We asked millionaires, founders, and CEOs what they want for the holidays.
Answers included backcountry ski setup and cheese of the month club.
Time with family was also high on their lists.
What do high-powered CEOs and millionaires have on their holiday wish lists? Like all of us, they want more quality time with family. They’re also asking for sports equipment, monthly subscriptions, and tech-empowered better sleep.
Here’s what 10 millionaires and CEOs are wishing for this year.
A Lego set (and a diamond bracelet).
Courtesy of Lego
Lauren Levy, cofounder of clothing brand Magnetic Me, is hoping for an activity that the whole family can enjoy.
“My family is both huge Lego and art lovers, so this Lego Van Gogh Sunflowers Set is a gift that we can work on together and then enjoy long after,” she said.
Makena Finger Zannini, founder and CEO of The Boutique COO, started getting into skiing at the behest of her husband. This year, she hopes for a set of backcountry skis so she can truly excel in the sport.
“Last year I rented, and the skis were way too big for me, so I fell a bunch,” Finger Zannini says. She’s wishing for this Salomon ski set, in the Cosmic Sky color scheme.
Finger Zannini isn’t the only one hoping to up her winter recreation game. Aaron Nosbisch, CEO of BRĒZ, wants new snowboard gear from 686. Building a company “takes a lot out of you,” he says, “and making space for real play has become essential for staying balanced.”
Cheese and cookies.
Courtesy of Murray’s Cheese
Brett Heyman, founder of Flower by Edie Parker, is hoping for a monthly gift to bring some brightness even after the holidays end.
“Winter is long, and by the end of January I’m less motivated to leave the house for fun,” she says. “I’m a big ‘of the month club’ fan. Be it fruit, wine, or my personal favorite, cheese. I was given Murray’s monthly cheese club many years ago by somebody who clearly knew and loved me. If my husband is reading this, I would be thrilled to receive this again.”
“I’ve both given and received them in the past, and they’re always a delight,” she says. “When in doubt, a sweet treat is the perfect gift because you can share them with family and friends, or save them all for yourself — who could blame you?”
A fancy toilet.
Richard Lambert gets most of his work through Fiverr.
“Ordinary moments now will turn out to be everything,” he says.
As for a gift that can be wrapped? “I’ve always been curious about those high-tech Japanese toilets,” Lambert says.
Wide-toe-box shoes.
Courtesy of Altra Running
Sara Schiller, cofounder of Sloomoo Institute, started long-distance running as a form of self-care. This year, she’s completed four marathons.
“This holiday season, I am hoping to get a pair of Altra Escalante sneakers to wear for the London Marathon this spring,” she says. “Running aside — these zero-drop, wide-toe box sneakers have changed my day-to-day look. I took the 30-day challenge of wearing them every day and never looked back. Now I just need more colors!”
A game of Monopoly.
Courtesy of Hasbro
Kim Perell, an entrepreneur and mom of two sets of twins, wants to spend the holiday season “doing the simple things that don’t cost much but mean the most.” That includes a beach walk, a cozy movie night, and “a competitive game of Monopoly,” she said.
Better sleep, supported by tech.
Courtesy of Eight Sleep
Darren Litt, CEO of Hiya, wants to start the new year with better sleep, supported by technology. He’s asking for a pod from Eight Sleep, a smart system that optimizes temperature, sleep position, and other metrics.
“It fits perfectly with how I think about health, which is easy daily habits supported by great tech,” he said.
Do-nothing days.
Courtesy of Stacey Little
Chef and cookbook author Stacey Little hopes to spend a few days at home with his wife and son, with “no appointments, no projects, and no travel.”
“It is easy for this whole season to go by in a blur,” he says. “A few protected days at home where we can make simple meals, eat leftovers for supper, and linger around the table without rushing anywhere feels like the best gift I could ask for. For me, that unhurried time with my family is worth more than anything wrapped up in a box.”
Small mining towns flourished at the start of the 1900s, and many were abandoned by the mid-century.
