New data showed which jobs had the highest fatal work injury rates in 2024.
Logging workers had a rate of over 100 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
The rate for all workers was just 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
Being a logging worker can be deadly.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released last week the results from the 2024 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. It showed 5,070 Americans died at work, down from 5,283 a year prior, marking the second straight year of a decline.
Transportation incidents at work accounted for the largest number of fatal injuries among the six categories tracked by BLS, with over 1,900 in 2024. Falls, slips, and trips made up over 800.
Some occupations are riskier to do. The fatal work injury rate, based on the total number of hours employees in each occupation worked in 2024 and the number of fatal injuries, was 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, but the rate for logging workers far surpassed that.
These workers, who often work with equipment and machinery outdoors to get their jobs done, had 51 fatal work injuries, leading to a rate of 110.4 fatalities per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers. Driver/sales workers and truck drivers had a high number of fatal work injuries at 950, leading to a rate of 25.7 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers.
Sharon Osbourne, 73, says she won't begin her morning until she's checked the news.
After that, she moves on to her beauty routine, which includes icing her face and applying a mask.
She's equally meticulous about her red hair, which she refreshes "every 10 days."
Before Sharon Osbourne, 73, begins her morning beauty ritual, there's something else she must do.
"The morning routine has to be the news, the world news. I'm, like, addicted to it," Osbourne told host Bunnie XO on her "Dumb Blonde" podcast. "I'll check Instagram, check my emails, and then I start with the ice on the face."
The TV personality and wife of Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July, is specific about how she uses ice in her skincare routine.
"I do the bowl, and then I do it in, you know, in a little baggie, and just keep doing it. And then I do a face mask, and then I start the day," she said.
Osbourne is equally meticulous about her hair, refreshing her signature red shade "every 10 days."
But keeping the bold color vibrant isn't easy since it gets "everywhere," she said.
"It's a nightmare. My neck is red. Everything I wear is red. The pillowcases," Osbourne said.
She added that the closest she ever came to going blonde was getting highlights in the '80s, but red is the shade she keeps coming back to because her mother was a redhead.
"Of course, you know, it's gray or white or whatever color it is underneath. And I tried doing that, and that was just miserable," Osbourne said.
"I would look at my reflection sometimes, like in a shop window. I'd go, who the fuck is that? It's me. Like, no thanks," she said.
Osbourne isn't the only public figure who says reading the news is a nonnegotiable part of their mornings.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says he starts his day by reading Techmeme, a site that aggregates tech news from across outlets.
Martha Stewart, 84, says she wakes up at around 4:30 a.m. and spends the first part of her morning reading the news and doing puzzles.
Peter Warwick, CEO of Scholastic, says he begins each morning by browsing news sites and checking for updates on his favorite English Premier League team, Arsenal.
Meet the up-and-coming marketing power players of 2026.
These rising leaders are driving growth for brands like Meta and Coca-Cola.
They're mastering tech like generative AI and creating inspiring work to reach new audiences.
The next generation of marketing leaders is helping brands navigate an industry being rocked by new tech and a changing competitive landscape.
Business Insider is highlighting 16 rising stars who are looking to take the industry to new heights. They're making use of emerging tools like generative AI and tapping into cultural insights to create work that grabs attention and drives growth.
One of this year's cohorts has helped a major beauty brand steer away from traditional "antiaging" messaging. Another led social media and influencer marketing for one of the biggest AI hardware launches of the last year.
This list is based on our reporting and more than 40 nominations. These marketers sit below the CMO level and represent a variety of roles, ranging from creative to social media and experiential marketing.
They come from blue-chip brands like Nestlé and Disney, as well as startups like Apollo.io and Tennr.
Scroll on to check out our 2026 rising stars of brand marketing cohort, listed alphabetically by last name.
