Worth $15.3 billion, Philip Anschutz owns AEG, the parent company of Coachella.
In addition to entertainment, he built his fortune through commodities including oil and railroads.
In 2019, Forbes named Anschutz the richest person in the state of Colorado.
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the music event currently underway in Indio, California, is owned by Philip Anschutz, an 84-year-old billionaire businessman whom The New Yorker once called "the man who owns LA." Despite living in Colorado, Anschutz is deeply embedded in California's largest city.
With a net worth of $15.3 billion, according to Forbes, he owns Coachella through his company, the Anschutz Corporation, and one of its subsidiaries, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).
AEG owns several athletic teams, operates more than 90 clubs and theaters around the world, and produces or supports more than 25 music festivals. Anschutz also owns the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and previously owned one-third of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, as well as both teams' home arena: Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center.
Take a look at how the billionaire makes and spends his fortune.
Katie Warren contributed to an earlier version of this article.
Philip Anschutz, who was born in 1939 in rural Kansas, made his first large sum of money through an oil-field discovery.
Philip Anschutz in 1967.
Denver Post/Getty Images
Born in Russell, Kansas, Anschutz comes from a family of oil wildcatters. After earning a degree in business from the University of Kansas, he started the Anschutz Company, a private holding company, in 1965, Bloomberg reported.
By 1979, he had discovered a large oil field on the Wyoming-Utah border, which is now known as the Anschutz Ranch East oil field.
Just a few years later, in 1982, Mobil purchased half of his discovery for as much as $500 million, industry sources told The New York Times. That initial sum of money allowed Anschutz to begin making large investments in a variety of lucrative industries.
He made investments in the railroad industry in the 1980s and '90s.
Anschutz at the dedication of the Roseville Station.
Axel Koester/Sygma/Getty Images
Anschutz paid $90 million for the Rio Grande Railroad in 1984 and bought the Southern Pacific Railroad for $1.8 billion four years later, Bloomberg reported. In 1995, he sold both railroads to Union Pacific in a deal that gave him $1.4 billion and let him keep the right-of-way to lay fiber-optic cable.
By the end of the 1990s, Anschutz's fiber-optic cable lines ended up being central to Qwest Communications, which was bought by CenturyLink in 2010.
He then started investing in the entertainment business.
A Regal Cinema in Los Angeles.
Getty Images
He created Regal Entertainment Group in 2002 by merging three bankrupt theater chains, Forbes reported. Today, what is now known as Regal Cinemas is one of America's largest movie-theater chains.
As of April 2022, Regal operates 6,787 screens in 505 theaters worldwide.
Although Anschutz sold some of his Regal shares in a 2002 public offering, he remained the majority shareholder. In 2018, Cineworld made a $3.6 billion deal to buy Regal Cinemas, Deadline reported.
In 1994, Anschutz founded AEG, which has owned major sports teams like the LA Lakers and the LA Kings.
Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James in action during a match against Brooklyn Nets.
Associated Press
He bought his shares of the LA Lakers in 1998 and sold his 27 percent stake in 2021, when the team was valued at $5 billion, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Other sports teams owned by AEG include the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer franchise, the Cincinnati Cyclones, the Ontario Reign, as well as German and Swedish hockey teams.
The company's live entertainment division, AEG Presents, is one of the world's largest presenters of live music and entertainment events.
Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images
The Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center, has a capacity of 19,000 and hosts more than 250 events each year, including NBA All-Star Games, NHL All-Star Games, and the Grammys, as well as concerts by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, U2, Prince, Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Adele, Taylor Swift, and Britney Spears.
Other venues under AEG ownership include the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, the O2 in London, and the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Beyond sports, Anschutz's company owns the wildly popular Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Coachella 2019.
Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider
The popular two-weekend April music festival in Indio, California, is organized by Goldenvoice, which AEG bought in 2001.
Coachella is famous for its flashy outfits and Instagram-worthy attractions, in addition to its musical performances, which in recent years have featured artists including Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Frank Ocean, Cardi B, Kendrick Lamar, and Radiohead.
In 2023, the festival was attended by an estimated 125,000 people each day, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Colorado billionaire also owns Windstar Cruises, a boutique cruise line with just six ships.
Windstar Cruise ship.
Horacio Villalobos/Corbis/Getty Images
The small luxury cruise line has received various accolades, including awards from Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure.
The entertainment mogul has also invested in the publishing business.