Up until the 1930s, horse-drawn carriages and automobiles could still be seen on the same streets.
Today, many of these towns lean on their history as tourist attractions.
Rural small towns today might be shaped by Dollar General stores and rusty industrial plants, but many across the US were once lively brick-paved main streets where domestic manufacturing and tight-knit communities flourished.
Some of America’s small towns have grown in recent years, with young people moving in, while others that prospered a century ago now lie abandoned.
By the mid-century, declining industries began shaping what is now known as the Rust Belt, where once-booming iron, steel, and automobile plants were abandoned as manufacturing industries moved overseas.
But before the economic turmoil, small towns across the US were home to close communities, quaint main streets, and the first automobiles.
In some villages and small towns, like Normal, Nebraska, the bank was a building smaller than a house. In Hugo, Oregon, the high school was the size of a midsize church.
Oatman, Arizona, started as a mining town after gold was found nearby in the early 1900s.
Oatman, Arizona, 1922.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Between the early 1900s and the 1940s, Oatman and nearby Gold Road were Arizona’s biggest gold producers, and the town used to be a bustling center with over 10,000 inhabitants.
When 2020 census data was collected, it had a population of 102 people.
Today, the “lively ghost town” is defined by its streets of historic buildings, burros on the streets, and people wearing old-timey clothing and gunfighter costumes, as reported by Legends of America.
The main street in Manning, Iowa, was a dirt road until it was paved in 1915.
Manning, Iowa, late 1910s or early 1920s.
Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images
The town was founded in 1881 and was named for O.H. Manning, a politician.
The town of 1,500 is about 2 miles long and 2 miles wide, and its Main Street was paved in 1915, a community website reported.
In Eastman, Wisconsin, in 1920, the town’s power plant was a small building that looked like it could be someone’s home.
Eastman was established in 1855 and was named for Ben C. Eastman, a member of Congress from the district.
More recently, the town has a population of 350, according to 2020 census data.
The state bank in Normal, Nebraska, is pictured in the early 1900s.
Normal, Nebraska, early 1900s.
FPG/Getty Images
The town was annexed in 1919 to become a part of the nearby city of Lincoln.
In 1927, all 84 residents of Hermosa, South Dakota gathered to meet President Coolidge.
Hermosa, South Dakota, 1927.
George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge took a “working vacation” to South Dakota’s Black Hills to get a break from the hectic politics of Washington, DC, and win over rural populations, The Rapid City Journal reported.
The president’s visit was supported by the expansion of the air mail service, which helped communications from the small, remote town, Vermont Public reported.
A town baseball game can be seen in this image of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, in 1910.
Boothbay Harbor, Maine, 1910.
Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images
The town of Boothbay Harbor was incorporated in 1889 and became a trading and shipbuilding center.
Today, the coastal town’s main industries are boat manufacturing, fishing, and tourism, according to the Boothbay Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
Pictured in Cordell, Oklahoma, in 1920, two people pose by a sign that discourages speeding.
Cordell, Oklahoma, circa 1920.
Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis via Getty Images
The town was established on land taken from the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, at the end of the 19th century, a general merchandise store with a post office was established nearby. The name of the town honors a postal employee, Wayne W. Cordell.
In the early 1900s, Manhattan, Nevada, attracted settlers after gold was found nearby.
Main street in Manhattan, Nevada, in the early 1900s.
Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images
In 1905, a prospector found gold, and within a year, its population had reached 4,000, Travel Nevada reported.
Today, about 125 people reside in the town, and residents often refer to their community as a “living ghost town,” per Nevada’s state tourism agency.
Bannack, Montana, also began as a mining town after gold was discovered in a nearby creek.
Main Street in Bannack, Montana, 1920.
Corbis Historical/Getty Images
Although the town had enjoyed decades of prosperity due to the resources provided by Grasshopper Creek, by the 1930s, few residents remained.
