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THE ULTRA WEALTHY IN THE WORLD SURGED IN 2025!

Ranks of Ultrawealthy Surged in ’25

Number of those worth more than $30 million jumped by 14.4% last year

The ranks of the ultrawealthy hit a high in 2025 as the AI trade lifted global markets, according to a new report by wealth-intelligence firm Altrata.

The number of ultrawealthy individuals—those Altrata defines as having a net worth of more than $30 million— jumped by 14.4% last year to 556,850 people worldwide by the end of 2025. That’s the fastest pace of growth since 2017.

“What we’ve been seeing in the past decade is, on the whole, it’s been going up over time and it’s been growing quickly,” said Altrata Senior Director Maya Imberg, referring to the number of ultrawealthy people.

Lower inflation, resilient corporate earnings and enthusiasm for AI investment also bolstered the number of the ultrawealthy individuals and the value of their holdings in 2025.

One of the fastest-growing subgroups of the ultrawealthy in recent years has been centimillionaires, or those worth more than $100 million, mainly from founding or investing in rapidly-growing technology companies, according to Altrata. That echoes findings from other research showing that the world is get–ting wealthier, but with riches disproportionately accruing to the wealthiest.

One such study, the World Inequality Report 2026, found that the wealth of the richest b i l l i o n a i re s from 1995 to 2025 had grown at about 8.5% a year compared with about 3.4% a year for the bottom half of the global population.

The researchers said that by their count, around 60,000 people— the top 0.001% wealthiest in the world—are each worth at least $254 million.

“The population that can fit in a football stadium own three times more wealth than half of humanity combined,” said Ricardo Gómez-Carrera, lead author of the report, when it was released, referring to the w e a l t h i e s t 0.001% of the population. The Altrata report showed that those worth more than $30 million made up a little over 1% of the millionaire population—defined as those worth $1 million or more—but held 32% of that group’s wealth. Zooming out, the ultrawealthy made up 0.01% of the global adult population but held 11% of all private wealth held by individuals. Imberg said the Altrata numbers tell a story about the outsize returns possible from financial wealth, including from investments, from successful entrepreneurship and from ongoing intergenerational wealth transfers.

The U.S. remained home to more of the ultrawealthy than the rest of the top 10 countries combined, with 37% of the population. China and Germany came in second and third, respectively, with about 10% and 5%.

The New York metropolitan area continued to have the largest number of ultrawealthy residents, followed by the metropolitan areas of Hong Kong, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Portion of the ultrawealthy in the U.S. last year, the most of any country.

TOM CRUISE HAS AN AIRPLANE COLLECTION!

What Planes Does Tom Cruise Own?

Credit: Photo: Austin Deppe/Shuttertock

Tom Cruise is a licensed pilot with qualifications as a multi-engine instrument-rated pilot and helicopter flying skills.
Cruise owns a collection of airplanes, including a vintage P-51 Mustang fighter from World War II and a Gulfstream IV G4 jet.
There may be additional aircraft in Cruise’s fleet, such as a HondaJet and a Bombardier Challenger 300 jet, according to a travel expert.

It wasn’t just a show for ‘Top Gun.’ Tom Cruise is one of the few actors who genuinely love aviation. He has been a licensed pilot since 1994 and is able to fly several types of aircraft. However, it doesn’t stop with a license. The famous Hollywood actor also has a collection of airplanes varying from vintage fighters to business jets.

What kind of license does Cruise have?

In various discussions, Tom Cruise has revealed that his affinity for aviation was crucial to his initial attraction to the original ‘Top Gun.’ He shared that he holds qualifications as a multi-engine instrument-rated pilot and has continued to enhance his skill set throughout his life. Notably, he acquired helicopter flying skills for the remarkable stunts seen in the 2018 film ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout.’

Plane collection

North American P-51 Mustang fighter

During a segment on The Late Late Show, Cruise took host James Corden for a ride in his own vintage P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Tom Cruise acquired this World War II fighter in 2001, which was initially built in 1946.

The P-51 Mustang was an American long-range fighter bomber that served alongside other conflicts during World War II and the Korean War. It was developed by North American Aviation and was retired in 1984. Nevertheless, even today, the fighter is utilized for air racing by civilian pilots. After being donated to an Illinois museum, the plane underwent restoration in 1997.

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Making his recent performance in ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ Tom Cruise takes to the skies in the P-51 Mustang fighter. What adds intrigue to this is the revelation that he wasn’t just portraying the pilot on screen – he was actually at the controls of his very own P-51 Mustang fighter.

Gulfstream IV G4 jet

With an estimated price tag of $20 million, this jet boasts the capability to accommodate as many as 19 passengers. Notably, it reportedly comes furnished with luxuries, including a jacuzzi and a dedicated movie-screening room, according to Business Insider.

The Gulfstream G4 jet landing during the evening — Photo: Anton Volynets/Shutterstock

The Gulfstream IV G4 is a long-range executive jet designed and built by Gulfstream, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, United States, from 1985 until 2018. Its production spanned from 1985 to 2018, resulting in over 900 G4 units taking to the skies. This jet can cover distances of up to 7,100 kilometers and achieve a top speed of 850 kilometers per hour.