Philip Anschutz.
Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS
He founded the conservative magazine The Washington Examiner in 2005 and later bought another conservative publication, The Weekly Standard, which shut down at the end of 2018.
His assets also include at least two five-star resorts.
The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Anschutz owns The Broadmoor, a luxury mountain resort in Colorado Springs.
"I started coming here when I was 5," Anschutz told Forbes in 2016. "And when I was 10, I was sitting in the corner of the bar when I told my mother and father I was going to buy the Broadmoor."
He did just that in 2011.
Anschutz also owns the Sea Island resort in Georgia, which he bought in 2016.
According to The Land Report, Anschutz is the 88th-largest landowner in the US.
Anschutz keeps out of the public eye, and he has been referred to as "America's most reclusive billionaire."
Anschutz and his wife, Nancy Anschutz, in 2018.
Kevork S. Djansezian/Getty Images
In 2012, writer George Parker referred to Anschutz as "America's most reclusive billionaire."
According to the Los Angeles Times, despite Anschutz' many business dealings in the city, he does not even have a Los Angeles address.
"Philip Anschutz is sort of like the Wizard of Oz," Los Angeles economist Jack Kyser told the Los Angeles Times in 2006. "He is the man behind the curtain pulling the levers. Nobody sees him, yet he has a huge impact on Los Angeles."
Anschutz has only given two press conferences ever, according to Bloomberg.
Anschutz and his wife, Nancy, are longtime residents of Denver, Colorado.
Philip and Nancy Anschutz in 2015.
Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post/Getty Images
Little is known about his life there, but Bloomberg reports that his hobbies include hunting, tennis, squash, and jogging.
Anschutz and his wife have three children. One of their daughters, Libby Anschutz, is a musician in a Denver-based band, Tracksuit Wedding. Their other daughter, Sarah Anschutz Hunt, sits on the board of trustees of the Anschutz Family Foundation, according to the foundation's official website.
Anschutz has donated millions of dollars to charities, Republican political candidates, and conservative causes.
Philip Anschutz.
Reed Saxon/AP Photo
Anschutz founded The Anschutz Foundation in 1984, which donates primarily to nonprofit organizations in Colorado.
The University of Colorado's medical school, to which Anschutz donated $120 million in 2018, bears his name. Also among his large contributions is the $5 million he donated to build a new facility for the Denver Boys and Girls club in 2012, the Denver Business Journal reported.
Anschutz is also known for supporting Republican political causes. According to Open Secrets, in 2021 and 2022, he gave $109,500 to the National Republican Congressional Committee. He has also given money to individual Republican candidates such as Kevin McCarthy and Rick Santorum.
In 2017, Anschutz faced criticism over his reported donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, the National Christian Foundation, and the Family Research Council, Billboard reported. Tax filings show his foundation donated to the Alliance Defending Freedom and the National Christian Foundation as recently as 2015.
In a rare public statement on the matter in 2017, Anschutz said, "Recent claims published in the media that I am anti-LGBTQ are nothing more than fake news — it is all garbage. I unequivocally support the rights of all people without regard to sexual orientation."
AEG did not respond to a request for comment.
Now worth more than $15 billion, Anschutz is one of just two people who have made the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans every year since the first version was published in 1982.
Philip Anschutz.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
On the first Forbes 400 list in 1982, Anschutz, then 42 years old, was ranked the seventh-richest person in the US with an estimated net worth of over $1 billion.
Only he and William Herbert Hunt, whose wealth comes from the oil industry, have been on Forbes' 400 list since its inception, Forbes confirmed to Business Insider in 2019.
In 2022, Anschutz was ranked No. 56 on the list. Today, his personal fortune is estimated at $15.3 billion.
The guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald launches a Standard Missile-3 during a joint ballistic missile defense exercise in the Pacific Ocean Oct. 25, 2012.
US Navy photo
US Navy warships fired SM-3s to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles last weekend.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro confirmed the use of the SM-3 during a Tuesday hearing.
It's the first time that the exo-atmospheric interceptor has been used in combat.
US Navy warships used a missile interceptor for the first time in combat over the weekend as they defended Israel from an unprecedented Iranian attack.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said American forces fired the Standard Missile 3, or SM-3, to engage Iranian ballistic missiles that were fired as part of the massive barrage, which included more than 300 missiles and drones launched from Tehran and its proxies.
