"This proves that that an anti-billionaire, pro-worker strategy works," one House Democrat told BI.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Elon Musk says he's pulling back from political spending.
That's a big reversal from what he said he'd do months ago.
Now, the GOP is going to have to make up the gap somehow.
Elon Musk once seemed primed to be an unlimited piggy bank for President Donald Trump and the GOP, keeping the party afloat while quashing internal dissent with the threat of an avalanche of money.
Now, that's all been thrown into doubt.
The world's richest man — by far the biggest political donor in America in 2024 — said on Tuesday that he'll be spending "a lot less" on elections in the future. "I think I've done enough," he told an interviewer. "If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I do not currently see a reason."
It's something of a reversal for the DOGE leader, who once said that his super PAC, America PAC, would "play a significant role in primaries." He'd even pledged to go after Democrats and get involved in local district attorney races.
Both his supporters and critics within the GOP expected him to throw around his weight. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said that any senator who voted against Trump's nominees would "have to deal with Elon Musk and his great new PAC," while Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska mused about Musk spending "the next billion dollars that he makes off of Starlink" against her.
It's unclear now exactly how much his political spending will decrease, and a spokesman for America PAC declined to comment. Musk could also change his mind or choose to route his fortune through "dark money" non-profit groups that don't have to disclose their donors.
"He's just trying to hide in the shadows," said Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, saying that Republicans "realize he's a liability, and they just want to put him in the back closet."
Musk spent nearly $300 million in 2024, and it wasn't just on Trump. He also spent more than $19 million on House races and gave more than $12 million to GOP super PACs that spent in Senate elections.
A diminished Musk is by no means the death knell for the GOP. The tech titan only started spending big on elections last year, and there are other sources of money for Republican campaigns. Republicans who spoke with BI generally dismissed concerns that Musk's step-back would have an impact.
"I don't think it's a major factor," Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told BI. "I mean, to be honest, large-donor donations aren't really the recipe for success anyway these days. It's more small ones."
"I gotta be candid with you, I really don't care," said Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who benefitted from more than $864,000 in spending by Musk's PAC last year.
But it's still a massive financial gap that the party would have to make up somehow.
For now, Republicans' House and Senate campaign arms are remaining mum on what it all means: A spokesperson for the National Republican Campaign Committee declined to comment, while the National Republican Senatorial Committee did not respond to a request for comment.
On both sides of the aisle, lawmakers said that Musk's move is likely a response to the intense blowback that he and his businesses have endured over DOGE, with Democrats managing to turn the tech titan into a boogeyman.
"I get it," Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said of Musk's pull-back. "He suffered the consequences. The left came at him pretty hard."
Democrats have felt especially vindicated after a Wisconsin Supreme Court election in April, where Musk spent millions of dollars backing a Republican candidate who ultimately lost by ten points.
"This proves that that an anti-billionaire, pro-worker strategy works," Democratic Rep. Greg Casar of Texas told BI. "Republicans have thought that people having infinite money to spend for them is an asset. Democrats can make Musk's, and other oligarchs' money, toxic in elections if we're willing to make the case to the American people."
A gifted Qatari Boeing 747-8 could be Trump's next Air Force One.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration plans to receive a gifted Boeing 747-8 from Qatar.
The jumbo jet previously served as a luxurious private business jet.
The plane currently sports multiple bedrooms, a salon, a private living room, and a kids' playroom.
The luxurious Qatari jumbo jet that may soon get a promotion to Air Force One is chock-full of the glitz and grandeur President Donald Trump has shown a penchant for over the years.
First delivered to the Gulf state in 2012, the Boeing 747-8 is one of the most opulent private jets in the world and is much newer than the current fleet of jets that serve as Air Force One. Flight records show the plane flew to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's private club in Florida, in February.
The exact cost of the jumbo jet isn't clear, but a new 747-8 can fetch a cool $400 million.
Trump has said he would be "stupid" to turn down the gifted Boeing 747, especially as he has been vocal about his disappointment in the delays for a replacement that Boeing might not be able to deliver until 2028.
Its cockpit may look like any 747, but behind it is where the opulence is revealed.
The cockpit of a Boeing 747-8i.
Fasttailwind / Shutterstock.com
The gift has raised ethical concerns among both Democrats and Republicans, which the White House has dismissed.
