Category: Business

• The third season of "Bridgerton" has arrived on Netflix.
• Season three adapts Colin and Penelope's story from the book "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton."
• Here are the main cast members and the projects they've been in before the show.

"Bridgerton" is back with many old faces and a few new characters.

The globally watched show has a big ensemble but changes the leading characters every season to focus on a new love story. Season three follows longtime friends Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) as they fall in love.

This is the first time "Bridgerton" fans know both characters in the leading couple before their romance begins since the pair have appeared in the show since season one.

To spice up London's high society, "Bridgerton" season three introduces five new characters: Lord Kilmartin or John Stirling (Victor Alli), Lady Tilley Arnold (Hannah New), and Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Francis), Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza) and Paul Saurez (Lucas Aurelio).

Here's where you may recognize the main cast and newcomers.

Warning: spoilers ahead for "Bridgerton" season three.

Luke Newton returns as Colin Bridgerton.

Newton reprises his role as Colin, the third eldest sibling of the Bridgerton family.

It is his most prominent role, but fans may recognize the actor from his roles in Disney's "The Lodge" series or "The Cut."

Nicola Coughlan returns as Penelope Featherington.

Penelope Featherington, played by Coughlan, is the youngest daughter of the Featherington family. The Featheringtons live across the street from the Bridgertons and are close friends of the family.

Coughlan is known for starring in TV comedies such as "Derry Girls" and "Big Mood." However, she's also had some big screen roles, like a small part in 2023's "Barbie."

Hannah Dodd joins the cast as Francesca Bridgerton.

Francesca Bridgerton is the sixth Bridgerton sibling who has appeared on the show before. But Dodd is a new face; her character was often away from the family home and when she did appear, she was played by a different actor, Ruby Stokes, in previous seasons.

Stokes left the role after season two to star in another Netflix series, "Lockwood & Co." Dodd was cast to portray Francesca for future seasons.

Dodd has previously appeared in Netflix's miniseries "Anatomy of a Scandal," Marvel's "Eternals," "Fighting with My Family," and "Enola Holmes 2."

Jonathan Bailey and Simone Ashley return as Anthony and Kate Bridgerton.

Anthony Bridgerton and Kate Sharma were the leading couple of season two, and return in season three as husband and wife.

Before "Bridgerton," Bailey had appeared in British shows like "Doctor Who" and "Crashing." Since his success on the hit Netflix show, he has starred in more American projects like "Fellow Travelers" and the upcoming "Wicked" movie.

Fans will likely recognize Ashley from the hit Netflix British show "Sex Education," where she played popular high-schooler Olivia. Ashley has also appeared in "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" and last year's live-action reboot of "The Little Mermaid."

Many other Bridgerton family actors return in season three.

Several of Anthony, Colin, and Francesca's siblings — Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), Benedict (Luke Thompson), Gregory (Will Tilston), and Hyacinth (Florence Hunt) — all return in season three along with their mother, Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). The only absent sibling is Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor).

"Bridgerton" is the biggest role for many of the actors who portray the Bridgerton family. Some "Dunkirk" fans may recognize Thompson since he was a background actor in the Christopher Nolan movie.

Jessie and Gemmell have appeared in several popular British series, including "Doctor Who," "Line of Duty," "Eastenders," and "Tracy Beaker."

"Bridgerton" was the second role for Tilston and Hunt, who play the youngest Bridgertons. Hunt starred in "Cursed" in 2020, and Tilston appeared in "Goodbye Christoper Robin" in 2017.

Polly Walker returns as Lady Featherington.

Lady Portia Featherington is the matriarch of the Featherington family who consistently devises schemes to ensure her family's success.

Walker has been acting for years on TV and movies. Fans may recognize her from her appearances in Gwyneth Paltrow's "Emma," "Clash of the Titans," or "John Carter."

Victor Alli plays John Stirling, a new member of London's high society. He's also referred to as Lord Kilmartin.

John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, is a new character in season three and is Francesca Bridgerton's love interest.

"Bridgerton" is Alli's biggest role to date. But before this, he's had small roles in "Andor," "Belfast," and "Death on the Nile."

Daniel Francis plays Lord Marcus Anderson, a character who doesn't appear in the books.