"We've been firing SM-2s, we've been firing SM-6s, and just over the weekend, SM-3s, to actually counter the ballistic missile threat that's come from Iran," Del Toro said at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on Tuesday.
US officials previously said that two destroyers — the USS Arleigh Burke and USS Carney — operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea had engaged and destroyed at least four Iranian ballistic missiles, although it was not immediately clear how the warships shot down the threats.
A developmental Standard Missile-3, designed to intercept short to medium-ranged ballistic missile threats, is launched from the Pearl Harbor-based Aegis cruiser USS Lake Erie.
Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
USNI News first reported Monday that the two ships fired between four and seven SM-3s to intercept the missiles, citing unnamed defense officials. Del Toro's comments to lawmakers appear to be the Navy's first public acknowledgement of the SM-3 employment.
The SM-3 is an element of the Navy's advanced Aegis Combat System and uses a kinetic kill vehicle to hit and destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles during the midcourse phase of flight. The SM-3 has the capacity for exo-atmospheric intercepts, meaning that it can eliminate targets beyond Earth's atmosphere, unlike the Navy's other air-defense capabilities.
"SM-3s are unique due to being the only Standard Missile designed to operate in the vacuum of space," the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank notes in its Missile Defense Project.
There are multiple SM-3 variants, which can be fired from a Navy warship's vertical launching system, and the Block I interceptors were first fielded nearly 20 years ago. Despite dozens of tests over the past two decades, the SM-3 had not been used in combat until now.
A view from the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) underway in the Atlantic Ocean, March 22, 2023.
US Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Kerri Kline
The SM-3, however, was not the only exo-atmospheric weapon to be called into action over the weekend.
Israel's Arrow 3 missile defense system, which can also eliminate enemy threats in space, was used to shoot down many of the 120 ballistic missiles that Iran lobbed at Israel on Saturday. Arrow 3 and its predecessor, Arrow 2, make up the top echelon of the country's sophisticated air-defense network.
Israeli officials have said that 99% of the threats fired by Iran and its proxies — which included one-way attack drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles — were intercepted by Israel's military and its partner forces in the Middle East.
US Central Command said American forces, specifically, destroyed more than 80 drones and at least six ballistic missiles.
CENTCOM said in a Sunday statement that "Iran's continued unprecedented, malign, and reckless behavior endangers regional stability and the safety of U.S. and coalition forces."
Wes Moore swiftly leaned on his military training when he learned about the Key Bridge collapse.
"You check on your people, establish accountability, and follow up," he told BI of his mindset.
The bridge collapse has led to the temporary closure of the critical Port of Baltimore.
In late March, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland received a call with news that seemed unthinkable.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, one of Baltimore's vital transportation arteries, had just collapsed into the Patapsco River after being struck by a massive cargo ship.
For 47 years, the bridge stood firm as a beacon of the region's industrial roots. But after being hit, the massive steel-arched bridge splintered into pieces. And six construction workers died as a result of the collapse.
Moore, who is now navigating one of the most complicated maritime and infrastructural challenges in the country, told me that his military service prepared him for the catastrophic event.
"When I got the call, it immediately kicked you into your training," Moore said of his reaction to news of the bridge collapse. "You check on your people, establish accountability, and follow up. When we got word about everything that had happened, I got very focused and tried to figure out what needed to get done now."
When discussing the bridge collapse that triggered the temporary closure of the Port of Baltimore, Moore told me that he held onto the mindset of expecting the unknown.
It's a trait that be tested in a major way in the coming weeks and months, as the first-term Democratic governor and the state's congressional delegation work to secure federal funding to rebuild the bridge.
"I joined the Army when I was 17 years old. I had no idea when I was leading soldiers in Afghanistan that it would prepare me for this moment," he said. "One thing that training taught us is that the only certainty is uncertainty."
In today's digitally driven world, data has become the lifeblood of the healthcare and life sciences industry. From genomic sequencing data to real world patient records, data drives decision-making processes, innovation, and ultimately better health outcomes. However, the industry's complex data ecosystem, coupled with stringent regulations and privacy concerns, has historically hindered unlocking the full potential of data in healthcare and life sciences. To address these challenges and pave the way for improved business and health outcomes, many organizations are turning to cloud technologies to build a connected ecosystem.