An iteration of the luxurious aircraft — designed by French interior design firm Cabinet Alberto Pinto for its previous life serving a Middle Eastern businessman — gives us a peek inside the opulent plane as it may look upon delivery to the Department of Defense as the potential future Air Force One.
The interior is sectioned into several rooms, akin to a traditional home.
The spacious aircraft has a long, wide fuselage with couches along the sidewall for additional seating.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
Think a foyer, couches, touchscreen light switches, and bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms.
The primary bedroom takes the most advantageous and private location.
The aircraft has suites, lounges, dining rooms, passenger seating areas, and bathrooms.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
The spacious bedroom is perched in the nose of the aircraft, under the cockpit. It's a relatively quiet space, located furthers from the engine. And in lieu of two first-class seats, as the nose is often reserved for, the bedroom has a cozy loveseat.
The bedroom operates like that of a conventional residence.
The bedroom has plenty of storage space, including bedside tables and counter space with drawers.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
Bedside tables and reading lights flank the mattress, perched across from the TV and loveseats. However, the walled cupholders still remind you that you're in an aircraft.
Otherwise, the en-suite bathroom looks quite orthodox, finished with a walk-in shower and a bright vanity.
The bathroom has a vanity with plenty of shelves.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
Showers, which aren't a staple fixture in commercial aircrafts, are a key selling point for Boeing and Airbus' private jets.
Guest bedrooms accommodate additional guests.
A guest room on board a Boeing Business Jet 747-8i.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
Don't worry, they get their own bathrooms, too.
No need to stay tied down to a small passenger seat.
The salon has conventional living room amenities like couches around a coffee table.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
The aircraft has private offices and dining areas. Or, use the salon as both.
Its couches are great for lounging, while the circular table can be used for work, dinners, or a round of poker.
It's an aircraft — of course, the plush leather seats can recline via switches in the armrest.
The leather seats can recline via switches built into the armrest.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
Additional passengers and crew can be seated in a separate, smaller section with tables and in-flight entertainment systems.
The crew also has their own quarters, located up the foyer's staircase.
If the salon is the Oval Office, the upper deck is the executive residence.
The upstairs has a living room, a kids' playroom, and the crew quarters.
Cabinet Alberto Pinto
In addition to the crew quarters, the second floor has a living room and a separate children's play area.
Yves Pickardt, the designer of this particular 747-8i and all of its homey amenities, previously told Altitudes Magazine that the aircraft took four years to design and complete — an indication of what the Secret Service may in for when it sets out to upgrade security, communications, and other systems if the President it to use the plane while in office.
An earlier version of this story was written by Taylor Rains and Tom Pallini.
Bitcoin looks poised for another 13% drawdown in the near term, according to Katie Stockton
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A crypto options trade sees bitcoin hitting $300,000 by June 27, Deribit data shows.
A jump to that price would exceed even most bullish near-term predictions.
Betting markets are skeptical the top token will get much higher than current levels in that time.
A far-flung options trade is eyeing possibility that bitcoin reached $300,000 by June 27th, implying a 181% upside from where the token was trading late Tuesday.
According to data from the crypto derivatives exchange Deribit, trading active in call options at that strike price was the second most popular activity on Tuesday.
While bitcoin has no shortage of bulls, a move to that level would be an astounding jump and would surpass the most bullish near-term forecasts. Standard Chartered is the closest match, predicting bitcoin to reach $120,000 in the second quarter and end the year at $200,000.
On Tuesday, the token was edging back toward record highs, trading close to $107,000. It hit an all-time high of $109,241.11 on January 20.
Options traders may be encouraged by recent momentum in the price of the token, which soared back to the six-digit mark earlier this month after a volatile stretch at the beginning of the year.
For the most part, bitcoin has benefited from growing risk appetite as markets have recovered from April's tariff-driven volatility. The world's biggest crypto has also been boosted by economic tailwinds, corporate interest, and pro-crypto policy from lawmakers.
But the path ahead isn't clear, and lingering uncertainties are still weighing on the market, analysts have said.
"The market needs a catalyst for prices to go parabolic, and while there are many potential catalysts on the horizon, uncertainty still reigns supreme," The Coin Bureau founder Nic Puckrin wrote on Tuesday.
Ahead of the $300,000 wager, open interest shows options traders have placed higher conviction bets that bitcoin will touch $110,000 on June 27.