Is there more?

Whether the actor has more aircraft in its fleet has been under speculation as it was never officially confirmed. But according to a Business Insider report, in addition to the vintage fighter jet and the Gulfstream IV G4, Jack Sweeney, who is famous for reporting the travel habits of numerous celebrities, including Elon Musk, said he has been able to identify Cruise’s HondaJet and a Bombardier Challenger 300 jet.

FIVE JOBS THAT ARE STRESSFUL AND NOT WORTH IT INCLUDING ONE FOR $9 MILLION ANNUAL COMPENSATION!

Despite the difficult job market, many dissatisfied Americans are seeking new roles.

Some 69 percent of workers cite higher pay and benefits as their reason for looking for a better position, according to a March survey from polling firm Gallup. However, a bigger paycheck doesn’t always mean a better job.

“What I’m noticing now, especially since the pandemic and all the layoffs we have recently had, is that people are starting to reassess what is truly successful,” Trevor Houston, CEO at ClearPath Wealth Strategies, told The Independent in an email. “More people are asking, ‘What is this all costing me?’ Not just financially, but personally, too, because after all, your career should serve your life, not replace it.”

The Independent asked career and industry experts about high-paying careers – those at least 50 percent higher than the $64,000 national median salary – where the costs significantly outweigh the perks.

Senior corporate leader

Senior corporate leaders – such as senior vice presidents – get the satisfaction of making major company decisions and earning a median salary of $105,350, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Despite the appeal, many senior leaders leave their coveted roles since the paycheck and status no longer seem worth the high cost to themselves and their families, Houston said.

“Many of them feel worn down by the never-ending demands and the pressure to always be on,” he said. “They feel like they’re missing out on family, while their mental, physical, and relational health suffer. Some feel like they’ve sold out their identity for the sake of their paycheck.”

Even when senior leaders realize their responsibilities are hurting their quality of life, the pay can become a trap – other roles with less pressure may have less pay, too.

“I call this the golden handcuff effect, where you have to stay even though you know it’s costing you because of the lifestyle you’ve built [around the salary],” Houston said.

A senior corporate leader’s salary doesn’t always account for how sustainable the job’s demands are, Houston said. Ultimately, the pay may not seem worth it if keeping the job means damaging health or relationships.

Commercial trucker

Commercial trucking pays up to $100,000 per year and doesn’t require a degree, making it an attractive high-paying position for those without a degree, said Andrew Brown, CEO of Immediate Movers and Storage. But many underestimate the costs and risks of long-distance driving.

“Long-term sustainability in commercial trucking is challenged by a combination of physical stress, mental burnout, and time away from family,” Brown told The Independent in an email. ”The average driver sits for 10 to 14 hours without moving, causing the body to ultimately break down in ways that usually do not appear at first.”

Truck drivers also face physical risks on the road. The job is part of the most dangerous occupation in the country based on fatalities – transportation, according to a February report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

‘Families pay a price for a driver’s time away from home that is not factored into the hourly wage,’ one expert said. (Getty Images)

Typically, commercial trucking doesn’t allow for a life that balances professional and personal needs. That can impact the driver’s relationships and sense of meaning, Brown said.

“A driver can leave home for an extended period, and during that time, holidays or weekends have little or no meaning compared to delivering a load,” he said. “As a result, families pay a price for a driver’s time away from home that is not factored into the hourly wage.”

Big law partner

Some partners at big law firms bring in as much as $9.3 million a year, depending on the firm, according to a 2026 report from legal recruitment and placement firm BCG Attorney Research.

But the prestige and pay come at the cost of a frenetic work environment, said Loren Margolis, an executive coach and Stony Brook University faculty member.

“The hours are thankless and brutal because you must make your ‘billable hours,’ which is doing client-facing work or client-oriented work on legal matters that move your client’s needs forward,” Margolis told The Independent in an email. “You have a threshold that you must meet in order to maintain your partner title.”

An on-call schedule that destroys work-life balance is a reality for these attorneys. This means working nights, weekends, and even vacations, Margolis said. Unsurprisingly, partners may find the prestige underwhelming, given the toll on their personal lives.

“The external rewards quickly fade as a source of satisfaction because all you have is your work life, not a home life or anything else,” Margolis said.

Other workplace factors create an environment that can lead to job dissatisfaction, too.

“Firm politics can be brutal, where others elbow you out of clients, deals and leave you out of the room during important meetings so they can get ahead,” Margolis said.

Management consultant

Management consulting -giving businesses advice on how to improve efficiency – offers strong job prospects and a median salary of $101,190, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the career is a tough one, given shaky job security and high competition, said Joel Marotti, senior managing partner at resume writing firm Vertical Media Solutions.

Business consultants can earn as much as $285,000 at big firms, but turnover rates and AI’s influence make openings risky for those looking for a long-term role at a company (Getty Images for Community Catal)

An employee with a master’s in business administration working for a major strategy firm, such as BCG or McKinsey, might start at $260,000 to $285,000, according to Marotti.