The data dilemma
Healthcare and life sciences are data-rich domains, encompassing patient records, claims, genomic sequencing, wearable device data, medical imaging, and more. However, this abundance of data often exists in silos, scattered across disparate systems and formats. This fragmentation hampers data accessibility, interoperability, and analysis, hindering the ability to derive meaningful insights.
Moreover, regulatory requirements such as HIPAA in the United States and GDPR in Europe impose stringent standards for data security, privacy, and compliance. Ensuring adherence to these regulations adds another layer of complexity to data management processes.
Moving to the cloud
Moving data infrastructure to the cloud offers a compelling solution to many of the challenges faced by healthcare and life sciences organizations. Cloud platforms provide scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, enabling seamless integration of disparate data sources.
By centralizing data in the cloud, organizations can break down silos and foster collaboration across departments and external partners. Real-time access to unified datasets empower clinicians, researchers and administrators to make data-driven decisions with confidence.
Building a simplified data foundation to accelerate AI
While cloud migration lays the groundwork for centralized data management, establishing a simplified data foundation is essential for maximizing the value of healthcare and life sciences data. This involves standardizing data formats, harmonizing terminology, and implementing robust data governance practices.
Standardization facilitates seamless data exchange and interoperability, enabling different systems to communicate effectively. Harmonizing terminology ensures consistency in how data is labeled and interpreted, reducing the risk of errors. Moreover, implementing rigorous data governance processes ensures data quality, integrity, and compliance throughout its life cycle.
With a solid data foundation in place, organizations can leverage AI to unlock new insights and drive innovation. AI algorithms excel at analyzing large volumes of data, identifying patterns, and predicting outcomes, making them invaluable tools for diagnosis, treatment, and drug discovery.
Driving value and improving health outcomes
By harnessing the power of cloud technologies, third-party data sources, applications, and AI, healthcare and life sciences organizations can unlock tremendous value and drive tangible improvements in health outcomes.
Centralizing data in the cloud facilitates seamless access and collaboration between healthcare providers, payers, researchers, and life sciences organizations. AI algorithms analyze this data, offering insights into disease patterns, treatment effectiveness, and personalized medicine. Predictive analytics powered by AI enable early detection of diseases, optimizing preventive care strategies. Moreover, AI-driven diagnostic tools streamline medical imaging interpretation, improving accuracy and efficiency. Real-time monitoring through wearable devices combined with cloud connectivity empower patients to actively manage their health. Together, these technologies accelerate innovation, leading to more effective treatments and ultimately, healthier populations.
Accelerate your transformation
On May 16 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET, Snowflake will host "Accelerate Healthcare & Life Sciences," a virtual event where industry leaders will share their expertise and demonstrate how connecting data can power a host of transformation initiatives.
Local residents look at a model of a Poly Real Estate Group housing project at a real estate showroom on May 25, 2023 in Sanya, Hainan Province of China.
VCG/Getty Images
China's home values dropped year-over-year in March for new and used properties.
Residential home sales fell by 31% last quarter, while property developers' cash reserves shrank by 26%.
Chinese authorities reported a 9.5% drop in real estate development investment in the first quarter.
Home prices slumped in March, extending the housing market's decline and leaving authorities in Beijing scrambling for solutions to the country's real estate crisis.
Home prices in China sank compared to last year for both new and used properties, though there was a slight month–over-month improvement, according to Tuesday's National Bureau of Statistics data.
New-home prices in 70 cities — excluding state-subsidized housing — dropped 2.7% in March compared to a year ago, surpassing February's 1.9% decline. This also translates into a monthly drop of 0.34%, slightly less than February's 0.36% fall.
Meanwhile, existing home prices plummeted by 5.9% year-ver-year across all 70 cities, worsening from 5.2% in January. On a monthly basis, they dipped by 0.53%, showing a slight uptick from February's 0.62% decrease.
Tumbling prices have dampened residential home sales, which plunged 31% last quarter compared to the same time in 2023. Cash reserves of property developers also contracted by 26%.
Once a powerhouse and the lifeblood of the world's second-largest economy, China's real estate sector has taken a massive hit in recent years. Autonomous Research's analyst Charlene Chu said the nation's property market is "in the middle of a collapse," and that the situation is likely to get uglier.
Chinese authorities highlighted that investment in real estate development dropped 9.5% in the first quarter from 9% in the preceding two months.
China's economy has shown some signs of bouncing back recently. In the first quarter of this year, it grew by 5.3%, surpassing both analysts' expectations of 4.8% and the 5.2% growth in the fourth quarter of 2023.