Rachel Ferrigno, 36 — associate director of content marketing and SEO, Zoetis
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Ferrigno is turning the animal-health company Zoetis' organic marketing channels into revenue drivers. She leads a team of four marketers and multiple agency partners, and is responsible for setting the vision, aligning priorities, and coaching her team and other leaders in the business on best practices.
After the company brought content marketing and SEO in-house, Ferrigno generated about 50,000 leads in a year and helped the division deliver $26 million in annual sales and $4.1 million in savings, the company said.
Ferrigno is also involved with other high-impact company initiatives.
She took on the role of content lead for Zoetis' generative-AI pilot program, advising on governance and use cases to scale content production in the highly regulated animal-health industry. Ferrigno has been involved in driving content for the company's brand campaigns, such as the launch of its Breed Explorer interactive content experience.
Her work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the New Jersey Ad Club's "Top Marketing Mavericks Under 40" and a Vetty award for the best digital education tool.
Benny Gee, 51 — creative director, Edmunds
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Last year, Gee took charge of the creative vision behind Edmunds' largest brand awareness campaign, "Project Triple Play."
The campaign played on the idea that the Los Angeles Dodgers super-utility player Tommy Edman's name sounds quite a lot like "Edmunds." With a media budget of less than $1 million, Gee had to get creative and developed a "go deep" campaign strategy designed to simulate a national impact in a single critical market: LA, the brand's hometown and the nation's biggest car market.
Gee's team made 30 creative assets in-house, including its hero ad, "Edman on the Street," a high-energy street interview with quick cuts and a playful tone. He also led the team's use of AI, leveraging the generative-AI tool Midjourney to quickly bring concepts to life.
Gee created a "war room" approach, aligning brand marketing, PR, product, and external agency partners so the brand could quickly respond with content as the Dodgers' season unfolded. When the Dodgers made the postseason and won the World Series, Gee extended the campaign's reach through radio spots, homepage takeovers, and other rapid-response creative. The postseason extension delivered more than 2 million YouTube views.
Brand awareness in LA grew 8.8%, while brand consideration among its core 35- to 44-year-old demographic rose 5.4%, per Edmunds. Google searches for Edmunds in LA surged 111%. The number of LA-based users who completed Edmunds' car appraisal tool without clicking from paid advertising rose 7% and the buy rate — the percentage of users selling their cars in the LA market — rose 7.4%, Edmunds said.
Zuri Godfrey, 26 — integrated marketing manager for wearables, Meta
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Godfrey joined Meta in May last year and immediately took ownership of one of the company's biggest consumer hardware launches, the AI-powered Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses and Meta Neural Band.
The task: position the devices as a meaningful step forward for everyday AI adoption.
Godfrey was in charge of all social media and influencer marketing for the Meta Ray-Ban Display ahead of launch. He led partnerships with the video journalist Cleo Abram and tech creators, including Unbox Therapy. Abram's review video notched up 1.2 million views within 48 hours of posting.
Godfrey was also instrumental in ensuring the marketing activity was matched with a measurement-driven approach, building dashboards that continue to be used today to monitor and evaluate social media and influencer marketing effectiveness.
In 2024, Godfrey founded The Village, a nonprofit group mentorship program that supports more than 40 mentors and 200-plus college students and graduates. The Village helps build a recruiting pipeline for brands seeking early-career marketing talent. Last year, he cocreated Creator Crossovers, an event series for The Village that connects brands and tastemakers.
Fiona Green, 41 — head of communications, Amazon Community Operations
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Previously head of editorial and brand content for Amazon Ads, Green moved into her current role in January 2025. She leads a new communications group designed to positively shape the public perception of Amazon's role in the community. She collaborates closely with several other teams — including PR, legal, and operations — to deliver integrated storytelling.
Notably, she spearheaded a documentary series and brand campaign dubbed "Community First." It features Amazon employee stories, such as a Marine Corps drill instructor's transition to become an Amazon area manager.
Green's team coordinated a distribution approach that spanned ads on streaming TV, audio, and social media, as well as amplification from Amazon executives. The campaign's success also shifted internal dynamics, with numerous teams proactively seeking partnerships with Green's group.