Bettors on Polymarket — a betting market that gained notoriety for correctly predicting the US election — are much less bullish this year. Betting odds for bitcoin to reach $250,000 this year are just 9%.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary directed angry comments to several parties during an earnings call.
Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Ryanair's CEO slammed multiple parties during an earnings call on Monday.
Michael O'Leary first called a Spanish minister a "lunatic" over the country's stance on baggage fees.
Then he said some of Ukraine's airport directors were "very lazy."
Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, slammed several parties during the company's earnings call on Monday.
During the call, O'Leary first criticized the Spanish government for its stance on baggage fees. Spain has fined several airlines, including Ryanair, for the luggage fees they charge customers.
"We have this lunatic Spanish minister running around trying to force all airlines to take unlimited bags on board free of charge," O'Leary said on his earnings call.
While O'Leary did not specify who the "lunatic Spanish minister" was, he was likely referring to Spain's consumer rights minister, Pablo Bustinduy, whom he has criticized on multiple occasions. In February, for one, O'Leary brought out a standee of Bustinduy in clown garb, with a red clown nose pasted on the minister's face.
O'Leary's latest comments come after Bustinduy's Ministry of Consumer Affairs fined five budget airlines a combined 179 million euros, or about $187 million, in November. The ministry said at the time that the airlines were conducting "abusive practices" like charging extra carry-on luggage fees.
Bustinduy told Business Insider in a statement relayed through his ministry that while he prefers not to "participate in the eccentricities of any foreign magnate," the label did not offend him.
"I am the Minister of Consumer Affairs, and my obligation is to defend consumer rights. No campaign of insults or defamation will distract me from that objective," he added.
Later in the earnings call, O'Leary slammed airport directors in Ukraine when asked whether Ryanair saw an opportunity in the Ukrainian market.
"We would wish to go back into Ukraine," O'Leary said.
However, he added he was disappointed at the response of Ukrainian airports, which he said have refused to engage with Ryanair in a "postwar marketplace."
He said Ukraine should give airlines aggressive discounts to return to operating in the country.
He added: "And there's a couple of very lazy airport directors in Ukraine, who need to get them off their fat arses and do a deal with us quickly if they want real radical growth and real radical economic rebuilding and development in Ukraine."
The war in Ukraine is still ongoing.
Ryanair posted its 2025 full-year earnings on Monday.
It reported yearly revenue of 13.95 billion, 4% higher than the previous year. It also reported profits of 1.61 billion euros, a 16% decline from the previous year.
Representatives for Ryanair and Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
May 20, 4:01 a.m. — This story was updated to reflect comments from Spain's Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said AI is going to "intermediate" key institutions like the courts, schools, and medical systems.
Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said the US needs to open-source AI.
Otherwise, the country risks ceding control to China, the longtime investor said.
The stakes are high as AI is set to "intermediate" key institutions like education, law, and medicine, he said.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has a clear warning: America needs to get serious about open-source AI or risk ceding control to China.
"Just close your eyes," the cofounder of VC firm Andreessen Horowitz said in an interview on tech show TBPN published on Saturday. "Imagine two states of the world: One in which the entire world runs on American open-source LLM, and the other is where the entire world, including the US, runs on all Chinese software."
Andreessen's comments come amid an intensifying US-China tech rivalry and a growing debate over open- and closed-source AI.
Open-source models are freely accessible, allowing anyone to study, modify, and build upon them. Closed-source models are tightly controlled by the companies that develop them. Chinese firms have largely favored the open-source route, while US tech giants have taken a more proprietary approach.
Last week, the US issued a warning against the use of US AI chips for Chinese models. It also issued new guidelines banning the use of Huawei's Ascend AI chips globally, citing national security concerns.
"These chips were likely developed or produced in violation of US export controls," the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said in a statement on its website.
As the hardware divide between the US and China deepens, attention is also on software and AI, where control over the underlying models is increasingly seen as a matter of technological sovereignty.
Andreessen said it's "plausible" and "entirely feasible" that open-source AI could become the global standard. Companies would need to "adjust to that if it happens," he said, adding that widespread access to "free" AI would be a "pretty magical result."
Still, for him, the debate isn't just about access. It's about values — and where control lies.
Andreessen said he believes it's important that there's an American open-source champion or a Western open-source large language model.
A country that builds its own models also shapes the values, assumptions, and messaging embedded in them.