That said, Beijing still faces big challenges to renewing growth and investors' confidence in the world's second-largest economy. With a struggling real estate sector and lukewarm consumer demand, Beijing is now steering the country toward growing sectors like electric vehicles, solar energy, and lithium-ion batteries, which analysts said would create a "two-speed economy," where some sectors thrive while others struggle or collapse.
Justin Lane-Pool/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng BI
Donald Trump appears to be struggling to stay awake at his criminal trial.
For the 2nd day, he's repeatedly closed his eyes for minutes at a time before jolting to attention.
It's gonna be a long six weeks.
He leans back in his seat, head listing slightly to the right. His eyes are closed. His chest rises and recedes slowly.
In Manhattan's criminal trial court, reporters aren't seated close enough to Donald Trump to hear if he's snoring. But it sure looks like he's dozing off.
The former president, who is 77 years old, is fighting to stay awake while he also fights a 34-count criminal indictment brought by the Manhattan district attorney's office. Prosecutors allege he falsified business documents in the course of disguising hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, to keep her quiet about an alleged affair.
On Tuesday morning, Trump closed his eyes for more than a minute at a time on at least a half-dozen occasions. His head will upright, then tilt to one side.
This has been happening as off to his right, several rows of jurors answered questions about their ability to serve on the jury.
Sometimes, he opens his eyes and glances to where the prospective jurors are sitting. On other occasions, he appears to jolt awake and stretches his arms.
There are other moments where Trump seems relatively engaged, flipping through a paper copy of the jury questionnaire and whispering to his lawyer Todd Blanche, sitting next to him.
Trump's in it for the long haul: Jury selection is expected to last about two weeks, followed by another month of testimony and deliberations.
On Monday, the first day of jury selection, Trump also appeared to doze off at times, according to multiple reporters in the courthouse.
As he walked down the courtroom aisle on Monday afternoon, Trump stopped to glare at New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who said on CNN during the day's lunch break that Trump appeared to be falling asleep in court.
The 15th-floor courtroom in downtown Manhattan has poor climate control, and Trump — in a wool suit and tie knotted around his neck — may have felt warm on Monday. Tuesday has been somewhat cooler.
If Trump finds criminal court proceedings a good time to nap, he will likely have more opportunities to catch some Zs in the near future.
Aside from the charges against him in Manhattan, he faces three other criminal cases — in Georgia and Washington, DC, for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, and in the even-warmer Florida, for hoarding government documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The Shah of Iran with his third wife, Empress Farah Diba, and their son Crown Prince Reza.
Getty Images
From 1941 to 1979, Iran was ruled by King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah.
On February 11, 1979, the Islamic Revolution swept the country.
The government was replaced with an Islamic republic, which continues to this day.
In the decades before the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran was ruled by the Shah, whose dictatorship repressed dissent and restricted political freedoms.
But he also pushed the country to adopt Western-oriented secular modernization, allowing some degree of cultural freedom.
Under the Shah's rule, Iran's economy and educational opportunities expanded. Britain and the US counted Iran as their major ally in the Middle East, and the Shah forcefully industrialized large segments of the country.
But the Shah's increasingly authoritarian measures and his eventual dismissal of multiparty rule set the stage for the infamous revolution.
Still, for a period of almost 40 years, the Shah led Iran through a series of sweeping changes.
From 1941 to 1979, Iran was ruled by King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah.
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, his wife, Queen Fawzia, and the little Princess Shahnaz on the grounds of their palace near Tehran, Iran, in 1942.
AP
Due to Iran's large supply of oil, proximity to India, and shared border with the Soviet Union, Britain and the US fully backed the Iranian government.
Sepah Square, the main square in Tehran, Iran, April 20, 1946.
AP Photo/Tom Fitzsimmons
However, even before the Islamic Revolution, the Shah's grip on power was unsteady.
This is the White Palace of the Shah of Iran at Saadabad, Tehran, as it looked in August 1953, after the government upheavals. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi returned to power on August 22, when his supporters ousted Premier Mohammed Mossadegh, who had forced the Shah to flee a few days earlier.
AP
Communists and religious members of society disliked the Shah and his pro-Western government.
Cars and pedestrians travel on Ferdowsi Avenue in Tehran, Iran, April 20, 1946.