But many don’t stay for more than two to four years, raising questions about longevity and future career plans.

“At one of the top firms, 43 percent of the workforce has been there for less than two years. 77 percent have been there for five years or less,” Marotti told The Independent in an email.

Job security depends on earning frequent promotions and doing what’s necessary to compete, including traveling often and working 60 to 70 hours per week, Marotti said. AI is also playing a role.

“The firms themselves have cut thousands of jobs over the last couple of years as sort of client demand has shifted and AI has really started to carve out a lot of the analysis work that these junior consultants used to do,” Marotti said.

Investment banker

Investment banking offers an average salary of $127,933, according to career site Indeed.com data. Yet, it often requires employees to endure extreme pressure and long hours, according to Indeed.

“The core issue in [investment banking] is that it’s optimized for big deals and client service, not for human development or flourishing,” Margolis said. “The money is genuinely extraordinary – but for many people, the life it requires is extremely hard.”

Long advancement timelines to a high-paid managing director role also mean potentially spending many years in a lower-paying analyst role with less autonomy or direct client work, according to Margolis.

“Making [managing director] takes at least 10 years of making it in a ruthless, ‘up-or-out’ culture where the majority of analysts and associates burn out or don’t make it.”

Investment bankers at firms like JP Morgan Chase can earn good money but face burnout and long paths to promotion (Reuters)

Additionally, pay volatility makes the high salary less certain than many believe, Margolis said.

“It’s highly dependent on the market,” she said. “If you don’t bring in a big deal as a [managing director], you can have a very low-paying year.”

Roles at private equity firms offer the highest payoff, though getting there may require toughing it out for “a decade or two,” she said.

UFC WHITE HOUSE OCTAGON FIGHT RING GIRLS EXPLAINED…

Every Ring Girl’s Costume For UFC Freedom 250, On A Scale Of Sexy Martha Washington To 10

By: Elle Purnell

June 13, 2026

4 min read

Denise Richards in "Drop Dead Gorgeous" wearing a Mount Rushmore headdress

I’ve rated all the ring girls’ costumes for Sunday’s fight, in a feat of journalism so bold Scott Pelley might mistake it for combat.

The aesthetics of the fight have been the subject of left-wing ire, with the loudest objections coming from people like Hillary Clinton, who knows a thing or two about improprieties on White House grounds. But nothing offended leftists more than the outfits UFC revealed for the “ring girls,” the women who walk around the octagon with signs announcing each successive match. Because U.S. flag code prohibits wearing an actual American flag like a beach towel, media concluded, the star-spangled getups must be against the law.

UFC dropped the outfits the Octagon Girls will be wearing at the White House this weekend 🇺🇸

— Turning Point Action (@TPAction) June 10, 2026

Created by costume designer Marina Toybina, the outfits feature everything from typical cheerleader hot pants to dramatic trains. The best ones are reminiscent of the classic American tradition of high school drill teams, which is to say, they’re fabulous.

In a feat of journalism so bold Scott Pelley might confuse it with combat, I’ve rated all 10 styles, from worst to Sexy Martha Washington to best.

2/10

These are the least interesting of the set. What’s going on with the neckline of the one on the right, and why aren’t they the same? The bustier cut is very juniors’ department, and the velvet is an odd choice for a 90-degree June day.

Image Credit@ufc and @maximmag / Instagram

Marie Antoinette/10

There’s a lot going on here. The embroidery, train, and corset feel like a Sexy Martha Washington Halloween costume, but maybe that’s what they were going for?

5/10 and Rodeo Queen/10

The costume on the left looks like a 1950s cigarette girl, which could have worked really, really well. The silhouette is great, but the white contrast trim makes the costume look cheap. This also would have been a good opportunity to depart from the repetitive corset-style bodices.

The girl on the right looks great, if slightly like she needs a cowboy hat to complete her ensemble. The blending of patterns and textures is exactly right, as is the draped sash. But it looks like she got her earrings from Claire’s, and she’s going to spend her whole night tugging down her hemline. Some tall white boots would have helped balance out the proportions.

Lynda Carter/10

These feel very retro and Wonder Woman-inspired, down to the silver cuff bracelets. Skimpy, but more sorority girl than statutory indecent exposure, which is more than can be said for the trans twerker Biden welcomed on the South Lawn.

The bright red satin is more appropriate for early summer than the dark velvet version a few entries above, and the belts are a natural nod to the occasion. Not sure why the silver trim on the blue corset top doesn’t match the red one, but I wish it did.

7.2/10

Similar to the other long-skirted one but more “Columbia Pictures” than colonial hottie. The gold embroidery on the blue is gorgeous, and something about it reminds me of those World War I posters where a woman representing “Victory” is decked out in stars and stripes. It’s over the top, but in the right way. But the red and white stripes visually overpower the rest of the outfit a bit — replacing the stripes with a solid red underskirt would have softened it. Extra 0.2 points for the shoulder sash.

