Here’s what it’s like to be born really, really, really rich in America trib.al/0K83pYf The Waltons, long reserved and discreet about their fortune, are stepping out as never before. Sixty years after the founding of Walmart, the clan is pouring money into a range of new pursuits, with the apparent aim of making money — and having some fun trib.al/0K83pYf

For years, he seemed like a wizard of Niketown – a Lamborghini-loving sneakerhead who made millions peddling rare Air Jordans at crazy low prices trib.al/ewtBt5j Now, this consummate shoe salesman has been accused by federal authorities of masterminding a Ponzi scheme custom-fit to these strange financial times trib.al/ewtBt5j

More Americans are relocating to Europe, driven across the Atlantic by the rising cost of living, inflated house prices, a surging dollar and political rancor at home trib.al/0fjVAgF Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece and France are among the most popular destinations trib.al/0fjVAgF

While the US rental market is showing early signs of cooling down, that offers little comfort for renters in Austin, Texas, where the cost of a one-bedroom apartment has more than doubled over the past year trib.al/7bEu7Zp The 108% surge in Austin rent, to an average of $3,257 a month, is by far the largest year-over-year increase in the country, according to the latest monthly look at national prices from @rentdotcom trib.al/7bEu7Zp

A world economy already contending with raging inflation, stock-market turmoil and a grueling war is facing yet another threat: the unraveling of a massive housing boom trib.al/0STaww7 As central banks around the globe rapidly increase interest rates, soaring borrowing costs mean people who were already stretching to buy property are finally reaching their limits trib.al/0STaww7

Len Blavatnik has fashioned himself as a self-made billionaire, a media mogul, and an industrialist.

But his $37 billion fortune has Russian roots, and his moves to sever those ties has made some call him "the most clever oligarch of them all” trib.al/Y3z2NTq Blavatnik was born in Soviet Ukraine and stripped of Soviet citizenship in his early 20s after moving to the US. He returned east years later and made a fortune in the so-called “aluminum wars” and Siberian oilfields bit.ly/3tdjaHe

The US Housing market is bringing buyers to tears trib.al/phtlFVR With prices high and inventory tight, 50% of homebuyers said they cried at least once during the process of purchasing a house, with the stress on par with planning a wedding or being fired, according to a Zillow survey trib.al/qWJ1RP9

Is a college degree worth it? Why more students and parents are saying no trib.al/HhQZFjD High schoolers and their parents are increasingly questioning whether a traditional four-year college education is the right financial decision, with rising costs often resulting in crippling student-loan debt trib.al/MDpKMZF

Worried about inflation? More than 1 in 3 Americans earning at least $250,000 annually say they are living paycheck to paycheck trib.al/VaO2yeg Some 36% of households taking in nearly four times the median US salary spend nearly all of their income on household expenses, according to a new survey trib.al/35Qw6zy

[THREAD] The average Wall Street bonus increased 20% last year as a flurry of initial public offerings and higher underwriting fees boosted profitability across the industry trib.al/DWhoRGK The typical bonus paid to employees in New York’s securities industry climbed to an all-time high of $257,500, according to an analysis by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli trib.al/DWhoRGK

[THREAD] Since June, MacKenzie Scott has donated almost $3.9 billion to 465 organizations, more than half of which are led by women trib.al/cq2TnfN Scott outlined her latest giving in a Medium post published Wednesday, saying the aim of her philanthropy was “to support the needs of underrepresented people from groups of all kinds” trib.al/cq2TnfN

[THREAD] Splurging on avocado toast and daily lattes aren’t what’s holding Millennials back from owning a home trib.al/vwZlsWv With the average U.S. home price now over $330,000 and decades-high inflation outpacing wage gains, people between 26 to 41 are feeling the squeeze just as they should be entering their financial prime, leading many to put off marriage and having kids trib.al/vwZlsWv

[THREAD] Plenty of countries have super-rich business leaders with political influence.

Russia took this to a different level trib.al/3nDZvOa The wealthy, connected men who enabled and profited from the transformation of Russia’s economy and society under President Boris Yeltsin came to be known as oligarchs.

(An oligarchy is government by a small group of people) trib.al/3nDZvOa

[THREAD] After two years of a pandemic, all they wanted to do was take their long-delayed trips.

Then flight prices surged trib.al/rrVEaw2 The much-awaited easing of Covid cases and restrictions is coinciding with a jump in jet-fuel costs, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted the U.S. to ban imports of Russian crude and pushed oil prices as high as $130 a barrel trib.al/rrVEaw2

[THREAD] Many U.S. drivers, stung by record gasoline prices, say they’d pay even more if it would end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

That doesn’t mean they’re happy about it trib.al/qlzntT1 Monday’s commute brought the shock of $80 fill-ups in California and New York, as the threat of sanctions on Russian oil smashed price records trib.al/qlzntT1

Most Americans think there's never been a worse time to buy a house trib.al/0Wq5qi9 The share of Americans who say it’s a good time to buy a home hit an all-time low of 25% in a monthly Fannie Mae survey.

In the January survey, 69% of respondents said it’s a good time to sell, an all-time high in the series that dates back to 2010 trib.al/Cf6crwO

Think dating is difficult? Try finding a home trib.al/52kI5xY More than a third of people who have moved recently said it’s tougher to buy a home in today’s wildly competitive market than it is to find a spouse, according to a new Zillow survey trib.al/9jUNYyH

Americans can expect to inherit $72.6 trillion over the next 25 years – but almost half that wealth will come from the top 1.5% trib.al/yy2CwCT That’s because the ultra-rich can shield the bulk of their fortunes better than before.

The 2017 Republican tax overhaul doubled the amount the wealthy can pass to heirs without triggering an estate tax trib.al/KAjm03j

"There simply aren’t enough yachts available" trib.al/T52R1vd Fueled by rising wealth and Covid social distancing, the super rich drove a 77% surge in superyacht sales last year – enough to drain supply and send prices overboard bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

[THREAD] Every investor wants to know the next big market risk. Here's what Cathie Wood and other Wall Street heavy hitters say to watch trib.al/QN3LN7q Cathie Wood says her biggest concern for markets is a "deflationary boom" trib.al/QN3LN7q

For those who have weathered several crackdowns in the past, the latest China crypto ban represented another opportunity to buy at lower prices.
trib.al/IThNrwE “These policies are not new to us, so we view them as a buy signal,” said Stephen, a Shanghai-based crypto investor who preferred to be identified by his first name only. He bought $20,000 of Bitcoin over the weekend, he said. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…