"Open weights is great, but the open weights, they're baked, right?" he said. "The training is in the weights, and you can't really undo that."
For Andreessen, the stakes are high. AI is going to "intermediate" key institutions like the courts, schools, and medical systems, which is why it's "really critical," he said.
Andreessen's firm, Andreessen Horowitz, backs Sam Altman's OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI, among other AI companies. The VC did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Open source vs closed source
China has been charging ahead in the open-source AI race.
In January, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek released R1, a large language model that rivals ChatGPT's o1 but at a fraction of the cost, the company said.
The open-sourced model raised questions about the billions spent training closed models in the US. Andreessen earlier called it "AI's Sputnik moment."
Major players like OpenAI — long criticized for its closed approach — have started to shift course.
"I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open source strategy," Altman said in February.
In March, OpenAI announced that it was preparing to roll out its first open-weight language model with advanced reasoning capabilities since releasing GPT-2 in 2019.
Student-loan borrowers in retirement are worried about the future of their Social Security checks.
Laura Olivas/Getty Images
After five years of relief, student-loan borrowers in default are subject to wage and federal benefits garnishment.
Some retirees with student debt told BI they're worried their Social Security checks will be seized.
Some also said they support Trump's intent to ensure borrowers pay back their student loans.
After years of working factory jobs, Mary Glod went to college in 1983, hoping that a degree would give her and her two children a better life.
Now 73, Glod still has $31,000 in student debt, and her Social Security checks are just about the only income keeping her afloat in retirement. She hasn't been paying due to pandemic relief, and her projected student-loan payment of nearly $300 a month isn't feasible, she said.
"When you're only getting a thousand dollars a month, and you've got rent and you've got utilities, I just can't pay that much," Glod told Business Insider. "So it'll probably go into default."
Glod was free of the consequences of defaulting on her student loans for the past five years under a pandemic moratorium on collections. On May 5, however, Trump's Department of Education announced that collections on defaulted student loans are resuming, including the eventual garnishment of wages and federal benefits like Social Security.
Most federal student loans enter default after 270 days of missed payments.
Business Insider heard from over a dozen student-loan borrowers in retirement whose Social Security is their main source of income. While some of them are not in default, they're concerned that they're headed in that direction and don't know how to avoid garnishment of their federal benefits. Some also said they support Trump's motivation to restart collections and ensure loans are paid back.
Linda McMahon, Trump's education secretary, wrote in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that restarting collections is necessary to restore accountability to the student-loan system.
"Borrowers who don't make payments on time will see their credit scores go down, and in some cases their wages automatically garnished," McMahon wrote. "Why? Not because we want to be unkind to student borrowers. Borrowing money and failing to pay it back isn't a victimless offense. Debt doesn't go away; it gets transferred to others."
Glod said she feels "guilty" that she's been unable to make debt payments, and if she could afford to, she would.
"I've always tried to pay bills that I owe and try to be responsible, but sometimes things happen and you just can't. It is just beyond your reach," Glod said. "I don't know how much they're going to take out my Social Security, and I can't stop them. So as long as I can keep the roof over my head and keep the lights on, I guess I'll just have to deal with it."
'I'd like to write a letter to my president that I helped put in office'
The Treasury Department can withhold up to 15% of a student-loan borrower's Social Security check, up to 15% of their federal salary, and up to 100% of a federal tax refund.
The Department of Education said it sent notices to 195,000 borrowers in default on May 5 that they have 30 days until their federal benefits might be seized. Later this summer, over 5 million defaulted borrowers could see their wages garnished. Borrowers in default have three options to avoid wage and benefits garnishment, but they take time and might require legal representation.
Cheri, 67, described herself as a staunch Republican who voted for Trump. She's a retiree with nearly $20,000 in student debt and relies on her $1,700 monthly Social Security checks and inconsistent pay from a freelance job. She's not pleased with the collections restart.
"For them to come right out and say, 'Well, we're putting people in collections,' that really angers me," Cheri said. "Actually, I'd like to write a letter to my president that I helped put in office and say, 'Whoa, wait a minute, buddy. I don't think that's right. I don't think that's right at all.'"
Cheri decided to go to college in the early 2000s because she thought that, as a single mom like Glod, a college degree would allow her to earn more money through a steady career. She eventually dropped out because her student loans became too burdensome, and she acknowledged that she wished she had thought harder about the implications of taking out a loan before she did so.