In the following decade, the local school had to close down due to a lack of students, effectively turning the once-prosperous town into a ghost town. It is now part of a state park where dilapidated buildings are preserved.
Bonners Ferry, Idaho, pictured in 1926, was another bustling mining community.
Bonners Ferry, Idaho, 1926.
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
Gold was discovered nearby in the mid-1800s.
Today, the town of 2,500 features a revitalized downtown area for tourists to visit, according to the town’s website.
In 1925, Dayton, Tennessee, became famous for the Scopes Trial.
Main Street in Dayton, Tennessee, 1925.
George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images
In 1925, a Dayton high school science teacher, John T. Scopes, was tried and found guilty for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in what became known as the Scopes Trial.
Hugo High School, pictured in 1926, taught students in Hugo, Oregon, for more than 50 years.
Hugo High School, Hugo, Oregon, 1926.
Corbis/Getty Images
The discovery of gold in the county in the 1850s brought families to the area. The school opened in the 1890s and closed in 1967, according to its alumni Facebook page; this aligned with the trend of schools closing in rural towns in the mid-20th century, as populations moved to cities and amid school consolidations and reforms.
Fleischmanns, New York, was a vacation town for those looking to escape the New York City heat.
Fleischmanns, New York, 1925.
The New York Historical Society/Getty Images
Farmers discovered they could make money from people leaving the city, and hotels and guest houses popped up throughout the town.
The town was home to 210 residents during the 2020 census.
Provincetown, Massachusetts, began as a fishing and whaling community.
Art museum in Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1921.
The Boston Globe via Getty Images
In 1914, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum was founded by a group of prominent local artists. They worked with local businesses to create an art collection and educate the public in the arts.
The town is known for being the 1620 landing site of the Mayflower.
Lumber operations are pictured in Crossett, Arkansas, in the 1920s.
Crossett, Arkansas, 1920s.
Corbis/Getty Images
The town was named after Edward S. Crossett, a lumber entrepreneur.
Stillwater, Minnesota, was incorporated in 1854 and also began as a lumbering town.
Stillwater, Minnesota, 1926.
Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
The town “had all the ingredients for a lumbering town,” as reported by the Washington County Historical Society. The town features rivers connecting the small community to the pine forests of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, and still waters that allowed for the raft assembly industry to flourish locally.
In 2011, Forbes named it as one of America’s prettiest towns.
Holy City, California, was established by a cult leader and white supremacist, William E. Riker, in 1919.
Holy City, California, circa 1928.
MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images
Holy City was created not as a religious oasis, as the name would indicate, but instead as “a commune and tourist trap created in the 1920s by a white-supremacist huckster,” the San Francisco Chronicle wrote.
The Chronicle also reported that Holy City was reduced to “a few derelict buildings” after facing fire, neglect, and a new freeway that cut off the compound from major roads.
Mercury News reported in 2016 that the town was purchased after a decade on the market by Robert and Trish Duggan, billionaire Scientologists.
Taos, New Mexico, was established as early as 1000 AD by the Taos Pueblo people.
Taos, New Mexico, between 1920 and 1940.
Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
Historians estimate that the ancestors of the Taos Pueblo people built their living structures, as well as pottery and ceremonial buildings, as far back as 1000 AD, according to Taos.org.
Wrangell, Alaska, pictured below in the early to mid-1900s, was discovered by the Tlingit tribe.
Wrangell, Alaska, in the early to mid 1900s.
Visual Studies Workshop/Getty Images
The Native Alaskan populations remained isolated until the early 1800s, per Wrangell’s website.
Lt. Dionysius Zarembo, a Russian-American ship commander, landed on present-day Wrangell in 1833. It is the only city in Alaska to be ruled by four nations and under three flags — Tlingit, Russia, England, and the United States — according to the town’s website.
South Pass City, Wyoming, was founded as a gold mining town. It was later abandoned.
South Pass City, Wyoming, late 1920s.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Today, the town is a historic site tourists can visit and see over 20 original restored buildings, per Wyoming History.