Green's work earned multiple industry awards last year, including wins at the Shorty Awards, Digital Streaming and Video Content Awards, and the Native Advertising Institute Awards.
Mohib Iqtidar, 30 — global marketing director, NYX Cosmetics
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Iqtidar has helped redefine how L'Oréal engages with mature consumers. In under seven years at the company, he's been promoted five times and worked in three countries.
In his role at L'Oréal Paris Skincare, Iqtidar helped reverse years of decline in the Age Perfect franchise by leading a strategic shift toward a science-driven, empowering narrative around longevity and better aging. Moving away from traditional "antiaging" messaging, the brand embraced advocacy-led storytelling — an approach that helped make L'Oréal Paris the top beauty brand by social reach and engagement in 2025, up nine ranks year over year, according to CreatorIQ.
The marketing shift culminated in the September launch of Le Duo Sérum, the brand's first double serum. It became the top-selling serum at launch, doubling growth for the Age Perfect franchise.
He moved into his current role as global face strategy lead at NYX Professional Makeup in March of last year. Under his leadership, NYX has sought to solve consumer pain points and deliver shade and undertone inclusivity for the mass market, such as through the launch of its "Make 'Em Wonder" foundation.
NYX capped the year by being named WWD's "mass brand of the year" in November.
Jedo joined Disney+ in November to manage the growth marketing influencer program in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. She has almost a decade of experience in talent relations, brand strategy, and influencer marketing.
Prior to joining Disney, Jedo was the global celebrity and influencer lead at Bumble. She helped the dating app secure partnerships with A-list influencers and celebrities, including "Chicken Shop Date" host Amelia Dimoldenberg and actor Barry Keoghan, to feature in multimillion-dollar brand campaigns. Her remit also included onboarding licensed psychotherapy and wellness experts, including Devi Brown and Jillian Turecki, to create editorial content for social and the app.
Jedo's impact is amplified through her TikTok account, where she shares insights and guidance on breaking into the creative and tech sectors to nearly 100,000 followers. Through this channel, she's partnered with brands including Nike, ELEMIS, Celsius, and Look Fantastic.
Jedo gives back to up-and-coming creators from underrepresented backgrounds through her mentorship roles with the Soho House x Creative Mentor Network and Ok Mentor.
Elsewhere, she serves on the advisory board for VidCon, helping to shape the programming for the annual creator convention.
Megan McLaughlin, 37 — director of marketing, Nestlé USA
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McLaughlin oversees Nestlé's Stouffer's portfolio, spanning its popular lasagna and a shelf-stable mac and cheese that launched in 2024 to take on Kraft.
McLaughlin was instrumental in the launch of the Stouffer's "When the Clock Strikes Dinner" campaign, one of the brand's biggest in recent years, in partnership with the WPP agencies VML and OpenMind.
The time-precise campaign came to life at 4 p.m. each day, taking over TV, social media, and out-of-home placements to play on the idea of "dinner dread," when people start to think — and often stress — about what to cook for their evening meals.
VML said the campaign delivered 1.6 billion impressions and a positive increase in unit sales.
McLaughlin joined Nestlé as a retail sales representative in 2010 and has worked her way up through a variety of positions, spanning digital shopper marketing and new business strategy. She was promoted to her current role in 2024.
Natacha McLeod, 41 — senior manager, creative, The Coca-Cola Company
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McLeod has led multiple national marketing pushes for Sprite and Fanta over the past year.
As the creative lead behind Sprite + Tea — a limited edition soda combining classic Sprite with the taste of black tea — McLeod developed the creative brief and formalized a brand, packaging, and visual identity framework. Her scope also included social content, creator partnerships, and nationwide sampling activations. The standout packaging, combined with creator-led social storytelling, helped generate more than 8 billion impressions and reached 80% of its target audience, per Coca-Cola. Importantly, it helped drive tens of millions of dollars in sales.