She said that she supports the Trump administration's stance that loans should be paid back, and she made payments as often as she could. But she has not paid off her debt since the pandemic, and she's not financially prepared to start back up again.
"When I start reading about coming after us and attacking our Social Security checks, I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to end up on the streets,' because you can't stop it," Cheri said.
Cheri said she isn't sure what her future student-loan payments will look like, and whether she'll end up defaulting. She said that she believes that "if you borrow something, you have to give it back," but she doesn't think the abrupt restart of collections is the right approach.
"I'm not going to bash the Trump administration. But that being said, I think that turning people over to collections is a very drastic move after what we just went through over the past four years," Cheri said. "I'm opposed to that."
'I'm just scared that I won't get next month's check'
Vickie Bright, 64, received a letter from her student-loan servicer on April 10 that her account is 180 days past due and would be reported to credit agencies.
To make up for her missed payments, her servicer sent her a billing statement with a $2,830 payment due on May 13 — a big surge from her regular $350 monthly payments. She said she can't afford those extra bills. Social Security is her only income — and now she's concerned that income will soon be diminished.
"During the pandemic, I kept all my bills paid. And so my credit score was going up, and now I'm sure it's just going to hit rock bottom again," Bright said. "It impacts every aspect of your life. I wake up in the morning and I think about it. I'm just scared that I won't get next month's check."
The New York Federal Reserve's quarterly household debt and credit report found that in the first quarter of 2025, the number of student-loan borrowers who moved into serious delinquency surged to 8.04%, up from 0.8% one year prior. The report's researchers said on a press call that following the pandemic pause on collections and credit reporting, the increase was expected, but it means that millions more borrowers are at risk of facing the severe consequences of default.
Bright said she's going to contact her servicer for help getting on an affordable repayment plan, but she doesn't see an end in sight to her student-loan payments.
"It is unbelievable that I live in America and they prize dollars over people," Bright said. "It's kind of heartbreaking because at least I still have a home at the moment. And there are people who don't, and they still expect this stuff from them. It's hopeless on top of hopeless."
Do you have a story to share about your student loans? Are you concerned about defaulting? Contact this reporter atasheffey@businessinsider.com.
Illuminated by a large desk lamp, Fay Pacchioli, 93, crunches numbers in Excel under the watchful eyes of her dogs, immortalized in framed photos on her wall.
It's midnight in Easton, Pennsylvania, and she's hours into her shift. It's when she focuses the best, kept awake by the scent of spring flowers on her desk and the scuttling paws of her petite dog, Miss DeeDee.
Her patterned cane, the black-and-white photo of her late husband, and the medications she's been taking since having a stroke in August are signs of how much has changed in the 50-plus years since she opened her pet supplies store. Still, the buzzing texts on her phone and stream of emails root her in her present bookkeeping tasks for the business, which she does part time on her own schedule.
"I'm not ready to quit yet," Pacchioli said. "I keep seeing in the paper that there are people over 100, and I'm not sure if I'm going to make that, but I feel good."
Corrie Aune for BI
Pacchioli is one of half a dozen Americans in their 90s who talked to Business Insider about why they're still working. All said they work to keep their minds fresh and have a purpose, though two said they don't have much choice for financial reasons. Most said they work between doctors' appointments and family visits, arranging their schedules to avoid getting too tired or burned out.
It's rare for someone in their 90s to work. A Business Insider analysis of Census Bureau data found that about 36,000 people 90 and older in the US work at least part time. It's a tiny part of the workforce, but valuable for the workers and their employers.
Christina Matz, the director of the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College, said there's a "bifurcation" between more privileged older workers who can retire when they desire, and those who have to work to supplement Social Security. Some older Americans in precarious financial situations take whatever position they can find. Others have tied much of their identity to work and can't fathom giving it up, especially those who built their own businesses or were self-employed.
"To sell their equipment, sell their land, sell their business, is very hard," Matz said. "Oftentimes, you see that farmers will continue to maintain some level of involvement in the field into their 80s and 90s. It's partly because of this fear of what will happen if I let it go."
For Pacchioli, it's taken seven decades to master work-life balance. She recently attended a class reunion with friends from college, and she often plays bridge with others around her age. During the summers, she spends time at her lake house.
