I flew long-haul with my son for the first time. It took a lot of meticulous planning.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
I flew long-haul for the first time with my nine-month-old baby between New York and Europe.
The jet didn't have a bassinet in my cabin, but the staff gave us a row of three seats instead.
Low expectations and meticulous studying of airline rules were key to my sanity.
Armed with more bags than I care to admit and a lot of patience, my husband and I flew between New York and Zurich with our nine-month-old, Roscoe, on Delta Air Lines in February.
It was our son's first long-haul trip; we'd applied for his passport when he was just two weeks old. He'd previously flown about four hours to Denver at five months old and slept most of the way, so we were cautiously optimistic.
Aside from forgetting his ear protection in the car and slight chaos in Zurich, the trip went more smoothly than expected.
We got better seats and extra bags, TSA PreCheck made security a breeze in New York, and early family boarding meant we were among the first on the plane.
The extra space we had in the bulkhead on the Boeing 767-400ER plane to Zurich. The bassinet was only in the higher-fare cabins.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Going in with low expectations made it easier not to get frustrated when something went wrong — a mindset that proved helpful in Zurich, where we found ourselves overwhelmed with unusually long security lines and stricter rules.
We managed to make our plane — barely.
Our baby slept or quietly played for most of both seven-hour flights; he only cried briefly for hunger. Feeding him during takeoff seemed to help with ear pressure, as he didn't make a peep. My husband and I took turns watching him.
We each got about three hours of rest on the outbound red-eye, and we were exhausted by the time we reached our chalet in Austria, about two hours from Zurich, but it could have been far worse. The daytime return flight was easier.
Here's how the flights went from curb to gate, including what we were allowed to bring beyond our usual carry-ons, how security handled oversized liquids, and how we secured better seats.
We meticulously studied the bag rules to avoid drama
I booked the round-trip tickets for about 25,000 points per person, plus $68 in taxes and fees; the cash price was about $600. Two friends were on the same reservation; we were all heading to a college reunion-style ski trip.
My son got his own boarding pass.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
I had to separately contact Delta to add our son as an "infant in arms," which cost $17. International lap-infant tickets are typically priced at about 10% of the base fare, plus taxes and fees, and are available only for children under two years old.
Because I have the Delta SkyMiles Gold credit card, everyone on our reservation received a free checked bag, which would have cost at least $75 each otherwise. That cost-savings mattered, given how much we were carrying between baby gear and ski equipment.
With a baby, my husband and I were also allowed to bring additional items beyond our standard carry-on and personal item, including a diaper bag, a stroller, and a car seat for the rental car.
Both the stroller and car seat were gate-checked at no charge and returned to us in the jet bridge after landing. We purchased padded bags for about $60 to protect them in the cargo hold; both were undamaged.
We found the best strategy was to wear my baby and use the stroller to carry stuff.
But to stay within the airline's 50-pound weight limits, we spent more than an hour the night before weighing and rearranging our checked bags — an effort that paid off by avoiding any last-minute reshuffling at the airport.
The only outbound hiccup was when the kiosks wouldn't let us self-tag our bags. I'm not sure why, but we waited only about 20 minutes to check them with an agent before heading to security.
There was also no kiosk option in Zurich, and we couldn't check in online — meaning another 30 minutes spent at the desk on the return flight.
TSA PreCheck made a significant difference
At JFK, I took my son and me through TSA PreCheck with his stroller, car seat, diaper bag, and my luggage, while the other three in our group who don't have the expedited membership went through the regular line.
It turned out to be the right call. I didn't need to remove liquids, electronics, or my heavy hiking boots, which made managing all the gear far easier. A fellow mom traveling solo helped me load everything onto the belt (thank you, random stranger).
Because I was carrying more than 3.4 ounces of pre-mixed formula and distilled water, an agent briefly tested the liquids. The process was quick and routine, and I cleared security well before the rest of the group.
We skipped the lounge and got to the gate early to pack our gate-checked items, change a diaper, and mix bottles before boarding. This made the flight itself easier and allowed us to use early family boarding to the fullest.
The return home from Zurich wasn't as easy.
Without TSA PreCheck or a dedicated family security line, we had to juggle multiple bags and baby gear while keeping our son calm, with barely any space in the queue to organize before the scanners. Luckily, our baby's oversized liquids weren't an issue.