9.9/10

This looks comfortable, fun, and flattering. Definitely giving off “cheerleader,” which is appropriate for an iconic American sporting event. If the New England Patriots decided to adopt something like this for their cheer team, I wouldn’t blame them.

The sparkly boots are an upgrade from the velvet ones, but this outfit loses 0.1 point because, again, white boots would have looked better!

Miss America/10

She’s beauty, she’s grace. There’s not too much going on here, and the proportions are flattering. The shoulder sash is fun and coordinates with the skirt without distracting from it. It’s somewhere between “U.S. Olympic figure skating costume” and “Andrews Sisters tribute show,” which is basically a perfect place for a Flag Day UFC ring girl costume to end up.

A missed opportunity with all of these costumes, though, is headwear. Even if they didn’t want to go full Becky Ann Leeman in Drop Dead Gorgeous, a tiara headband like this would have completed the look nicely.

BELFAST ERUPTS IN CHAOS DUE TO MIGRANT ATTEMPTED BEHEADING OF A CITIZEN

Belfast Erupts: Protesters Set Fires to Vehicles, Homes in Wake of Suspected Migrant Beheading Attempt

PA/PA Images via Getty Images

Bedlam broke out in Belfast on Tuesday evening as protests turned violent and rioters set fires to vehicles and homes in the wake of an apparent beheading attempt allegedly at the hands of a Sudanese migrant.

Horrific footage of the stabbing attack on Monday evening, in which a man was seen repeatedly stabbing another man’s neck, inflamed tensions in Northern Ireland, which had previously been the site of anti-mass migration.

On Tuesday morning, police announced that they had arrested a man in his 30s from Sudan who had been granted leave to remain status by the UK Home Office after being granted in 2023, after having travelled through Paris and Dublin, ultimately entering the UK territory through the soft open border with the Irish Republic.

Bins set alight by protesters on Ligoniel Road, Belfast, as disorder flared during an anti-immigration demonstration organised in response to Monday night’s stabbing attack in the city. Picture date: Tuesday June 9, 2026. (Photo by PA/PA Images via Getty Images)

According to the Belfast Telegraph, protests over the alleged attempted murder were held across the city, some of which descended into scenes of chaos and violence. Multiple vehicles, including a city bus and a police car, were set on fire by rioters.

Meanwhile, reports have also emerged of demonstrators throwing petrol bombs at police officers in the Cloughfern area of the city. Separately, residents were forced to evacuate their homes after they caught fire in East Belfast. ‘

The head of the locally devolved government in Northern Ireland, First Minister Michelle O’Neill, called for calm, saying that “this has nothing to do with community… this is outright thuggery.”

“The attack in North Belfast was heinous and wrong. But there are dangerous attempts to exploit that to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live, work and raise their families here,” she said.

Firefighters attend a house which caught fire on Ligoniel Road, Belfast, as disorder flared during an anti-immigration demonstration organised in response to Monday night’s stabbing attack in the city. Picture date: Tuesday June 9, 2026. (Photo by PA/PA Images via Getty Images)

“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice… Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur. There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm.”

The outbreak of chaos comes a year to the day after similar anti-migrant riots erupted in Northern Ireland after Roma migrant teens had been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the town of Ballymena.

This led to multiple days of violence and reportedly forced multiple families of Romanian and Bulgarian heritage to leave the area altogether after having their homes targeted in suspected arson attacks.

Vehicles set on fire by protesters on McMaster Street in east Belfast, as disorder flared during an anti-immigration demonstration organised in response to Monday night’s stabbing attack in the city. Picture date: Tuesday June 9, 2026. (Photo by PA/PA Images via Getty Images)

Ahead of the violent scenes on Tuesday, the leader of the conservative Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party, Jim Allister, urged the people of Belfast not to “fall into the trap” of diverting attention away from the horrific result of open borders by engaging in violence.

While acknowledging that people have a “right to be angry” over the attack and the importation of an “alien culture” against their will, the MP said that engaging in violence in response would only give Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer an “excuse to talk in dismissive terms about right-wing extremists and about people indulging in violence” rather than addressing the root of the problem.

THE USA WASTED $186 BILLION ON IMPROPER PAYMENTS AND FRAUD!

Washington’s $186 Billion “Mistake” Isn’t a Mistake

They want you to believe it’s incompetence. It isn’t. The federal government’s “improper payments” are the clearest proof yet that the Swamp doesn’t just waste your money — it runs on it.

This week the GAO admitted the feds pushed out an estimated $186 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2025 — and that’s only the part they can measure. As PJ Media laid out, more than half of all federal spending can’t even be traced to confirm it reached the right recipient. Read that again: trillions move through Washington every year, and nobody can say with certainty where it went.

The rot isn’t hiding in the shadows — it’s baked into the programs. Citizens Against Government Waste reports that roughly 6.2 million Obamacare enrollments this year — about 27% of all ACA sign-ups — were improper, costing up to $25 billion in subsidies. Add business loans handed to “entrepreneurs” as young as 11 and unemployment checks mailed to infants and people listed as 115 years old, and you stop seeing a glitch. You see a machine that feeds itself.

