Plus, how she almost lost her most famous role.

What we’re watching this weekend

• “The Pickup”: This Amazon Prime Video comedy brings out the big guns with Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson, playing armored truck drivers who have a bad day when they are ambushed by thieves. Eva Longoria and Keke Palmer also star.
• “Platonic”: In season 2 of this Apple TV+ series, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return as former best friends whose reconnection at midlife leads to horrible decisions and lots of laughs.
• “Wednesday”: Over on Netflix, the second season of this hit series finds Jenna Ortega returning as our favorite Addams family member.

What to shop

• How to stay crispy-cool overnight: We cannot overstate how impactful a cooling mattress topper can be for hot sleepers. We know from experience, because we tested a bunch of them. Welcome to a better night’s sleep.
• Women’s workwear for summer: Dressing for the office in the middle of a heatwave isn’t always easy, but our style team is here to help. Here are all the best places to shop for workwear, according to people who receive a lot of compliments on their outfits.
• Yes, we’re still wearing crossbodies: Shoulder bags may be the trend of the moment, but there’s a time and place for a crossbody bag, too. Our style editors share their favorites, and why we’re still wearing them — especially for travel.

More of this week’s top reads:

• For once, good news: More colon cancers are getting caught early as 40-somethings line up for colonoscopies.
• Saunas, pickleball courts, and private golf courses: See inside five of the most expensive homes sold this year.
• A 30-year-old CrossFit star shares her supplement stack for strength, energy, and recovery.
• A couple went to Africa on their fifth date. Now they’re engaged, and the bride-to-be has a custom ring that nods to that trip.
• From Coldplaygate to Jet2holidays, Summer 2025’s biggest vibe is the lack of actual vibes.
• I spent a year traveling around Europe to find where I wanted to live. After several misses, I’ve settled into my dream city.
• See inside a 56-room, Venetian-inspired mansion in Florida that the Ringling circus family built a century ago.

The BI Today team: Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York.

• Miami topped the list of cities where the ultrawealthy are buying second homes in 2025.
• Lisbon, Dubai, and Naples emerged as new hot spots for multimillionaire property buyers.
• The Altrata report revealed how the rich use second homes for security, strategy, and mobility.

If you had $30 million or more, where would you buy a second — or third — home?

For a growing number of the world’s ultrawealthy, the answer isn’t necessarily in places that have long been the haunts of the world’s richest people, like Monaco and St. Tropez.

A new report by wealth intelligence firm Altrata ranked the top 20 cities where ultra-high-net-worth individuals — defined as those with a net worth of at least $30 million — are buying second homes in 2025.

While familiar names like London and New York remain dominant, emerging destinations from Naples, Florida, to Dubai and Lisbon are quickly gaining ground.

The findings are based on Altrata’s proprietary Wealth-X and RelSci databases, which combine verified profiles, residential ownership records, and relationship mapping of the global wealthy.

The report captured a snapshot of global UHNW property data as of July 2025, focusing specifically on privately held secondary residences — homes that are not primary dwellings and are not owned through corporate structures.

In total, Altrata estimates there are around 480,000 UHNW individuals globally.

Increasingly, they’re using real estate as a leveraged asset — a way to gain legal footholds in key jurisdictions, diversify tax exposure, and secure homes that double as investment vehicles and escape plans.

The top 20 cities for second homes in 2025

The report ranked cities by the number of UHNW individuals who own a second residence in each location, looking at both US cities and cities in the rest of the world.

Top 10 US cities:

1. Miami — 13,211
2. New York — 12,813
3. Los Angeles — 8,640
4. San Francisco — 6,477
5. Naples, Florida — 4,213
6. Boston — 3,167
7. San Jose — 2,824
8. Greenwich, Connecticut — 2,732
9. Washington, DC — 2,699
10. Chicago — 2,295

Top 10 cities outside the US:

1. London — 9,221
2. Beijing — 5,648
3. Hong Kong — 4,939
4. Singapore — 4,256
5. Geneva — 1,745
6. Munich — 1,686
7. Milan — 1,650
8. Paris — 1,643
9. Zurich — 1,354
10. Dubai — 1,288

A second home is more than a vacation pad

For many UHNW buyers, a second home is no longer just a vacation getaway. It’s a multi-use asset that blends lifestyle, wealth protection, and geopolitical flexibility.

“Real estate in a rare or beautiful location has the same attributes as gold — except you can use it, enjoy it, build memories with it,” said Jack Cotton, a founding member of REALM and veteran agent with Sotheby’s International Realty.

Cotton added that in today’s volatile world, additional homes are increasingly seen as part of a portfolio strategy. “More and more HNW individuals will consider second, third, and fourth homes as a safe store of value,” he said.