The snaking security line stretched hundreds of people. The Delta flight crew said it was unusually long.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
We then cleared passport control and joined another long line to catch a crowded train to the gates. The hourslong obstacles ate into our buffer, leaving us scrambling with arms full of disorganized gear as we raced to make our plane.
It was easy to feel judged by other travelers, but I reminded myself I was doing the best I could under chaotic circumstances. Even though we arrived the recommended three hours early, I'll budget well beyond that next time.
It doesn't hurt to ask for a bassinet or seat upgrade
On Delta, you can typically request a bassinet on a first-come, first-served basis, but the specific Boeing 767 we flew both legs didn't have one in regular economy.
The staff did the next best thing: from New York, they moved us from a pair of regular seats to the bulkhead, where we had a row of three seats to ourselves. On the return, the cabin crew offered us a full three-seat row at the back of the plane.
Don't forget to wipe down the aircraft seats and tray tables. Our baby slept easily in the center seat on both flights (pictured is the flight home) — and yes, he's wearing a pilot outfit.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
The extra space made managing a baby on a long flight significantly easier, allowing us to keep supplies within easy reach and give him room to stretch, stand, and burn off energy. Changing him was tricky — the lavatory changing table was small, but we managed.
Overall, the experience exceeded my expectations. Airline staff on both sides of the Atlantic were accommodating, and flight attendants were eager to interact with my baby and make him laugh.
I'd take the trip again — though I know it will only get more complicated once he's walking and talking. For now, I'll take the wins and learn from my mistakes in Zurich.
The US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, according to the two countries.
US President Donald Trump said in a video that the strikes were the start of 'major combat operations'
The strikes come after the US and Israel bombed Iran last summer.
President Donald Trump announced early Saturday that the US had begun "major combat operations in Iran," adding that the objective "is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from the regime.
In a video statement posted to Truth Social, Trump vowed to destroy Iran's missile program and navy, and ensure that the country can "never" have a nuclear weapon. He called on Tehran's forces to surrender or face "certain death."
"The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war," Trump said. "But we're doing this not for now — we're doing this for the future. And it's a noble mission."
Trump also called for Iranian citizens to "seize control" in the aftermath of the US operations.
"When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take," Trump said in the video statement. "This will be, probably, your only chance for generations."
President Donald J. Trump on the United States military combat operations in Iran: pic.twitter.com/LimJmpLkgZ
The US and Israel carried out joint airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, officials had confirmed earlier, following months of tensions between Tehran and Washington and a massive American military buildup in the region.
The Israeli government first announced the strikes. Defense Minister Israel Katz called the military action "preemptive" and carried out "to eliminate threats against the country of Israel."
"As a result, a missile and drone attack against Israel and its civilian population is expected in the near future," he added.
A US official confirmed to Business Insider that American forces were involved, adding that the strikes were ongoing.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show explosions and plumes of smoke in Iran in broad daylight.
The attack marks the second time that the Trump administration has taken direct military action against Iran. In June 2025, the US bombed the country's nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, and Trump said at the time these had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear sites.
US and Israeli F-35s fly together above the Middle East.
US Air Force photo
This new round of strikes comes on the heels of negotiations between the US and Iran, part of the Trump administration's efforts to pressure Tehran into a deal that would severely limit its nuclear and military capabilities. It also follows the withdrawal of Western diplomats from several Middle East countries.
In recent weeks, as Trump has issued repeated threats and warnings to Iran, pushing it to make a deal, the US has built up a large military footprint in the Middle East and nearby European waters.
The Pentagon has surged hundreds of fighter jets, aerial refueling tankers, reconnaissance planes, support aircraft, and warships into the region.
One complicating factor has been public resistance from US allies to operations against Iran. The UK barred the US from using its nearby bases, and Jordan said that its bases couldn't be used for attacks on Iran, despite imagery showing the US has shifted cargo planes and F-35 stealth fighters to one of its bases.
The significant US naval presence on station or taking up position in the area includes at least two aircraft carriers, more than a dozen guided-missile destroyers, and three littoral combat ships, which are designed for near-shore operations.
The two aircraft carriers — USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford — are each equipped with dozens of embarked fighters, electronic attack jets, early warning planes, and helicopters. The Lincoln's air wing includes F-35 stealth fighters.