Lord Marcus Anderson, played by Francis, is a member of the Ton, London's high society. He first appears in "Bridgerton" season three, episode two, as the brother of fan-favorite character Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh).

Fantasy fans are most likely to recognize Francis. He previously appeared in the most recent season of "Wheel of Time" and in a few episodes of the ABC series "Once Upon a Time."

Jessica Madsen returns as Cressida Cowper.

Cressida Cowper debuted in society in "Bridgerton" season one, but her mean, shallow personality stopped her from finding a husband. Madsen reprises the role in season three, and the character appears to have befriended Eloise Bridgerton.

Some fans may recognize Madsen from her appearances in the 2017 horror prequel "Leatherface" or the 2019 action movie "Rambo: Last Blood."

Sam Phillips plays Lord Debling, a potential love interest for Penelope.

Lord Debling is a newly created character in the TV series, played by Sam Phillips. He's a suitor for Penelope.

Phillips has appeared in another big British hit series on Netflix, "The Crown." He played the Queen's equerry in seasons three and four.

Hannah New plays Lady Tilley Arnold, a mysterious new Ton member.

Lady Tilley Arnold first appears in "Bridgerton" season three, episode two, as a new love interest for Benedict Bridgerton.

New is best known for starring as Eleanor Guthrie in the Starz series, "Black Sails." She has also appeared in "Maleficent" and the FX miniseries "Trust."

Martins Imhangbe and Emma Naomi return as Will and Alice Mondrich.

In season one, Imhangbe and Naomi first appeared as Will and Alice, a happy working-class couple. They ran a gentleman's club in season two. But in season three, they unexpectedly move up in society.

"Bridgerton" is the biggest role for both Imhangbe and Naomi. Before the show, Imhangbe was largely a stage actor in England, and Naomi appeared in smaller British TV shows.

Golda Rosheuvel returns as Queen Charlotte.

"Bridgerton" season one introduced audiences to Queen Charlotte, a real-life monarch who reigned in England in the late 18th/early 19th century.

Golda Rosheuvel plays the stylish queen in the main series and its spin-off show, "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Series." Rosheuvel has a long TV résumé, appearing in British shows including "Luther," "Holby City," and "Eastenders."

Since the success of "Bridgerton," Rosheuvel has appeared in bigger projects such as "Dune" and the latest season of "Doctor Who."

Lucas Aurelio plays Paul Suarez, Tilly's friend and secret lover.

In season three, episode six, Lady Tilley Arnold asks Benedict to come for dinner with her special friend, Paul Suarez. Later in the episode, we learn Paul and Tilley are friends with benefits and want Benedict to join them to become a throuple.

Lucas Aurelio plays the dashing Paul Suarez and this is not his first Netflix project: he previously appeared on "The Witcher."

Masali Baduza plays Michaela Stirling, a potential love interest for Francesca.

The season three finale has one more surprising addition to the cast. After Francesca marries John, she meets his cousin Michaela Stirling, who is coming to live with them in Scotland.

Michaela Stirling is the female version of Michael Stirling, Francesca's second love interest from Julia Quinn's books that the series is based on.

Masali Baduza plays Michaela, and "Bridgerton" is her biggest role to date. Baduza has previously appeared in "Woman King," "Noughts + Crosses," and the "Around the World in 80 Days" TV adaptation.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
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Welcome back! For the Elon Musk fans out there — 37% of you voted in favor of his pay package in our poll — you can now get a similar pair of the Cybertruck shoes he's been rocking.

In today's big story, we're looking at the Apple-Google partnership that shows why hardware has become Wall Street's new favorite bet.

What's on deck:

• Markets: He could be Citi's next CEO. But first, he needs to fix its wealth business.
• Tech: YouTube is crushing it, even compared to Netflix.
• Business: An ALICE, a HENRY, and a DINK walk into a bar. Confused? We'll explain.

But first, GPUs for you.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here.

The big story

Hardware is hot

Software may still eat the world, but only with the help of some serious hardware.

Marc Andreessen's famous 2011 proclamation about the rise of software has rung true for the past decade. But generative AI has put a considerable spotlight on a less sexy part of tech: hardware.

One of the biggest storylines last week — the unveiling of Apple Intelligence — is an example of that shift.

