• US average rent rose to just under $2,000 per month in April, Zillow reports.
• Tenants now need to earn 36% more than they did in 2019 to afford a typical rent.
• While rent growth continues, multifamily construction has softened its advance.

Renters just can't catch a break, with April's average US rent rising to just a hair below $2,000.

According to the latest Zillow report, prospective tenants now need to earn $79,889 to spend no more than 30% of their income on rent — a common threshold used to mark affordability. That's $21,197 more than in 2019, or a 36% pricing upsurge.

In this five-year timespan, wages haven't been able to keep pace with US rent growth, which has appreciated 1.5 times faster than income, the real estate firm said. Since the pandemic's start, rent has increased 31.4%, though income has only grown 23% through February. 

This trend still holds true in most cities, such as New York, Boston, Cincinnati, and Buffalo, Zillow added in a separate report. On a monthly basis, Oklahoma City was the only metro area to see rents fall in April. 

But the sector is showing some slight improvement. Although rents continue to climb, strong multifamily construction has softened upside momentum, providing some relief amid a severe housing shortage. Supply has previously stood so low that half of tenants spent over 30% of income on rent, Harvard researchers reported in January.

Yet last year, national rent growth was finally eclipsed by wage growth, both rising 3.4% and 4.3%, respectively. 

Zillow also found that typical multifamily rent outpaced single-family homes on a monthly basis, reversing a pattern that first emerged in July. 

Still, the surge in rental pricing has locked many tenants out of potential homeownership. And while a financial strain for many, renting is expected to remain much cheaper than buying for a long time, according to a CBRE note from March.

Homebuyers have faced similar challenges as renters, navigating a market that is burdened by low inventory. Added headwinds also include high mortgage rates and rising insurance costs in some parts of the country. 

According to Redfin, the median US monthly housing payment has swung to a new record high, hitting $2,894 in the four weeks through May 5.

• Kykuit, a 40-room mansion in Sleepy Hollow, New York, belonged to the Rockefeller family.
• It was built in 1913 for John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company.
• The property features an art gallery, sprawling gardens, and a collection of vintage cars.

At the height of his success, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil fortune comprised 1.5% of the gross domestic product of the United States, according to the Library of Congress. He was the world's first billionaire, with a net worth of $1.4 billion in 1937 (around $29.5 billion today), and the richest individual in the world at the time, according to Harvard Business School.

Kykuit (pronounced "kai-kit"), a 40-room Classical Revival-style villa in Sleepy Hollow, New York, was his idyllic seasonal oasis about 30 miles north of New York City.

Built in 1913, Kykuit belonged to four generations of the Rockefeller family before former New York governor and US Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller left it to the National Trust for Historic Preservation after his death in 1977, according to the Hudson River Valley Institute. The estate opened to the public in 1991.

Today, visitors can tour the home and its lush gardens overlooking the Hudson River through Historic Hudson Valley. Tours are available from May through November and range from $25 to $75 depending on length. In May 2023, I took the Classic Tour, which lasted two hours and 15 minutes and cost $45 (the price has since increased to $55 for one adult ticket).

Take a look inside.

Tours of Kykuit leave from the Visitor Center, where I perused a gift shop with books about the Rockefellers and crafts by local artisans.

I checked in at the front desk and received a wristband.

A shuttle bus transports tour groups from the Visitors Center to the mansion — it's a quick five-minute drive.

As I disembarked the bus, I felt transported back in time by Kykuit's Classical architecture, which featured Roman gods, and its serene garden landscapes.

The lush wisteria growing up the sides of the mansion was imported from China in 1820, according to our tour guide.

Our tour guide also shared that Tiffany's created the glass torch lamps in the front yard.

Sculptures from Nelson A. Rockefeller's vast modern art collection decorated the front porch.

The raised step at the entrance was designed for the Rockefellers to easily disembark from horse-drawn carriages.

Our first stop inside the house was the Office, which featured a copy of a 1767 portrait of Benjamin Franklin that hangs in the Green Room of the White House.

I could picture the Rockefellers hosting fancy gatherings in the Music Room, the largest room in the home. It used to contain an organ, but the original grand piano remains.

However, John D. Rockefeller and his wife, Laura, were devout Baptists, so they didn't serve alcohol while entertaining guests in the Dining Room.

In the China Room, a set of dishes from Nelson Rockefeller's time as President Gerald Ford's vice president was embossed with "E Pluribus Unum" — "Out of Many, One" — which appears on the US' Great Seal.

A portrait of Abby Rockefeller, the wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr., hung in the Alcove with standing lamps designed by 20th-century Swiss sculptors the Giacometti brothers.

Kykuit's Library functioned as a family room, where the Rockefellers would gather after Sunday lunches, according to our tour guide.

I was surprised to find a full art gallery in the basement furnished with works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, collected by Nelson Rockefeller.

"Kykuit" comes from the Dutch word for "lookout." At 500 feet above sea level, the mansion's terrace provided gorgeous views of the gardens and the Hudson River.

Architect William Welles Bosworth designed different sections of the gardens to feel like different rooms, our guide said.

In one area, rows of linden trees were precisely manicured to create an allée, from the French word for "alley."

At every location on the grounds, I could hear the rippling sound of water fountains.