On Friday, a day after the Trump administration's negotiations with Iranian officials in Geneva, White House official Dan Scavino posted a photograph on social media of eight B-2 Spirit stealth bombers on a runway, suggesting these aircraft could be used to strike Iran again.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
Here's what smart people are saying about Anthropic versus the Pentagon.
Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Anthropic isn't going to let the Defense Department use Claude as it pleases.
CEO Dario Amodei stood firm, despite Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's ultimatum this week.
Here's what smart people are saying about Anthropic's fight with the Pentagon.
Anthropic has drawn a hard boundary with the Pentagon. CEO Dario Amodei said on Tuesday that the company "cannot in good conscience accede" to the Defense Department's request that it agree to the military's terms for the use of its model, Claude.
Amodei's blog post came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the company an ultimatum: Cave and cooperate with the military on Claude, or be blacklisted.
Here's what smart people are saying about Anthropic's public spat with the Pentagon.
Jack Shanahan
Shanahan, a former USAF Lt. Gen., served for 36 years in the military and worked on the Pentagon's AI efforts. He is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, where he consults on AI for national security.
Shanahan said Anthropic isn't "trying to play cute here" — and that it's "committed to helping the government."
In his words:
No LLM, anywhere, in its current form, should be considered for use in a fully lethal autonomous weapon system. It's ludicrous even to suggest it (and at least in theory, DoDD 3000.09 wouldn't allow it without sufficient human oversight). So making this a company redline seems reasonable to me.
Despite the hype, frontier models are not ready for prime time in national security settings. Over-reliance on them at this stage is a recipe for catastrophe.
Mass surveillance of US citizens? No thanks. Seems like a reasonable second redline.
That's it. Those are the two showstoppers. Painting a bullseye on Anthropic garners spicy headlines, but everyone loses in the end.
Why not work on what kind of new governance is needed to ensure secure, reliable, predictable use of all frontier models, from all companies? This is a shared government-industry challenge, demanding a shared government-industry (+ academia) solution.
This should never have become such a public spat. Should have been handled quietly, behind the scenes. Scratching my head over why there was such a misunderstanding on both sides about terms & conditions of use. Something went very wrong during the rush to roll out the models.
Palmer Luckey
Luckey, who founded and runs the weapons and defense software startup Anduril, pointed to a previous White House decision to compel private companies to work with the US government.
Posting on X several hours before Amodei's statement, he referenced a 1948 statement by then-President Harry S. Truman that ordered railway companies to allow the US military to run their operations amid a workers' strike.
"The President can't make private companies work with the military, it would be unprecedented!"
May 10, 1948
I HAVE today by Executive order taken over the country's railroads and directed the Secretary of the Army to operate them in the name of the United States Government.
Later that evening, Luckey said that Silicon Valley executives should not influence military policy.
"This idea, that military policy must be in the hands of elected leaders vs corporate executive, is a foundational principle for Anduril," he wrote.
Since Luckey founded Anduril in 2017, the company has clinched a rapidly growing list of Defense Department contracts, providing drone, counter-drone, and AI software systems to the military.
Anduril is also in the running to build the US Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft, which are drone wingmen for crewed fighter jets.
Dean Ball
Former Trump administration AI advisor Dean Ball did not mince words in an interview with Politico.
"You're telling everyone else who supplies to the DOD you cannot use Anthropic's models, while also saying that the DOD must use Anthropic's models," Ball told Politico.
Ball, who helped write Trump's AI Action Plan, added that it was "a whole different level of insane" for the Pentagon to "do both of those things" — designate Anthropic a security risk, while making the case for how essential Anthropic is for military AI.
Michael McFaul
McFaul, a political science professor at Stanford University and director of its Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, praised Amodei's statement as "strong, principled, and very reasonable."
"Bravo," wrote McFaul, who was also the US ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014.
Thomas Wright
"Many firms folded for a lot less money than what Anthropic stands to lose here," wrote Wright in a social media post on Thursday evening.
Wright was the senior director for strategic planning at the US National Security Council for the Biden administration.
As a top-ranking member of the council, he was a key architect of the 2022 US National Security Strategy, which was the framework for the administration's defense priorities and threat assessments.
Ivan Ureña-Valdes, a former data analyst at Block, said he suspected AI cuts were coming before losing his job.