McLeod was instrumental in leading the 10-week Fanta Halloween campaign. The spooky push included custom cans and a partnership with Universal Pictures, incorporating the Chucky, Freddy Fazbear, M3gan, The Grabber, and Michael Myers characters. She creatively led The Haunted Factory, a 7,700-square-foot, live-action experience in New York City that got more than 1,000 visitors.
For Sprite, McLeod relaunched the brand's "Anta Claus" holiday campaign, featuring the NBA star Anthony Edwards, to promote its Winter Spiced Cranberry flavor. For this second iteration of the campaign, she expanded its reach through custom content partnerships with Playmaker, Wave Sports, and My Code.
"Natacha has significantly developed her creative point of view through her work on Sprite and Fanta. She consistently pushes the work forward with clarity, intention, and a strong understanding of both the brand and the consumer," said A.P. Chaney, head of creative for sparkling flavors at Coca-Cola's North America operating unit.
Junichi Otake, 42 — senior director of creative, Crunchyroll
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Otake builds trust with licensors and partners to create high-impact digital and IRL experiences for Crunchyroll, the anime streaming platform. These experiences reached hundreds of thousands of fans in 2025.
To build excitement ahead of the September theatrical release of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle," Otake created an immersive experience that invited fans to step inside the movie's castle, complete with twisting corridors and a disorienting lair.
Elsewhere, Otake's team brought the "Gachiakuta" manga series to life at several major conventions last year. The Pitmaster activation was a hands-on treasure hunt inspired by the series' core theme: the trash society discards can become powerful tools in the right hands. Participants were invited to dig through a massive dumpster filled with items sourced from Goodwill and local donation centers to pull a piece of "trash," and exchange it for collectible rewards.
The experience drew more than 4,000 people per day at the Anime Expo, where Otake's team had placed a 3D billboard inviting fans to participate.
Katie Parkes, 35 — director of social, community, and customer marketing, Apollo.io
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Over the past year, Parkes has quadrupled the size of AI sales platform Apollo.io's social media and community team. She built the company's influencer program from scratch, partnering with major sales-focused accounts and creators like Corporate Bro and Morgan Ingram. She helped shift the brand's tone from product-focused messaging to humorous storytelling that addresses sales pain points.
This past fall, Apollo held its first in-person user conference, ApolloNEXT. Parkes was instrumental in building awareness of the event, helping the company generate more than 4.5 million impressions across a variety of channels.
Parkes has ramped up the social visibility of Apollo's leadership team on LinkedIn, generating more than 890,000 impressions for four of the company's executives. She also launched Apollo on Reddit, growing the r/UseApolloIo subreddit to more than 1,000 members.
Parkes "combines measurable impact, modern audience strategy, and empathetic leadership — demonstrating the mindset to shape the future of B2B," said Michelle Seo, senior social media consultant at Apollo.io.
Celeste Roque, 36 — director of social media, Tubi
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Roque is turning Tubi's social media presence into a growth engine and positioning the brand as "the people's streamer."
Tubi had fun with the long-running Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition news cycle last year. When The Onion posted that a media company bid $35 for WBD, Tubi quickly responded, saying it was "raising the bid to $36." The post took off well beyond X. Jimmy Fallon joked on late-night TV that Tubi's bid included Slim Jims, $20, and scratch-offs.
Roque also aligned teams around a shared vision for Super Bowl LIX, during which Tubi broke live-streaming viewership records. Roque developed a social media playbook centered on participatory fandom and creator collaboration, which the brand applies to tentpole cultural moments.
Last year, inspired by TikTok creator Aiyanna, who was hosting informal Tubi nights for her 4.4 million followers, Roque's team launched the Tubi Seafood Boil Movie Night event.
Roque has helped Tubi lean into online fan communities around the "Bad Girls Club" TV show. Her team created a fictional employee named "Shawn from Tubi" who saved the day by having a word with his employer and bringing the show back to the platform after it was removed from the service. Rather than controlling the narrative, Roque's team invited fans to build lore alongside the brand, leading to plenty of memes, niche inside jokes, and engagement.