That’s especially true in regions that offer favorable tax environments — such as Florida and Switzerland — or residency-by-investment incentives, like Dubai’s Golden Visa.

Portugal has also seen rising demand from wealthy buyers, with cities like Lisbon becoming increasingly attractive due to lifestyle appeal and relative affordability.

From Aspen to Abu Dhabi, a shift in strategy

Several cities stood out in the report for having a disproportionately high share of second-home ownership.

Naples, Florida, has an astonishing 95% second-home ratio among its UHNW population — nearly all luxury property there is owned as a secondary residence.

Aspen, Colorado, known for its alpine exclusivity, has one ultrawealthy resident for every 77 people — one of the highest concentrations globally.

Meanwhile, Lisbon — ranked 23rd globally for UHNW second-home ownership — is quickly gaining favor among American buyers for its cosmopolitan culture, relative affordability, and, until October 2023, its real estate-backed Golden Visa program.

The Portuguese government officially shut down that route to residency to ease pressure on the local housing market.

Geneva and Zurich — ranked fifth and ninth globally among non-U.S. cities — are also climbing the ranks. They offer wealthy buyers a combination of privacy, security, and political stability, along with proximity to outdoor recreation and world-class education.

London remains Europe’s top second-home magnet

Despite higher taxes and regulatory tightening in the UK, London remains the top international city for second-home ownership among the ultrawealthy, and ranks third globally, behind only Miami and New York.

According to the report, 59% of London’s UHNW property owners are second-homers, a share rivaled only by Miami.

Despite the UK’s changing tax landscape, London’s enduring appeal lies in its legal reliability, global connectivity, cultural prestige, and strong wealth infrastructure.

London continues to attract buyers from the US, the Middle East, Russia, and China, thanks to its strong legal protections, deep financial infrastructure, elite schools, and enduring cultural prestige.

What luxury means in 2025

For today’s ultrawealthy, luxury isn’t defined by square footage or marble finishes — it’s about freedom of movement, intergenerational wealth planning, and institutional-grade security.

“Our clientele increasingly reflects a globally connected elite — individuals and families who live across multiple countries, manage assets internationally, and move seamlessly between continents,” said Marco Tirelli, founder of Tirelli & Partners, a luxury real estate consultancy in Italy.

“The ability to operate across time zones, languages, and legal frameworks is no longer optional — it’s the baseline,” he added.

This mindset is fueling demand in cities like Geneva, Singapore, and London, where legal certainty, privacy, and financial infrastructure support more than lavish living — they support intergenerational wealth planning.

Or as Tirelli put it: “The real luxury today? Time — for oneself, for loved ones, for living well.”

• President Donald Trump has whittled down his list of potential replacements for Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
• Trump told reporters that “the Two Kevins” are among the leading names.
• Prediction markets have swung wildly on reports of potential developments.

President Donald Trump is ready to turn the page on Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Trump’s endless stream of criticisms (and awkward face-to-face meeting) hasn’t convinced the central bank to cut rates or change Powell’s wait-and-see approach.

Amid the impasse, Trump is practically counting down the days until Powell’s term is up.

Earlier this week, Trump said he had a shortlist of names to replace Powell, which included “the two Kevins,” Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, and Kevin Warsh, a former member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

By the end of the week, prediction markets swung wildly based on reports that other names might be rising.

Here are the leading contenders so far

Christopher Waller

Fed Gov. Christopher Waller’s chances appeared diminished when Trump praised “the Two Kevins” on August 5. But Waller’s name rose to the top of leading prediction markets after Bloomberg News reported days later that he was emerging as the president’s favorite.

Waller, a longtime regional Fed official, was seen as a convention pick when Trump nominated him to the central bank in 2019. Simultaneously, Trump also nominated Judy Shelton, a former campaign advisor and a Fed critic. The fight over Shelton’s nomination soon seeped over onto Waller’s.

In December 2020, the Senate confirmed Waller 48-47, the narrowest margin for any Fed governor since 1980, per The New York Times.

In July, Waller joined Gov. Michelle Bowman (another Trump first-term pick) in opposing the Fed’s decision not to cut interest rates, the first dual dissent in more than 30 years.

Kevin Hassett

Before joining Trump’s orbit, Hassett advised a succession of Republican presidential nominees on economic policy, including George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney.

During Trump’s first term, Hassett served as director of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors. He returned to the White House during the COVID-19 pandemic and was severely criticized for publishing a model showing coronavirus deaths hitting zero by May 15, 2020.

In October 1999, Hassett cowrote with journalist Jason Glassman “Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting From the Coming Rise in the Stock Market.” Some economists have heavily criticized the book, largely because the index took more than 22 years to reach that threshold.

Kevin Warsh

Trump reportedly considered Warsh to lead the Fed before he chose to nominate Powell in 2017.