"I don't have a million dollars, but I have enough money to live comfortably on," Pacchioli said. "I have money saved to pay for my funeral and expenses, and I have some designated for each of my children and grandchildren, but I don't have a lot."
He has no plans to stop running his company
James "Buddy" Hooper, 91, works more hours in a week than many working professionals half his age.
"I am so driven to get my company to where it will continue to grow without me that all I do is work," Hooper said, adding he typically wakes up at 6:30 a.m. "To qualify that, I work when I please. If I want to take time off, I take time off."
Mark Petty for BI
Hooper, who lives in Clearwater, Florida, began his business, OrangeBee Money Global, in 1989. He works with companies and entrepreneurs to generate additional sales and clientele. Hooper doesn't charge an up-front fee or membership cost, but he takes a 10% broker's fee and charges a small monthly fee if OBMG delivers new customers. He runs the business himself but sometimes brings in outside help for more technical projects.
"A football player does not get paid for playing football; he's paid for his time, and what he does with his time determines how much money he makes," Hooper said. "When I discovered that, I realized that everybody has time, and I can turn time into money."
Despite some nerve damage in his legs and feet from car accidents that has had minimal impact on his physical activities, he credits his many early mornings and meeting-heavy days to his parents' work ethic. They grew cotton and vegetables on their farm in Texas and traded in their cows to pay back loans. Hooper, who was in the Marines, also previously worked at Sears and Goodyear Tire.
Now, he said he won't stop as his company continues expanding to global markets.
"You've got to find something that you love to do," Hooper said, adding that it's important not to try to "make a whole lot of money real fast" without enjoying the job.
'I want to be doing something constructive and useful for people'
Dolores Haller, 92, hasn't stopped working since she was 13 and earned $1.35 an hour at a dairy store. Because she has limited savings, Haller said the extra money she earns now as a bookkeeper for a real estate lawyer three days a week is crucial.
Her career included stints as an accounts manager at an electrical wholesaler and a fencing company. She also ran a business selling insurance for 18 years.
Dolores Haller, 92, works as a part-time bookkeeper.
Dolores Haller
Haller, who lives near Buffalo, New York, said she and her late husband didn't focus much on retirement planning and were "very generous" with their children. She said she wasn't anywhere near wealthy growing up, and never had much for most of her life, though she's never needed a lot to be happy.
"It's all gone — everything I've ever had in a savings account has gone toward living expenses," Haller said, adding she earns in the mid-five figures annually from Social Security and what she earns as a bookkeeper. "I'm not wealthy, but I have enough to live on because I don't have a lot of wants."
When she's not working, she cares for her dog, plays games on her iPad, and visits friends and family. She said she has high blood pressure but is otherwise in good health, adding that she had other family members who lived into their late 90s. And while she's mostly deaf, it hasn't stopped her from doing anything.
"I want to be doing something constructive and useful for people," Haller said.
'I'm still reading and learning every day'
For some 90-somethings like Lewis Tagliaferre, 92, "work" means passion projects with a little money coming in.
Tagliaferre, who retired 27 years ago from his job as director of marketing services for the National Electrical Contractors Association, earning $85,000 a year, said retirement has not been a time to kick his feet up and relax. He stopped working after calculating that his pension would only increase by $600 a year if he worked past retirement age. After retirement, he wrote freelance magazine articles and bought and sold motorcycles.
Lewis Tagliaferre still writes books and is trying to secure a book deal.
Lewis Tagliaferre
Tagliaferre said that when he retired, he had about $200,000, and his house, which he bought in 1973, was paid off. But he lost half of his investments in 2008 amid the Great Recession. It took him six years to recover.
The death of his wife and many of his close friends compelled him to search deeper to discover his purpose upon retiring.
"In my neighborhood, we had a group of older people who got together occasionally for lunches, but they've all died," Tagliaferre said. "There's nobody around here anymore. The houses have been recycled with new families, and I'm an outlier here."
After retiring, he began the first of 12 books he's written on topics including religion and aging, and he's still hoping to secure a book deal. In 2024, he made $115,000 from his pension and Social Security. He paid for his house and car in cash, so he's kept his expenses low. He's managed his finances carefully and tries to stay occupied, though he said he gets lonely more often.
"We don't know what might happen; I could have a stroke tonight," Tagliaferre said. "I'm still reading and learning every day."