Kasey Ryan, 39 — director of brand marketing, Zaxbys
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Ryan has been a key contributor to Zaxbys' "Grow to Win" business transformation strategy, working to differentiate the fast-casual dining chain's brand messaging in the competitive fried chicken category.
Ryan leads a team that represents roughly a quarter of the marketing organization and has helped lead the evolution of the brand's positioning — centered on its boneless chicken offerings and 12 proprietary sauces — across TV, digital, PR, and merchandising.
In January of this year, trade publication QSR magazine named Zaxbys its "transformational brand of 2025," reflecting Ryan and her team's efforts to elevate the brand through creative storytelling.
Since Ryan stepped into her role in 2024, Zaxbys has expanded key in-house capabilities, including graphic design and social content creation. Ryan is also the client lead for Zaxbys' creative and PR agencies, guiding projects from creative development through to performance analysis.
Jasmine Sharpe, 36 — director and head of creative, Grubhub
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Last year, Sharpe led a complete overhaul of Grubhub's visual identity. The work was done entirely in-house and within just a few months of Wonder's acquisition of Grubhub.
Sharpe spearheaded a vision that put food at the center of the brand's visual identity. The project aimed to differentiate Grubhub in a competitive category and introduced a sharper wordmark, a new typeface, a bolder color palette, and a motion design framework. The success of the rebrand, which launched in May, earned Sharpe a promotion to head of creative at Grubhub, 18 months after she joined the company.
"She is the ideal person to guide our creative strategy as we continue to evolve," said Grubhub's vice president of brand, Marnie Kain.
Sharpe also played a central role in developing Grubhub's first national Super Bowl ad.
Katelyn Stokes, 37 — marketing director, Maruchan
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Stokes has played a central role in positioning Maruchan, the popular instant noodle brand, for new Gen Z audiences while continuing to serve its loyal fan base.
She partnered with Maruchan's product innovation and sales teams to build a comprehensive brand growth blueprint, which evolved its marketing to an always-on communications approach versus the prior campaign-led strategy. As part of those efforts, she helped build an in-house social team, designed to react quickly to the trends and cultural topics of the day and partner with relevant creators.
She also launched Maruchan's TikTok Shop, helping turn social engagement into sales. For Valentine's Day this year, Maruchan launched its Saucy Noods spicy ramen product. Maruchan eschewed traditional Valentine's Day messaging and invited its Gen Z target audience on platforms like Bumble and Snap to "send noods" — boxes of Saucy Noods, to be precise — to their crushes, via TikTok Shop.
"Katelyn has a rare ability to connect consumer behavior, creativity, and commerce in a way that feels natural, brave, and human," said Margaret Johnson, chief creative officer of Goodby Silverstein & Partners, which worked with Maruchan on the Saucy Noods push. "She's not just launching products — she's shaping how modern brands should behave."
Partnerships have been a key tenet of Maruchan's marketing strategy. Last year, Stokes helped Maruchan develop a partnership with PAC-MAN, rooted in the brands' shared Japanese heritage. She also identified a fast-growing search trend for "Maruchan Loca" — where people were combining its noodles with a Flamin' Hot Cheetos topping — and struck a partnership with PepsiCo to co-create an influencer-led campaign to encourage consumers to post content using its Maruchan DIY kit.
Ryan Taljonick, 39 — senior director of global brand marketing, 2K
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Taljonick works to drive fan engagement for 2K, the video game publisher.
His team employed a local marketing approach for the global launch of Sid Meier's "Civilization VII" in February, honing in on regional gaming communities tailored for different international markets.