Warsh spent his early years at Morgan Stanley, working as a specialist in mergers and acquisitions. President George W. Bush nominated him to the Fed in 2006 after Warsh served as an economic advisor in the Bush White House.

Drawing on his Wall Street ties, Warsh played a pivotal role in the central bank’s response to the 2008 global financial crisis. When he left the Fed in 2011, the Times called him the Fed’s chief liaison to Wall Street.

From the sidelines, Warsh has echoed Trump’s criticism of Powell, calling for “regime change” at the Fed.

“The specter of the miss they made on inflation, it has stuck with them,” Warsh told CNBC in July. “So one of the reasons why the president, I think, is right to be pushing the Fed publicly is we need regime change in the conduct of policy.”

James Bullard

James “Jim” Bullard spent 15 years leading the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and is now the dean of Purdue’s business school.

During his time on the Fed’s Open Markets Committee, Bullard was viewed as a key indicator of the central bank’s policy. He remains a frequent commentator on economic news.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bullard was one of the new contenders added to a list of roughly 10 people. According to the Journal, Bullard recommended Waller for his eventual Fed nomination in 2019.

Bullard has previously expressed interest in serving as Fed chairman if a vacancy occurred.

Marc Sumerlin

Like others on this list, Sumerlin worked as an economic policy advisor to President George W. Bush and rose to become deputy director of the National Economic Council.

Sumerlin founded a consulting firm in 2013. According to the Journal, his work with the firm has led to interactions with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Once a potential candidate himself, Bessent is conducting initial interviews with all of the candidates.

• I built a successful academic career while raising two kids and managing international moves.
• On the outside, it looked like I was thriving, but inside, I was unraveling under the pressure.
• Now, I know real strength doesn’t come from doing it all; it comes from learning what to lay down.

On paper, I had it all: a Ph.D., an MBA, and leadership roles at universities across Canada, the UK, Australia, and Hong Kong. I was the definition of a driven woman who made things happen.

But behind the accolades was a mother of two trying to keep it all together.

Over a period of five years, my family and I moved across four countries. I rebuilt my career in each one. I showed up as the strong leader, the present mom, the resilient partner.

But no one saw the toll it took behind closed doors — the anxiety, the restlessness, the quiet questioning of whether I could keep going at this pace.

I was silently drowning in expectations, most of them my own

There’s a unique pressure that comes with being a high-achieving woman, especially when you’re also a mother. It’s the invisible weight of always needing to prove your worth — to your workplace, your community, even your family.

I didn’t want to drop any balls. So I juggled faster.

When my husband took on more at work, I took on more at home, while juggling full-time work, two young kids, and postgraduate study. When my children struggled with new environments, I became their anchor. When leadership roles demanded more from me, I delivered, until I had nothing left for myself.

I didn’t realize I was burning out until I reached a breaking point. I was running on empty, and my patience wore thin. I was snapping at my kids, barely sleeping, and constantly overwhelmed.

But I kept performing. That’s what I thought strong women did.

Resilience is about knowing when to let go

We often celebrate women who “do it all,” but we rarely talk about the cost. I used to think resilience meant grinding through, no matter how drained I felt.

But here’s what I’ve learned: real resilience is about choosing — choosing what to carry and what to lay down, choosing rest, boundaries, and values before the world makes those choices for you.

When I finally gave myself permission to pause, I realized how much I’d been holding for everyone else and how little I was holding for myself.

So I let go of the title, the status, the story I’d told myself about what it meant to be “successful.”

I didn’t want to keep modeling a life of silent burnout for my daughters.

It took everything in me to step away from a career I had worked so hard to build. But I knew something had to change. I then chose to rebuild differently this time, from a place of purpose, not performance.

Now I teach what I wish I knew all along

Today, I help people who are in the same place I once was: successful on the outside, but secretly falling apart inside.

I work with professionals, especially women, who are tired of measuring their worth by how much they do. I share the lessons I have learned through coaching, keynotes, and neuroscience-based programs.

First, I teach that awareness is the first step to real change. You can’t shift what you don’t notice. Start by paying attention to how you feel, where you say yes when you mean no, and what patterns are quietly running your life.

I also tell women that they need to protect their energy like a budget. If it costs you peace, it’s too expensive.

Third, I tell women that resilience doesn’t mean doing more. It means knowing when to pause. Rest isn’t a reward. It’s a requirement.

Also, it’s important to set your boundaries before you reach your breaking point. If you wait for permission, you’ll never get it.

Lastly, women need to know that they can stop trying to prove their worth through productivity. Presence matters more than performance.

But most importantly, a successful woman is allowed to pause. We are allowed to protect our peace and redefine what success means to us.

Because success isn’t just about what you build. It’s about who you become along the way.