The last stop on the tour was the Rockefeller family's stables and garages, where they kept their stagecoaches and vintage cars.

With Kykuit's Classical architecture, impressive art collection, and manicured gardens, I felt like I was visiting a historic villa in Europe.

• YouTube star MrBeast has parted ways with his talent manager after six years.
• This could signal a trend where influencers seek more control over their brand.
• While it could limit their access, it also allows direct oversight of negotiations and projects.

MrBeast broke up with his talent manager of six years, and it's a wake-up call.

YouTube's biggest star striking out alone could signal that creators may not always need middlemen.

Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, is a cultural phenomenon with 257 million subscribers.

He's likely to be running the most-subscribed-to channel within a few months, given the pace with which he is gaining on T-Series, the channel of an Indian music record label.

On a roll, Donaldson parted ways with Night Media and its CEO Reed Duchscher, Semafor reported on May 5. The Dallas-based company would "no longer be his primary talent-management agency," the report said.

Donaldson confirmed the news to Bloomberg, saying he and Duchscher still get on but that it "makes sense" to instead build a team of his own.

Influencer-economy experts are torn on whether Donaldson's move will be widely replicated.

It highlights what happens when influencers get to a stage where they believe they no longer need a buffer between them and traditional media — a dynamic that has long caused tension.

Building on borrowed territory

Nikita Walia, the founder and CEO of Blank Strategy Inc., who has worked in consumer social media since 2012, told Business Insider that Donaldson's decision was evidence "of creators not wanting to build on borrowed territory."

"They want to own their brand connections, they want to own their audience, and they want to make sure they're getting the most they can out of those relationships," she said.

Walia predicted that the future of talent agencies would depend on being able to understand this approach "instead of just being a middleman brokering deals."

Katya Varbanova, an influencer industry expert and CEO of Viral Marketing Stars, told BI that talent agencies are only useful to creators when "they have more influence than you."

"When you're MrBeast, and you are the most powerful YouTube creator, you don't really need them," she said.

Another example of this trend could be the case of Gleam Futures, the pioneering influence-management agency.

Gleam became famous for molding the careers of huge British YouTubers like Zoella, Alfie Deyes, and Jim Chapman — but recently closed its talent arm, which has run since 2010.

Writing for industry outlet The Drum, agency boss Raff McDonald wrote that Gleam was a casualty of the times, upended by creators seeking a more direct link with their audiences.

Agencies and creators, ultimately, have different priorities, Varbanova said.

A creator's focus is "making something epic," Varbanova said, while a talent agency wants to know: "How do I squeeze the most amount of money from this brand?"

This is helpful in a creator's earlier days, freeing them to put all their energy into their content while delegating the business side.

But tensions can rise if creators are constantly pushed toward brand deals they don't believe in.

Donaldson has evolved, Varbanova said, and built multiple businesses, including Feastables and MrBeast Burger. He is now a brand himself.

"He's just taking control of his brand," Varbanova said. "Ultimately, I think he is somebody who values control over money. It's actually how he's been able to grow so much — because he is such a control freak."

There are drawbacks to total control

Courtney Bagby Lupilin, the CEO and founder of Little Red Management, told BI there are drawbacks to MrBeast-style total control.

An in-house team would likely have a narrower network than a talent agency and be able to offer less support with other tasks.

The talent managers who survive will be those who foster individual relationships with all their influencer clients, Lupilin said.

"Don't just be an extension of their brand," she said. "Be a valuable resource they need on their side."

Walia argued that agencies can still be helpful in furthering an influencer's career, but they need to modernize — especially if their clients follow a similar path to Donaldson.

"The middleman relationship of a traditional talent manager doesn't quite fit the times," she said.

• Amazon-backed Zoox is under investigation following two crashes involving its self-driving tech.
• The NHTSA said two motorcyclists were injured after colliding with Zoox vehicles that braked unexpectedly. 
• Zoox was bought by Amazon for $1.2 billion in 2020 and plans to launch a robotaxi service.

Another self-driving car company is facing an investigation over safety concerns.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it had opened an investigation into Zoox, which was acquired by Amazon for a reported $1.2 billion in 2020, after two vehicles equipped with the company's self-driving systems collided with motorcyclists after braking unexpectedly. Reuters was first to report the news.

Both crashes resulted in minor injuries, according to the regulator, and the two Toyota Highlander SUVs involved were both operating in an autonomous driving mode in the lead-up to the collision.

Zoox is the latest company to face questions from regulators over the safety of its self-driving technology.

Tesla recalled two million vehicles late last year after the NHTSA found that the company's Autopilot system did not do enough to prevent misuse. The Elon Musk-run automaker is now facing a further investigation into whether that recall was adequate.

Cruise — majority owned by General Motors — meanwhile, has been banned from operating from California and faces a federal investigation after an incident in which a pedestrian was dragged 20 feet along the road under one of its vehicles.

Zoox unveiled its first electric robotaxi in 2020, a "carriage-style" vehicle without a steering wheel.

The company has been testing it in California, with the ambition of launching an autonomous ride-hailing service in the future.

However, no commercial release date for the vehicle has been announced, and Zoox is currently under an additional NHTSA investigation into its self-certification tests for the robotaxi model.

Zoox did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal working hours.