Ivan Ureña-Valdes
A former data analyst at Block had survived three rounds of layoffs and wasn't a low performer.
Ivan Ureña-Valdes suspected AI cuts were coming, and he was one of the many laid off this week.
He saw how AI was automating his work, and believed the tech would continue to disrupt industries.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ivan Ureña-Valdes, who has worked at Block for nearly four years as a data analyst. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When I got an email from Jack Dorsey, I was in the middle of interviewing someone for a role at Block.
It was pretty strange because, in the past, with layoffs, I knew people had their access cut almost immediately.
A coworker messaged me: "Hey, are you okay?" My heart started racing. I knew from that message it meant that I was probably getting laid off.
I felt really bad because I was in the middle of interviewing someone. I had to tell them, "I was actually just let go from the company. I probably won't be able to submit your feedback in time. Please reach out to your recruiter."
I'm the sole provider for my family. It was tough.
I had a hunch that AI would lead to cuts at some point
We knew there were many performance cuts happening around right now, and those have largely finished. I had no idea this cut was coming.
For 4,000-plus people to be cut without anybody knowing, that tells me decisions were made very high up.
I've survived three rounds of layoffs, some companywide, some engineering organization-wide. I knew I wasn't being let go for performance-related reasons. I was in the middle of working on two large projects, probably the largest projects I'd worked on since joining the company.
I had a hunch that, at some point, the company would cut people because of AI. I just didn't think it would be right now.
Working at Block, I saw how AI was automating tasks away
I appreciate Jack for his honesty. It's much fairer of him to come straight out and say why it happened — that it's because of AI and the vision he sees.
I'm honestly grateful for the generous severance and benefits. It definitely helps make the rough situation a bit easier.
I've felt the rumblings of AI disruption for a while now, especially since Anthropic launched Opus 4.5 late last year.
Jack loves AI and was constantly pushing us to use it. I got to use these tools as much as possible every single day.
I could see in my own work very quickly how much of it was already being automated. So much of the data analyst world is finding the right dataset, writing something that will allow you to pull the data set that you want, and then generating output. Every single one of those steps is significantly faster and easier because of AI.
It was definitely a "whoa" moment when I realized just how powerful things had gotten.
AI will continue to replace jobs
I 100% think that more disruption and more of these types of cuts will probably come at other companies, which is unfortunate.
I'm much more pessimistic about all of it than many other people probably are.
Given that we live in the US, where growth is everything, it's inevitable that AI will continue to replace people wherever it's financially beneficial to do so.
I'm optimistic that I can find a job in the general data field, whether it's something I'm extremely passionate about or pays as much as I did before. It will be difficult to find something that matches the environment I was working in because I had developed really strong ties with my coworkers. The pay was fair within the data analytics or business intelligence world, and the role was remote.
There are incredible companies out there doing great work, though I am nervous about the industry as a whole and the competitiveness as I search for that perfect next role. Some people are getting really, really high salaries at AI companies, while tons of people at Block are getting laid off.
Do you have a story to share about tech layoffs? Contact this reporter atcmlee@businessinsider.comor on Signal at cmlee.81.
OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger compared coding with AI to playing the guitar.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger called vibe-coding a "slur" used to make coding with AI sound easy.
Steinberger compared using AI code editors to learning to play the guitar in an appearance on OpenAI's podcast.
After honing his skills, Steinberger now ships AI-generated code without even reading it. "Most code is boring," he said.
OpenClaw's creator says the vibes of "vibe coding" are bad — and he doesn't appreciate the dismissive undertones of the term.
The viral agent OpenClaw is a product of AI code editors. The developer behind it, Peter Steinberger, used OpenAI's Codex to build it. Its original name, Clawdbot, referenced Claude Code.
One term has emerged to describe this type of work: vibe coding, or prompting AI to generate code. On OpenAI's "Builders Unscripted," Steinberger said he wasn't a fan of the phrase.
"There are these people that write software the old way, and the old way is going to go away," Steinberger said. "They call it 'vibe coding.' I think vibe coding is a slur."
What's wrong with the term is that it implies ease, he said.
"They don't understand that it's a skill," Steinberger said, analogizing coding with AI to learning to play guitar.