In the US, Taljonick's team formed a partnership with the Shawnee Tribe, following the Tribe's inclusion as a playable civilization in the game. 2K funded a recording studio to help support Shawnee language preservation efforts. The initiative earned 2K a Gold Clio award in the "experiential and fan engagement" category. The Clios are annual ad industry awards that recognize top creative work. Collectively, Taljonick's work for "Civilization VII" earned five trophies at the Clio awards last year.
In Europe, Taljonick's team and 2K's international marketers secured a partnership with Interrail, transforming in-game historical eras with real-world train journeys.
And in China, the team created "The Civ Wonder World Tour," a multi-party documentary that explored notable sites and cities featured in the game. The influencer-led activation got more than 7 million views.
Beyond the launch itself, Taljonick continued to drive sustained engagement with monthly communications about gameplay updates and by interacting with players across Discord and Reddit.
Mia Vandermeer, 27 — content and brand marketing manager, Tennr
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Vandermeer uses her background in film, theater, and improv comedy to create humorous messaging for Tennr, an automation platform for healthcare that handles tedious paperwork.
Over the past year, Vandermeer ideated, wrote, and produced the scripts for two major brand campaigns.
"F*x It" was based on the insight that primary care doctors typically send patient referrals via fax. In the spot, a healthcare provider calls a specialist to inform them that a patient referral will take a while to process. The specialist responds, "Just f*x it," with the word "fax" bleeped out as if it were a profanity. The campaign, Tennr's first-ever, helped generate a 14% increase in lead volume, the company said. It was also named MM+M's "campaign of the week" by the industry trade publication in July.
"Nobody told her we wanted to do a video. Nobody told her to write a script. We just were huddling in a room seven months ago, and the only instructions that I ever gave was, 'Let's do something big,'" Tennr CEO Trey Holterman said of Vandermeer in an interview with MM+M.
Tennr followed up "F*x It" with "The Blizzard," an irreverent take on the doom-laden January re-verification season when providers need to reconfirm patients' insurance coverage, benefits, and eligibility. Tennr said the campaign generated a 9% increase in lead generation.
A record number of the global rich are adopting new countries as their primary residence.
They cite political instability, tax laws, and quality of life as reasons for the move.
A few unexpected destinations are luring ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Andrew Rosener had already built a successful domain name brokerage when he and his wife found themselves asking a familiar question: Where do we want to live, not just work?
The answer turned out to be Portugal.
The American founder of MediaOptions, a domain broker, says the country checked every box: safe, sunny, affordable, and steeped in a culture that feels both European and Latin American. "There's no other place like it," he says. "Portugal created the single greatest immigration culture on Earth," he says, citing the Golden Visa, the Startup Visa, the Digital Nomad Visa, and the Tech Visa, among other programs offered by the country.
The Rosener family flew over in May 2018. "Ten days later, we bought our dream house," Rosener says. "Since then, the value's gone up 250%."
The entrepreneur was an early adopter. In 2018, only 108,000 extremely wealthy individuals emigrated to a new country. Since then, the global migration of the ultrawealthy has grown dramatically. According to the private wealth research firm Henley & Partners, 134,000 UHNWIs migrated in 2024, a year when more than 70 countries went to the polls and upended civil norms. By the end of 2025, more than 142,000 HNWIs were expected to have relocated.
"We're seeing a dramatic shift in global wealth flows," said Jeremy Savory, founder of Millionaire Migrant, a global consulting firm that helps wealthy families find places to relocate. "More people are rethinking traditional wealth hubs like the UK and China, while places like Portugal, the UAE, and Singapore are surging in popularity."
The reasons behind these relocations are as diverse as the individuals making the move, but a few key factors stand out. Tax efficiency is at the top of the list. Wealthy non-Americans are increasingly seeking countries where they can retain a greater share of their earnings, particularly through capital gains, income, and estate taxes. Countries with lower tax burdens offer a substantial financial advantage, making them highly attractive to the global elite.