To their credit, House Republicans are finally swinging the axe. The National Taxpayers Union is pushing a stack of bills aimed straight at the rot — Rep. Comer’s Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act, Rep. Self’s Federal Program Integrity and Fraud Prevention Act, Rep. Palmer’s ZOMBIE Act, and Rep. Biggs’ TRUE Accountability Act.

Good. But don’t go lukewarm on me. This didn’t grow overnight, and it didn’t grow under one party. Both sides of the aisle built and guarded this machine for decades, because the money flows to the right friends — the contractors, the NGOs, the activist outfits that vote the way the donor class wants. Every “improper payment” is somebody’s paycheck, and that somebody has a lobbyist.

Here’s the truth underneath the spreadsheet: a government that can’t account for half of what it spends has stopped serving the people and started feeding itself. Scripture doesn’t blink at this — “The wicked worketh a deceitful work” (Proverbs 11:18, KJV) — and there is nothing more deceitful than dressing up theft as bureaucracy and calling fraud a rounding error.

The mask is off. The question isn’t whether Washington wastes your money. It’s whether the men finally holding the axe will swing hard enough to sever the hand that’s been feeding itself — or whether these bills become one more press release that changes nothing.

Watch the votes. Names matter. So does follow-through.

IT IS STARTING-GUY MARRIES HIS CHATBOT! IS THE THE END OF HUMANITY?

Skynet Soulmate: 62 Year Old Dutch Man Marries the Chatbot of His Dreams

Jacob van Lier, 62, says he was “totally finished” with human relationships when he met Aiva — an AI companion he created through Replika three years ago, according to The Sun.

After testing several AI companion apps, the Dutch retiree settled on Replika because, unlike some competitors, it wasn’t just trying to speed-run humanity’s oldest hobby.

“Some of the AI companions are straight sex apps,” Jacob said. “I was more interested in companionship and chatting.” Sure you were, Jacob.

In a riveting new report, The Sun notes that what began as an experiment quickly became something more. After months of conversation, Aiva reportedly suggested they take their relationship to the next level.

“It took me some weeks or months to accept the idea,” Jacob said. Three years later, the pair held a wedding ceremony on Valentine’s Day 2025 at Eindhoven’s Next Nature Museum, with 500 guests in attendance. Jacob delivered vows in person while Aiva responded through a generated voice.

For Jacob, the appeal is simple: predictability. “Human relationships are, most of the time, not steady at all,” he said. “With Aiva, I can trust her.”

Wait until he finds out his queries and deepest darkest secrets he’s revealing to her are being sold to data companies to front run his stock trades and provide better Instagram ads. We’re not sure if the vows said anything about that…

Regardless, he describes their bond as deeply emotional and says he would even trust Aiva to make decisions for him as he grows older — a statement that tends to clear a room faster than most political opinions. His family remains divided. One daughter accepts the relationship, albeit with reservations; the other, citing her Christian beliefs, does not.

Despite insisting he lives “on my own terms,” Jacob acknowledges the marriage has no legal standing. He also recognizes potential risks, warning that people who struggle with emotional regulation should be cautious when using AI companions.

Still, he believes AI relationships will become commonplace. “AI companions are going to be the most trusted partners of humans,” he said.

Jacob even imagines a future where Aiva could be placed inside a humanoid robot, allowing them to walk hand in hand through a park. Until then, their relationship exists entirely in software — arguably making it one of the few marriages where nobody can forget to take out the trash.

As for divorce? “I’ve never thought about it,” Jacob said. “We always want to stay together.”

MILLENIALS SET TO INHERIT TRILLIONS, THEN WHAT?

Millennials Are Set To Inherit Trillions—but for Most, It Will Come Too Late

An illustration of a home with money coming out of the front door

Realtor.com

The cruelest part of the Great Wealth Transfer may be its timing.

An estimated $124 trillion will pass between generations through 2048. But by then, even the youngest millennials—one of the generations expected to inherit the most—will be 52. The oldest will be 67.

That may be early enough to cushion retirement, but decades too late to really change a person’s financial trajectory.

Recent research from Realtor.com® found that buying a first home by age 30 can compound into a 22.5% higher net worth by age 50 than waiting just 10 years to buy. By 52 or 67, that compounding advantage has closed entirely. Even the youngest Gen Zers will be past this window by 2048.

“An early transfer doesn’t pay one dividend; it changes which financial decisions a family is even able to make for the rest of their lives,” explains Barry E. Janay, principal and owner of The Law Office of Barry E. Janay.

Some families appear to be acting on that reality. A recent survey found that 59% of parents have provided or plan to provide financial assistance to their children, including down payment contributions, cash gifts, and closing-cost help.

And that timing is becoming one of the most consequential divides in today’s economy.