AP Photo/Tom Fitzsimmons
In 1953, the Shah had to flee Iran after a Western-backed coup to overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh failed. A second coup succeeded in overthrowing Mosaddegh, who wanted to nationalize the Iranian oil industry to Britain's chagrin, and the Shah returned to the country.
Pedestrians and cars travel through the main intersection of Tehran, Iran, April 20, 1946. Lalezar Avenue runs up the center of the photo toward the north, while Istanbul Avenue runs left to right.
AP Photo/Tom Fitzsimmons
Reza Shah undertook a series of reforms aimed at turning Iran into a modern westernized nation.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
These reforms included the structuring of Iran around a central Iranian identity, the often brutal suppression of tribes and their laws in exchange for a central government, and the expansion of women's rights.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Reza Shah attempted to make religious observation subservient to the state.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Part of Iran's method of achieving this was through the banning of veils in public.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Women were also encouraged to attend school and receive an education.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Although Reza Shah's intentions were to turn Iran into a modern Westernized state, his bans on religious garments alienated and frustrated religious conservatives and traditionalists.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Despite the backlash from religiously observant members of society, the Shah managed to create a seemingly cosmopolitan city life.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Women and men mixed freely, and educational opportunities were greatly extended. Western clothing and norms also became ingrained into large segments of the Iranian population.
Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia Commons
Leading the charge for westernization was the Iranian royal family. Pictured below is Empress Soraya.
Empress Soraya of Persia (Iran) poses in the studio of Italian fashion designer Emilio Schuberth, left, with an evening dress made of white Organdy as the designer adjusts some pleats of his dress in Rome, Italy, May 13, 1953.
AP Photo
The Shah and Soraya were married on February, 12 1951. Soraya wore a Christian Dior gown embroidered with 6,000 diamond pieces and 20,000 marabou feathers, according to Tatler.
Soraya Isfandiari and the Shah of Iran are pictured after their wedding.
Soraya and the Shah divorced in 1958 after failing to produce a heir. Soraya's departure from the royal family was welcomed by some, who thought her German and Catholic background made her untrustworthy.
Soraya and the Shah pictured in 1958.
Getty Images
Source: Tatler
Under the royal family's invitations, Iran became a popular destination for celebrities and heads of state. Here, an Italian actor and her husband visit a sports competition as guests of Iranian Princess Ashraf.
Italian actor Gina Lollobrigida and her husband Milko Skofic (both center) pose for a photographer with Iranian sportsmen at the ZurKhaneh (house of strength) stadium in Iran on May 20, 1963.
AP Photo
The Iranian royal family reciprocated and widely toured the world's capitals. Here, the Shah and Soraya met with Winston Churchill in London.
British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill poses with the Shah and Queen Soraya at his official London residence, 10 Downing Street, after they lunched with him there.
AP Photo
In 1959, the Shah married Farah Diba. They welcomed four children, though none would get the opportunity to become an heir because of the revolution.
The Shah of Iran with his third wife, Empress Farah Diba, and their son Crown Prince Reza.
Getty Images
Toward the end of the Shah's reign, the royal family attempted to rally the country around an increasingly historic nationalism based on the preceding Persian empires.
A street scene showing pedestrians on a sidewalk, June 16, 1970, Tehran, Iran.
AP Photo/Roy Essoyan
In 1967, the Shah took the old Persian title "Shahanshah," or King of Kings, at a coronation ceremony in Tehran.
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowned Empress Farah at their coronation ceremony in 1967.
PD-IRAN
Celebrations funded by the government were also launched throughout the country to honor the Persian roots of Iran. Here, gymnasts take part in an October 16, 1975, celebration honoring the founding of the Persian Empire.
General view of celebrations honoring the founding of the Persian Empire, Oct. 16, 1975. Persia is now Iran.
AP Photo/Harry Koundakjian
Despite Iran's views of the past, the government continued to value education and child development.
A street scene showing pedestrians threading their way between bumper-to-bumper traffic, June 16, 1970, Tehran, Iran.
AP Photo/Roy Essoyan
Tehran funded study abroad in Europe for Iranians, and schools and clinics were built throughout the Iranian countryside to care for poorer children as part of the Shah's "White Revolution."
A street scene showing pedestrians on a sidewalk, June 16, 1970, Tehran, Iran.
AP Photo/Roy Essoyan
High oil prices and relative stability in the Middle East contributed to a growing business class in major Iranian cities.