Switzerland, for example, has a lump-sum tax scheme that uses a taxpayer's lifestyle expenses as a surrogate tax base, rather than taxing global income and assets. Panama taxes citizens only on income earned in the country, making it a true tax haven. The UAE doesn't levy income tax; instead, it relies on a 5% value-added tax. Since US citizens are taxed on worldwide income, they don't really benefit from alternative tax strategies — unless, perhaps, they leave a state like California or New York, with their high state and city taxes. However, says Basil Mohr Elzeki, Managing Partner at Henley & Partners, "Obtaining additional residencies and citizenships still remains a hedge for future potential tax reforms in the United States."
Geopolitical safety is another driver. With political instability, civil unrest, and even the threat of war growing at an alarming rate in many parts of the world — think Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan — wealthy individuals are opting to leave regions where they feel vulnerable in favor of more stable and secure environments. Quality of life is also a significant consideration. The Roseners are having a blast in Portugal, where they have access to decent healthcare, world-class education, clean and well-maintained public spaces, and a low crime rate. And while the country provides almost no social benefits and has some of the lowest wages in all of Europe, it deters migrants with less wealth seeking employment. "So if you're looking for work, there is no reason to come here," Rosener says.
Nevertheless, business opportunities play a crucial role in deciding where to plant a flag. Many of the global wealthy are relocating to cities that offer entrepreneurial freedom, often lacking in more bureaucratic regions. The ability to set up and run businesses with fewer regulatory hurdles is a compelling draw for people looking to capitalize on global opportunities or launch a startup.
And let's not understate the benefits of having a "good" passport. With growing restrictions on travel to many countries, wealthy individuals are applying for second residencies or even multiple citizenships as a safeguard. This "Plan B" provides them not only with a strategic escape route in the face of unforeseen political or social upheaval but also with a sense of greater freedom and flexibility in their personal and professional lives. Also, with these passports, fewer visas are required.
Here are five (OK, really six) of the top destinations winning this geopolitical arms race to lure the world's wealthiest people.
Dubai
Andrew Aitchison / In pictures via Getty Images
It is no surprise that Dubai has cemented itself as the premier destination for the global elite in recent years, attracting wealthy individuals from across Europe, Russia, and beyond. Known for its lump-sum tax policy and luxury lifestyle, Dubai offers an attractive package for the ultrawealthy. According to Elzeki, the UAE continues to see significant immigration inflows, particularly after recent tax reforms. This year, nearly 10,000 wealthy foreigners are expected to relocate to the UAE, making it the top destination for ultrawealthy migrants.
Savory believes that technology is the biggest reason the global rich can migrate. "Technology is enabling us to live anywhere," says the Brit who lives in Dubai. "Just like with business, the world is an open playing field. Governments have to compete with one another to win investments and wealthy immigrants."
"Dubai's appeal is its pro-business environment, minimal red tape, and tax-free status," Elzeki says. "It's the ultimate destination for people looking to invest and live in a luxurious environment with limited government interference."
The city's appeal isn't just for business moguls. Many entertainers, athletes, and tech entrepreneurs are calling Dubai home, though not so many from the United States. With a steady flow of talent and investment, particularly in real estate, Dubai is rapidly emerging as a global powerhouse. Monaco, watch out.
Portugal
Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images
Portugal remains one of the most popular destinations, particularly for American centimillionaires seeking a European foothold/hedge. The so-called Golden Visa Program for "non-habitual residents" has been a major factor, though it expired in March 2025. No longer do new emigrées get a 10-year tax break for 10 years; now they're taxed at 20% on most Portugal-derived income and none on foreign income.
However, Portugal's relatively low taxes, warm climate, and laid-back lifestyle continue to attract people from all over the world, particularly from the US and Brazil. "Portugal's tax incentives, like the scientific research and innovation tax incentives, are incredibly attractive," says Elzeki. "With a fast-track route to citizenship, many are opting to apply for residency as a hedge" against whatever chaos is happening in their country of origin.