Other industry leaders have signaled frustration with the term. Former Google Brain scientist Andrew Ng called it "unfortunate" and "misleading." Andrej Karpathy, the former Tesla AI head who coined the term, now thinks "agentic engineering" is the future.
While Steinberger may not be a fan of the term, the use of vibe coding exploded throughout 2025. Collins Dictionary named it the word of the year.
If AI coding is like playing the guitar, then Steinberger has all his chords down. His interviewer, OpenAI's Romain Huet, asked Steinberger whether he still ships code without reading it.
"Most code is boring," Steinberger said. "I have a pretty good understanding of what it writes."
One thing that helped Steinberger be a good AI coder: being a manager in the past.
"I led a team before," Steinberger said. "I had a lot of software engineers under me. That also required accepting that they will not write exactly the same code that I want."
Before creating OpenClaw, Steinberger founded PSPDFKit. He's since had interactions with most major AI labs. Anthropic asked him to rename his chatbot. Meta's Mark Zuckerberg reached out with his experiences from testing it, Steinberger said.
Zuckerberg also courted him for a potential job, but OpenAI beat him out, with Steinberger accepting its job offer earlier this month. Sam Altman called him a "genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents."
Visa snagged the top spot in the AI maturity index.
PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images
Evident released its first index for AI maturity in the payments industry.
Major brands like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal snagged the top spots, but fintechs are close behind.
The industry is investing heavily in talent — but all of the companies share one potential red flag.
Visa is winning the AI race in the payments industry, according to a brand new ranking — but no company is revealing quite how much the technology is paying off.
A brand-new index from Evident, a company that tracks AI in finance, lists Visa as no. 1 among 12 global payments companies. Mastercard and PayPal follow in second and third place. Fintech giants like Stripe and Block rank fifth and sixth on the index, demonstrating how quickly newer players have built serious AI firepower.
"With relatively nascent industry players like Stripe and Block performing well — and showing their AI potential reflected in their valuations — the Index leaders cannot afford to drop off the pace," Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and co-CEO, said in a press release.
Payment companies — which move money around between banks, businesses, and consumers — run on technology. Evident's new industry ranking, released Wednesday exclusively to Business Insider, reveals how the companies we interact with every day are using AI, from deciding whether a transaction goes through to detecting fraud.
Whether ranked No. 1 or dead last, all of the companies have at least one thing in common: none have published their achieved or projected ROI across all their AI efforts. By comparison, 10 of the 50 banks that Evident tracks already share those figures.
"The absence of ROI disclosure — or any group targets for AI ROI — is increasingly conspicuous," Annabel Ayles, co-founder and co-CEO of Evident, said. To justify their expenses, the market will "sooner or later demand clearer evidence of value."
Together, the dozen companies documented almost 100 AI use cases over the past two years, but the top three punch above their weight — they were responsible for more than half of the use cases recorded in the index. Visa and Mastercard are particularly advanced in using AI for fraud detection and cybersecurity.
Visa, in its 2025 annual report, acknowledged AI competition, noting that some competitors will beef up their products and others will offer employees AI tools.
"If we do not continue to invest in developing and supporting our AI-based initiatives, we may fall behind technological developments," the report said.
Visa has invested more than $3.5 billion in AI and data over the past decade and employs more than 2,500 technologists working on innovations, including over 300 AI models in production, chief data officer Andres Vives told Business Insider in a statement.
Top firms staffing up aggressively
The index doesn't focus on specific use cases; instead, it evaluates companies on four criteria: talent, innovation, leadership, and transparency.
Talent has the biggest impact on each company's ranking, and the report found that the payments industry overall is investing heavily in AI and data hiring. Compared to other financial institutions, the index found that they have 30% more AI-focused workers, even though they generally have smaller workforces. Among the 12 ranked companies and their more than 335,000 employees, an average 6.5% are focused on AI, Mousavizadeh told Business Insider. That 6.5% figure, she added, is the highest concentration of AI talent Evident has found across the sectors it tracks.
PayPal alone accounts for 18% of the AI talent among the indexed companies and employs more than 4,000 AI workers. Stripe and Block also stand out for their density of AI employees, who make up more than 10% of their total workforce.
Payments companies aren't alone, of course, in focusing on AI talent — technologists specializing in AI are among the most in-demand jobs in the broader financial sector.