A street scene showing pedestrians threading their way between bumper-to-bumper traffic, June 16, 1970, Tehran, Iran.
AP Photo/Roy Essoyan
Here, Iranians swim in an octagonal swimming pool at the guesthouse of the Iranian National Oil Company.
An octagonal swimming pool at the guest house of the Iranian National Oil Company that provides relief when the temperatures rise above 100 degrees is seen near Ahwaz, Iran, July 1971.
AP Photo/Horst Faas
By 1975, Reza Shah abolished Iran's multiparty system and concentrated ever-greater amounts of power in his own hands under the government-permitted Rastakhiz (Resurrection) party.
A view of Tehran, Iran, July 1971.
AP Photo/Horst Faas
By January 16, 1979, Reza Shah fled Iran during the Iranian Revolution. The revolution started off as a popular movement fueled by outrage against government extravagance, corruption, brutality, and the suppression of individual rights before being taken over by Ayatollah Khomeini.
Seen here are visitors at a vacation resort in Iran on the Caspian Sea, July 1971.
Stu Forster/Getty Images, Grace Dean/Business Insider, composite
Gordon Ramsay's hotel-restaurant in London, the York & Albany, was taken over by squatters.
The occupiers turned it into a community space, but eviction proceedings appear to have started.
UK laws make commercial property squatting a civil matter, resulting in costly legal proceedings.
Gordon Ramsay is having a kitchen nightmare.
Last week, London's Metropolitan Police were made aware of a group of squatters who had taken over his York & Albany hotel-restaurant in Camden, a pricey borough of London.
It's unclear when they entered the property, which was temporarily closed while the celebrity chef finalized a new lease, according to reports.
Renaming the site "Camden Art Cafe," the group pasted a notice on the building citing a legal provision that — for the time being at least — appears to make it impossible for anyone, including Ramsay, to kick them out.
A legal notice taped to the outside of York & Albany, Gordon Ramsay's restaurant and hotel in Camden, London, on April 15, 2024, as squatters occupy it.
Grace Dean/Business Insider
In 2012, the UK made squatting a criminal offense — as long as it happens on residential property.
But on commercial properties, squatting remains a civil matter. This means police can't simply evict squatters from places like York & Albany — in fact, any attempt to do so without other grounds is itself against the law.
The Met Police earlier told BI that the matter was "a civil matter and so police did not attend as an emergency call out." It also said it was "in the process of identifying if any subsequent offences have occurred."
Getting commercial squatters out is no simple matter, and involves a convoluted procedure — generally costing thousands of dollars in legal bills, legal experts told BI.
"It's not an ideal situation — that seems to go without saying," Niall Helferty, a solicitor at Kuits Solicitors, said.
Property owners have to take the matter to court, applying for a possession order. There are multiple hoops to jump through in an often-clogged London court system, though courts do tend to prioritize matters like this, Helferty said.
Asked what the squatters might be able to do in response, Andrew Whitehead, a partner at Stephensons Solicitors, told BI that "if there's no tenancy agreements and if they've effectively broken in and refuse to leave, it would appear that there's no rights for them to be at the property at all."
Even so, getting them out won't come cheap.
Both solicitors roughly estimated Ramsay's potential legal costs at between $6,000 and $12,000, depending on the billing rates of his legal team.
As well as direct legal costs, commercial squatting also presents other concerns for property owners, including loss of income.
York & Albany wasn't in operation — it is on the market for a reported $16 million, following a legal battle between Ramsay and the building's freeholder. So Ramsay isn't facing any loss of business at the site.
But property owners, and business owners like Ramsay, will be wondering "what damage is being done internally," Helferty said.
Representatives for Ramsay did not respond to BI's requests for comment.
Even so, it can't be comfortable being made the focal point of an anti-gentrification campaign.
In an interview with The Independent, all of the squatters went by the pseudonym of "Gordon" — but their ire seems just as broadly directed at wealth inequality in London than at Ramsay himself.
The borough where the restaurant is located, according to the group's statement, has "one of the biggest wealth disparities in London." A Camden Council report from 2015 said that while a quarter of its residents live on the equivalent of $25,000 or less, the average house price is about $780,000.
The squatter group did not respond to multiple interview requests, but when BI's Grace Dean visited on Monday, she found a quietly humming space where people got on with painting and chatting about the local community.
According to The Independent, members of the group were whipping up pasta and lattes when its reporter visited, and were keeping a strict cleaning rota.