Another reason to like the idea of living in Portugal: The country responds to its citizens' demands. With the massive influx of migrants since the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate prices have soared, says Andrew Amoils, head of research for New World Wealth, a wealth intelligence company based in South Africa. As a result, the country changed the Golden Visa rules. "There was a backlash from locals who felt they were being priced out," he says. One solution: Make wealthy migrants contribute to social funds rather than build fancy mansions.
Singapore
ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images
Singapore stands out as Asia's business hub, with its strategic location and tax advantages attracting a mix of wealthy entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals. It has no capital gains tax and a very pro-business environment, which makes it a top choice for global billionaires, particularly those from China and India. It's also clean, safe, and close enough for weekend trips to Bali or Phuket.
"Singapore is a magnet for Southeast Asians and increasingly for Western entrepreneurs as well," says Amoils. "It's a place that offers both lifestyle and business opportunities without the tax burden found in other global cities."
Italy
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Italy has become an unexpected favorite among many of the world's wealthiest individuals, particularly Americans seeking a lifestyle change and favorable tax treatments. Italy's flat tax, capped at €200,000 annually (double last year's level), applies regardless of income, making it particularly enticing for the ultrawealthy. Combined with the country's rich cultural history, stunning landscapes, welcoming climate, and a decent number of international flights, Italy is now home to a growing number of billionaires.
"A lot of wealthy Americans have found that Italy offers a unique combination of luxury living and tax incentives," says Elzeki. "It's more affordable than places like Monaco or London, yet it offers that European charm with significant tax benefits."
Australia and New Zealand
Jan Kruger - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
Australia and New Zealand continue to attract high-net-worth individuals, though the distance may be a limiting factor for many. Despite this, both countries are known for their stable economies, excellent healthcare systems, and high quality of life. (And to Americans, strict gun laws.)
"Australia is still a top choice for South Africans and Brits, especially retirees," says Amoils. "But the rules have changed over the last decade, and they now prefer younger applicants with specific skills, like plumbers and teachers."
New Zealand, on the other hand, offers a more straightforward pathway to residency through an investment-based program. For those looking for a retreat from geopolitical risks and a peaceful lifestyle, New Zealand, with its relatively low cost of living and unspoiled scenery, remains a strong contender.
A top Claude engineer said his product is getting more advanced. He is warning that it could disrupt computer-based jobs.
YouTube/@anthropic.ai
Claude Code's creator is warning that job titles across the US are set to transform. He says some will rapidly change this year.
Anthropic's AI agent, which just received an update, is getting better at online tasks, Boris Cherny said.
He has one tip for workers whose jobs might be affected by the coding tools.
A top Anthropic engineer said a new generation of AI agents capable of operating computers will reshape nearly every internet-based job in America.
And he said the change is coming very soon.
Boris Cherny — the creator of Claude Code at Anthropic, the company best known for its Claude chatbot — recently appeared on "Lenny's Podcast," hosted by Lenny Rachitsky.
He said AI systems that can take action across workplace computer tools — like the ones Anthropic sells access to — are advancing rapidly and could soon alter responsibilities for software engineers, product managers, designers, and other knowledge workers.
"It's going to expand to pretty much any kind of work that you can do on a computer," Cherny said. "In the meantime, it's going to be very disruptive. It's going to be painful for a lot of people."
Claude Code is Anthropic's AI coding agent built on top of its Claude models. The company released its latest updates, called Opus 4.6, in early February.
Unlike a traditional chatbot that generates text or images, an AI agent can use digital tools — running commands, analyzing documents, messaging colleagues, completing tasks across apps, and even building websites.
Essentially, Claude Code can increasingly use a computer the way a human does — though the company recently said it has yet to reach the level of a skilled human.
"It's the thing that I think brings agentic AI to people that haven't really used it before, and people are starting to just get a sense of it for the first time," he said.
Cherny says his own team already relies on AI to work faster. Productivity per engineer has increased sharply since Claude Code's launch, he said. He believed the models will continue improving. (Of course, Cherny also has good reason to talk up the company's products, which it shops to enterprise companies.)