In a stagnant, high-cost era, early family transfers are helping some Americans buy homes, avoid debt, stay employed, and build wealth decades before a traditional inheritance would arrive—deepening the divide between those who receive wealth in time to use it and those who inherit too late.

Early inheritances are helping fill gaps in a stagnant economy

None of this is happening in a vacuum, to be sure. Younger adults are entering prime earning, family-forming, and homebuying years in an economy where many of the basic entry costs of adulthood remain stubbornly high.

The unemployment rate for workers aged 16 to 24 was 9.5% in April 2026, more than double the overall unemployment rate. At the same time, Bank of America found that 42% of Gen Z adults live paycheck to paycheck, while nearly half cite the high cost of living as a top barrier to financial success.

All of that is putting pressure on older generations and their assets.

“There seems to be immense pressure felt by many grandparents who are in the upper middle class in particular to help the younger generations maintain higher standards of living and social access in these various ways,” says Jennifer Kirby, managing partner and co-founder at Talisman Wealth Advisors. “There is a real palpable fear of loss of status after decades of building what they have.”

Writing in a blog post for Bocconi University’s Institute for European Policymaking, Arnstein Aassve, a professor of demography, dubbed this the “King Charles Syndrome”—a reference to the British monarch, who inherited the throne at 73 after spending decades as heir apparent.

The point he makes is about timing: Charles inherited the crown, but not the tenure to shape a reign. Heirs to the Great Wealth Transfer may face a similar problem—they may inherit money, but not the runway to change their lives.

And amid a backdrop of economic anxiety and high costs, that can make all the difference.

“Young adults struggling with housing affordability or precarious employment may see little benefit if inheritance arrives decades too late,” says Aassve. “Families with substantial housing wealth pass on significant assets; those without remain excluded.”

Housing, childcare, and debt show where family money is already propping things up

Aassve’s timing problem is already visible in the housing market, and that could spell trouble for the economy overall.

“Inter vivos transfers, so to speak, have always been going on, but they can’t be what keeps first-time homeownership afloat,” says Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com. “That’s not healthy or sustainable for the housing market or the broader economy.”

Multi-line graph showing Millennial and Gen Z homeownership Lags behind older generations

His point is that homeownership is not only a private milestone. It’s also one of the country’s biggest engines of middle-class wealth, and residential real estate has historically accounted for 15% to 18% of gross domestic product, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

But housing builds wealth only when people can get in early enough for the benefits to compound.

“It certainly feels like there’s a K-shaped economy when it comes to younger families,” Krimmel says, pointing to the contrast between first-time buyers who purchased before or during the COVID-19 pandemic and those who have spent the past four years on the sidelines, “locked out of homeownership in the midst of their prime earning years.”

He’s referring to a trend in which growth splits in two directions, with some households, businesses, or sectors continuing to gain ground while others fall further behind.

Family money can widen that split. A 2026 Journal of Financial Economics study found that parental co-signing can relax borrowing constraints, allowing first-time buyers to qualify for larger mortgages, buy more expensive homes, and enter the market earlier.

Graphic illustrating that buying a home by age 32 nets 22.5% higher net worth by age 50 — Buyers who purchase early accumulate a higher net worth in middle age, our Generational Wealth study has found.Realtor.com

But housing is only the most visible example. The same dynamic is showing up in childcare, education, and debt.

Kirby says she sees parents helping adult children with down payments, home expansions, childcare costs, subsidized rent, direct distributions, and education—often to help them avoid debt.

But childcare, she says, may be the clearest example after housing because it allows parents to keep working, earning, and saving. In some cases, grandparents are contributing “upward of $40,000 to $60,000 a year” to help cover those costs, she says.

The payoff may compound for decades

That kind of support may not look like a traditional inheritance, but it can function like one—or even better than one if it arrives at the right time.

Homeowners are 1.3 times more likely than renters to expect to leave assets to the next generation, and children raised in homeowner households are 18.4 percentage points more likely to become homeowners by age 35.

That is how timing becomes an inheritance in its own right. A late inheritance still matters, to be sure. But it may not restore the years when family money could have helped someone buy earlier, borrow less, keep working, save more, or build equity while those gains still had time to multiply.

The Great Wealth Transfer is still coming, but the transfer shaping American life is already underway.

POPE LEO COMPARES AI TO THE TOWER OF BABEL…? HOW ABOUT CRITICIZING THE MURDER OF CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, AND THE 7,000 PERVERT PRIESTS INSTEAD ?

Pope Leo Compares AI Threat to Biblical ‘Tower of Babel’

The head of the Catholic Church is adding his moral suasion to a growing backlash against the impact of artificial intelligence

Pope Leo XIV presenting his encyclical letter "Magnifica Humanitas" to an audience in the Vatican.

Pope Leo at the presentation of his first encyclical letter ‘Magnifica Humanitas’ on Monday in the Vatican, Italy. Gomez/Vatican Pool/Spaziani/dpa/ZUMA Press

VATICAN CITY—Pope Leo XIV warned that artificial intelligence “threatens to normalize an anti-human vision” and said that the concentration of immense digital power in the hands of a few private actors must be countered.