The gap in ROI transparency
Leaders at bulge-bracket banks are already facing questions about when they will see AI investments pay off—analysts, for example, pressed JPMorgan leaders on the merits of the bank's massive technology spending during a recent earnings call. Jamie Dimon, the bank's CEO, acknowledged tech competition from fintechs on that call, and again from payments companies during the investor conference in February, name-dropping Stripe and PayPal.
For now, AI's benefits at payments companies are often baked into existing performance measures, such as lower transaction costs, according to the index.
But there are still demands to stay competitive. Evident found that agentic capabilities will likely play a bigger role as companies move from using AI for "defensive necessity to strategic advantage." (Both PayPal and Mastercard teased AI agents in recent earnings calls, and Visa mentioned the potential of agentic commerce during its fourth-quarter earnings call.)
Overall, Evident found that the payments companies that moved fastest on AI are furthest along in their journeys, and the next competitive milestone may be in financial transparency: the first one to publish comprehensive ROI measures will become another type of "first-mover."
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
BI
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
1666-ca 1745
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.)
Marc Bowker said the Trump administration has caused more uncertainty than he's ever experienced in his 23 years as a small business owner.
Marc Bowker
A small-business owner said the Supreme Court tariff decision has left more questions than answers.
Marc Bowker, who owns a comic book shop in Ohio, said his store has paid $12,000 in tariff fees.
He said the Trump administration continues to cause a lot of uncertainty for small businesses.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marc Bowker, owner of Alter Ego Comics, a comic book shop in Lima, Ohio, after the Supreme Court overturned some ofPresident Donald Trump's tariffs. This story has been edited for length a clarity.
My first reaction to the Supreme Court decision was, "This is awesome and long overdue." The second was, "Okay, what's next?"
Then I saw the president say there would now be a new 10% global tariff and that the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him are unpatriotic and unloyal. So it feels like this is going to drag on forever and ever until he gets his way. It's like death by a thousand paper cuts.
I think there are more questions remaining than answers. I appreciate the Supreme Court siding with Americans and American businesses, but it feels like it's going to be a tug-of-war that may go on throughout this entire administration.
This administration has created a level of uncertainty in the small business landscape that I haven't seen in 23 years of owning my store.
In addition to being a small-business owner in America, I'm a consumer in America, so I'm paying more for everything that my family consumes, from food to physical products. It's a one-two punch for us.
I've already paid thousands, and there's still uncertainty
I've kept a spreadsheet of every shipment that had a tariff charge, and as of today, we've paid over $12,000 since Trump started all of this.
We've had to pass on a percentage of that to our customers, and as a result, we've seen a slowdown in orders. Some are taking a wait-and-see mentality, or they just don't want to pay the extra fee.
Comics themselves — a lot of which are printed in Canada — have not been impacted by tariffs. But for me and for other comic book stores, action figures, board games, and comic book supplies, like storage items, are being impacted. Action figures account for about 65% of my shop's revenue, and they are made in China.
A lot of these orders are made far in advance, too. We were being charged tariffs on items ordered in 2023 and 2024. There's stuff I need to order next week that ships in June of 2027. Is the tariff going to be 6%? Is it going to be zero? Is it going to be 100%? I have no idea.
Marc Bowker and his family in front of his store.
Marc Bowker
It's unclear if small businesses will get refunds or what will happen next
As for the tariff costs small businesses have already paid, are we getting that back? Probably not. Are the corporations that paid the bulk of the tariffs going to be reimbursed? Where does that come from? I feel like this is just going to cause more paperwork, more red tape, more headaches. I don't know what the next step is.
If I could wave a magic wand, yes, there would be some reimbursement of the fees that all American businesses have had to pay. If I had to settle for something, it would be that, effective today, there are no more of these Trump tariffs.
It's hard to be excited about the Supreme Court ruling when, within hours, the White House says it's going to push back with more tariffs.
The administration is throwing so much at us every day that we can't make any progress. It's hard to see what the future will look like.
I would hate to see this stretch on the next three years of the administration. It's going to take all this extra time that could be spent running our businesses and serving our customers, just trying to stop the government from getting its hands in our pockets.
It really feels like our elected officials are not listening to us. Historically, the Republican Party has been promoted as the party of business in the United States. If they truly were, they would be listening to constituents who are saying these tariffs are hurting our businesses.