Neighbors told the paper that the group "haven't been too loud," with some expressing support for their cause.
On Tuesday, the squatters updated their Instagram account to say that legal papers had been served to them, and that the café was on hold.
It's unclear exactly what stage the legal process has reached. But Helferty said it's likely that a court hearing has now been scheduled, meaning that time could be ticking for them.
Regardless of how long they get to stay, the group has gathered plenty of attention, and probably caused Ramsay more than a few headaches.
Hondo Underwood is a former car thief. He stole hundreds of cars in and around Denver between 2016 and 2017.
Underwood speaks with Business Insider about methods of breaking into vehicles, such as relay theft. He offers insights into how chop shops operate and how organized crime groups conspire to transport stolen vehicles across the border to Mexico. He talks about what it's like to be in high-speed car chases and play cat and mouse with the police. He also notes the models of cars he stole, including Chevrolets and Ford pickup trucks, and discusses the realism of car theft in movies and games like "Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Grand Theft Auto."
Underwood, a Marine Corps veteran, was ordered to complete a rehabilitation program by a Colorado Veterans Treatment Court. He now works in the construction industry.
Part of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson
The collapse of the Key Bridge has deeply impacted the economy across the Baltimore region.
With the temporary closure of the Port of Baltimore, that impact also stretches across the country.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke to Business Insider about the road to recovery after the collapse.
It's impossible to dispute the sheer importance of the Port of Baltimore to the United States economy.
In 2023, the Port of Baltimore handled a record 52.3 million tons of international cargo valued at nearly $81 billion. Tthe port supports more than 15,000 direct positions, with almost 140,000 jobs connected to its sprawling facility.
But on March 26, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after the container vessel Dali struck the bridge and sent the 47-year-old structure into the Patapsco River. Six construction workers were killed as they worked to repair potholes early that morning.
The port remains closed, but the US Army Corps of Engineers is aiming to have it partially reopened later this month — with a goal for the port to be fully operational by the end of May.
For Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, the collapse has further solidified his commitment to the port, with its huge economic footprint that plays a major role in the country's supply chains.
"We're talking about $70 billion in economic activity," Moore said of the port's importance. "As long as that port is not fully functioning, the impact will be felt all over."
Moore recently spoke with Business Insider about the collapse of the Key Bridge and the economic impacts of the port's closure.
Questions and answers have been edited for brevity.
John L. Dorman: What is the significance of the Port of Baltimore to the larger US economy?
Gov. Wes Moore: The port is the largest in the country when it comes to heavy trucks and agricultural equipment. It impacts auto dealers in Ohio. It's the largest port in the country for spices and sugar.
President Joe Biden, right, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore near the site of the collapsed bridge.
AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson
That restaurant in Tennessee or Michigan … there's a good chance that they'll have a product that came through the Port of Baltimore. Tens of thousands of workers rely on the port every single day, and the disruption in maritime operations is not just spread across the region, but throughout the United States.
JD: The Baltimore area in recent years has boasted low unemployment and a strong housing market. How do you see the port's closure affecting Baltimore's economy?
WM: The Baltimore renaissance is real. When I was first inaugurated last year, the state was 47th in economic momentum. [It's now ranked 27th, according to data from the Federal Funds Information for States.] And Baltimore has the eighth-fastest growing economy in country.
The Wallenius Wilhelmsen ship is seen at the Port of Baltimore.
Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
But we've got to focus on getting that port reopened and make the region a global hub of cybersecurity and AI. I'm very bullish on Baltimore and where it can go over the next decade.
JD: You've worked closely with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on recovery efforts related to the bridge and the port. What were your thoughts as you both stood near the shore and saw the devastation caused by the collapse?
WM: It didn't seem real. For both of us, all we've ever known is the Key Bridge. It's just always been around. Ultimately, looking up and seeing that it was gone was just something we never imagined. I remember telling him: "We're built for this. We're built for this moment."
JD: What are the next steps in ensuring that the bridge can be rebuilt?
WM: President Biden has committed to having the federal government cover 100% of the cost of a rebuilt bridge. But the president is going to need Congress to approve the funding. A rebuilt bridge will have a significant economic impact and the president understands that as well.
The Key Bridge was a key artery in this region. There were 36,000 people who traveled over that bridge every single day. I'm very anxious and impatient about having it rebuilt and operational.