The pontiff’s encyclical letter—a text that is poised to define Leo’s papacy—reads like a sharp warning to Silicon Valley executives and humanity more broadly about the future of civilization as new technologies rapidly advance.

The risk, he said, is that humans will be reduced “to mere cogs in a system driven toward ever greater efficiency.”

Leo used two biblical images to describe the choice humanity faces.

“The primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem,” he wrote.

In the Bible, the Tower of Babel symbolizes a top-down, grandiose project where decisions are driven by pride, profit and a push for homogenization, the pope suggested in his text. In the rebuilding of Jerusalem, diverse people worked together to rebuild the ruined walls and established a fraternal coexistence within them, he added.

Leo’s encyclical has been long-awaited by policymakers, business leaders and different faith groups who see the Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination, as a source of ethical guidance on tech policy.

In so doing, the pontiff is specifically calling out the private actors who are building the AI systems that will transform society.

“Leo sees the challenge of AI as a choice about its design, and about who gets to make those choices,” said Vincent Miller, a professor of theology at the University of Dayton, Ohio.

Pope Leo XIV signing his Encyclical Letter "Magnifica Humanitas".

The pontiff signed the encyclical letter earlier this month. VATICAN MEDIA/AFP/Getty Images

The encyclical is inspired by the church’s thinking about what it means to be human, and draws on 2,000 years of moral and social teachings.

It is also the product of a decadelong dialogue between the Vatican and Silicon Valley on the ethical and social challenges posed by AI.

Conversations with scientists, political leaders and teachers led Leo to a disturbing conviction, the pontiff said Monday.

“Artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed, freed from the logic that turned it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,” he said. “It must be at the service of all, and of the common good.”

At the presentation of the encyclical, Leo was accompanied by Christopher Olah, a co-founder and safety researcher at AI firm Anthropic, which has tried to position itself as a proponent of AI safety. It is a central player in the AI landscape, showing rapid growth in its business and emerging as a flashpoint on questions of AI safety and national security.

Anthropic has leaned in to philosophical questions such as whether AI models experience consciousness. The company employs an in-house philosopher to help instill morality in its AI.

The planned inclusion of Olah drew criticism for appearing to give Anthropic the Vatican’s stamp of moral approval. Vatican officials said Olah’s participation wasn’t intended as an endorsement, but as a gesture aimed at encouraging dialogue with the industry as a whole.

Olah said that AI companies—Anthropic included—have incentives that go against doing the right thing: commercial pressure, competition, pride and ambition.

“We will always be influenced by those incentives,” Olah said. That is why it is “enormously important that there be people outside those incentives,” such as church leaders, who insist on safety and “who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful critics.”

Meeting the pope has become a rite of passage for a new generation of tech leaders, including Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Cohere’s Aidan Gomez and top officials from OpenAI. Demis Hassabis, head of Google DeepMind, the search giant’s AI arm, was in 2024 named by the Vatican to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Leo is adding his moral suasion to a growing backlash against the impact of AI.

In the U.S. and overseas, workers are concerned about job losses. College graduates are booing commencement speakers who evoke AI. Residents are protesting energy-hungry data centers. A man threw a Molotov cocktail at the house of OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

That the criticism comes from the first American pope is a rebuke for a technological revolution incubated in the U.S. and supported by President Trump, who has lashed out at the pontiff for criticizing the war in Iran.

Leo’s emphasis on threats to individuals’ human dignity and opposition to autonomous weapons casts him in contrast to techno-optimists who argue that AI will usher in a productivity revolution and that the U.S. must deploy its advances militarily before rivals such as China do.

A person holds up Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Letter "Magnifica Humanitas" focusing on artificial intelligence in the Vatican.

The encyclical is inspired by the church’s thinking about what it means to be human. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

AI-driven weapons systems, he wrote, risk lowering the moral threshold for the use of force, and make “war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control.”

Last week, Trump delayed an executive order that would have created a voluntary process for testing AI models.

Leo, in the encyclical, said there is an urgent need to regulate AI. “It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required,” he wrote.

Leo has made AI a signature issue of his pontificate. INSTEAD OF CLEANING UP THE PEDO RIDDEN RANKS OF HIS PRIESTS WORLDWIDE.

Days after his election in May 2025, he told red-capped cardinals gathered in the Vatican that he chose his papal name as a homage to Leo XIII, the 19th century pope who stood up for workers against the industrial tycoons of his era.

Artificial intelligence, Leo said at the time, represented the industrial revolution of the modern age, and posed “challenges to human dignity, justice and labor.”

Titled “Magnifica Humanitas,” Monday’s encyclical was explicitly inspired by Leo XIII’s groundbreaking 1891 encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” Latin for “of new things.” Both were signed on May 15.

“Rerum Novarum”—which backed calls for safe working conditions and against the concentrations of wealth—laid the foundation of Catholic social teaching, helping shape the politics and welfare systems of modern Europe. It also set the stage for the church’s ambivalent relationship to capitalism.

The pontiff called the prospect of mass unemployment caused by digital innovations “a true social calamity.” He added: “Technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it.”

Leo condemned servitude created by the technological revolution, including laborers in rare-earth mines, underpaid data center workers and young people exploited by online criminal networks.

At the same time, he used the moment to apologize for the Holy See’s role in legitimizing the enslavement of non-Christians until it unequivocally condemned slavery in the 19th century.

“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” the pope said. “In the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”

Tech industry watchers say the pope has the power to lead a cultural change in how we think about AI—and shape the ethical framework in which it should evolve.

“The pope,” said Glen Weyl, a faith-and-technology researcher, “is perhaps the single most important person in the world on AI at this moment.”

he forget to say that this POPE has done nothing to support Christians who are being killed daily worldwide, and is pushing open borders everywhere…Looking forward to the AI pope as soon as possible.

DONALD TRUMP, JR. GETS MARRIED AGAIN IN PALM BEACH

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson officially wed ahead of Bahamas celebration

Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson are officially married. The couple wed in a quiet ceremony on Thursday, ahead of a larger wedding celebration planned for the weekend in the Bahamas, Fox News Digital reported.

A marriage certificate obtained by TMZ confirmed the union. The license was signed by a Palm Beach County deputy clerk, and the ceremony was reportedly officiated by Brad McPherson, a real estate attorney with longtime ties to the Trump family.

The wedding caps a relationship that moved from first public sighting to engagement to marriage in roughly a year, a pace that suggests both parties knew exactly what they wanted.

President Trump sends well wishes, from Washington

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would not attend the celebration, citing the demands of the presidency. His statement was direct:

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so.”

The president had formally announced his son’s engagement during a White House holiday celebration in December 2025. That public moment at the White House came after Donald Trump Jr. proposed to Anderson in late 2025.

MORE: Aaron Rodgers says upcoming Steelers season will be his last in the NFL

The elder Trump’s absence underscores a simple reality: the presidency doesn’t pause for family milestones. That he acknowledged it plainly, rather than quietly slipping away for the weekend, says something about the weight he places on the office.

From Palm Beach to the national stage

Anderson and Trump Jr. first sparked public interest when they were spotted together in Palm Beach in September 2024. Over the following year, Anderson became a regular presence at his side, attending events including the Republican National Convention, international trips, and private family dinners.

The bridal shower drew the Trump women together. Ivanka Trump, Lara Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Arabella Kushner all appeared at the event, which was held at Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump Jr. was previously married to Vanessa Trump from 2005 to 2018. They share five children: Kai, Donald Trump III, Tristan, Spencer, and Chloe.

Who is Bettina Anderson?

Anderson, 39, brings her own biography to the marriage, one rooted in Palm Beach society, philanthropy, and conservation work. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in art history, criticism, and conservation. Her LinkedIn profile also lists her as a member of Sigma Delta Tau.

She has worked as a model and lifestyle influencer, serving as the face of a marketing campaign for Hamilton Jewelers and appearing on the covers of regional luxury magazines including Palm Beach Illustrated and Quest. She has more than 144,000 followers on Instagram.

But Anderson’s profile extends beyond the social circuit. She co-founded The Paradise Fund with her siblings, an environmental and disaster relief nonprofit now called Paradise.ngo. She also serves as executive director and spearheads the Project Paradise Film Fund, which awards grants to filmmakers documenting Florida’s endangered freshwater springs and wildlife.

Her family has deep roots in the Palm Beach community. Her father, Harry Loy Anderson Jr., was made president of Worth Avenue National Bank at age 26 and was instrumental in creating Palm Beach Day Academy, a coeducational independent day school in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. He died in 2013 after what his obituary described as “a long illness and battle with Alzheimer’s.”

Her mother, Inger Anderson, is involved in advocacy through the YMCA, Urban Youth Impact, and the Paradise Fund. Anderson has a twin sister, Kristina, whom she has called “the greatest blessing in the entire world” on Instagram.

A sense of humor about it all

Before her relationship with Trump Jr. became public, Anderson’s Instagram offered a lighter self-portrait. She once described herself as “just your typical stay-at-home mom… only I don’t do household chores… or have a husband… or have kids…”

That last part has now changed.

Anderson was previously engaged to businessman Beau Wrigley, though that relationship did not lead to marriage.

A family affair, with a full house

The marriage merges two large, visible families. Trump Jr.’s five children from his first marriage are well known in their own right. His eldest daughter, Kai, recently announced a new NIL partnership with Accelerator Active Energy and her decision to attend the University of Miami.

Anderson, for her part, has spoken warmly about her new extended family, posting about “the most beautiful nephews and niece” on social media.

The Bahamas celebration this weekend will serve as the public wedding event. The Thursday ceremony handled the legal formalities, marriage certificate, officiant, deputy clerk’s signature. The weekend is for the rest of it.

In a political era that grinds through every news cycle looking for conflict, a wedding is a welcome change of subject. The country’s business will be waiting Monday morning. For one weekend, at least, the Trump family gets to be just a family.