Much of the discussion leading up to the event was about Apple's rumored partnership with OpenAI. But Apple's behind-the-scenes relationship with Google to train its AI models was just as crucial to the launch, writes Business Insider's Hugh Langley.

The massive data-center footprints that firms like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have amassed are proving incredibly valuable during the generative AI boom. Like people looking to pack on muscle, large-language models need a place to train. This specialized hardware is the gym they can do it in.

But, following our fitness metaphor, there are only so many gyms in town. That's why we're starting to see unique partnerships between tech giants, like Apple and Google or Oracle and Microsoft.

The increased importance of hardware hasn't gone unnoticed by Wall Street.

The Cloud 2.0 era has meant new opportunities for other players to step up. That's playing out in the stock market, where hardware tech stocks have outperformed software tech stocks by 30 percentage points this year, writes BI's Matthew Fox.

Nvidia is the most obvious example. It's the market's golden child and is close to catching Microsoft as the most valuable company in the world.

But it's not the only one. Chipmaker Broadcom saw its stock explode this week, adding to an impressive year that's seen its shares up roughly 60%. Now it could be the next $1 trillion company.

One of the biggest names in finance is all-in on the hardware, too. Private-equity giant Blackstone is betting big on data centers.

In April, CEO Steve Schwarzman said the firm has a $50 billion portfolio of data centers, with plans to double it. Blackstone President Jon Gray has previously pegged the data-center market at growing to a trillion dollars in the next five years.

All this is not to say that software has lost its luster. After all, a gym is only valuable if there are people looking to use it.

There are plenty of valuable companies in the space with high ceilings (see: OpenAI). But those high-flying AI models also come with controversy (see, again: OpenAI).

So yes, hardware might be boring. But for investors, boring can be good.

News brief

Your Monday headline catchup

A quick recap of the top news from over the weekend:

• Russian troops surrender to an elite brigade as the Kharkiv front holds, Ukraine says.
• McDonalds is removing its AI drive-thru voice ordering system from over 100 restaurants after its mishaps went viral.
• People are delaying buying new cars, creating a deflationary 'spiral' that's bad news for the auto industry.

3 things in markets

1. Citi's Andy Sieg bet big on overhauling a struggling wealth business. Merrill Wealth Management's former president took a gamble leaving a strong business for Citi's much smaller wealth division. But if he's able to execute a turnaround, he could be the bank's next CEO.
2. Even as stocks boom, some bears remain. It might seem impossible to bet against the market these days, but these folks are. Five bearish forecasters share why they still see a downturn coming.
3. Dan Sundheim is having a good year. D1 Capital, his $19 billion investment manager, is up 18% in its public-equity-only portfolio this year, a person close to the firm told BI. Despite its gains, the firm has billions allocated to private investments that have dragged down returns.

3 things in tech

1. Roast me like you mean it. At a sold-out comedy show for techies, audience members eagerly volunteer to be ridiculed by the hosts. It's a mix of being in on the joke and being the butt of the joke.
2. YouTube is the ultimate "must-have" service. In a recent survey of users' favorite entertainment platforms and services, four of the top five spots went to YouTube. It shows the power of the video platform, even compared to streaming giant Netflix.
3. Another Trump presidency could be a double-edged sword for Elon Musk. Musk has been flexing his power as a political influencer lately. And while he hasn't publicly endorsed any candidate, whoever wins the White House could massively impact his businesses through taxation and market stability.

3 things in business

1. ALICEs and HENRYs and DINKs, oh my! Coverage of the economy is full of these weird acronyms and status labels, with more and more cropping up every day. (Ever heard of a "corporate girlie"?) To stay on top of these ever-expanding tribes, BI's glossary has you covered.
2. They're rich, but they're also really old. America's millionaires are getting older, and they're waiting longer to pass down their wealth. That's a big problem for aspiring millionaires. Younger workers can't amass wealth at the same rate they used to, and it's harder and harder to be self-made.
3. AI is set to dominate the ad industry's biggest event. The Cannes Lions ad festival kicks off this week, and AI is on everyone's minds. Businesses are exploring how they can use the tech to automate ad campaigns and for copywriting — but some worry about the loss of creativity.

In other news

• The professors turned porn stars.
• You could get partial ownership of an AI company that may have scraped photos of your face online.
• Donald Trump is dangling tax cuts and less red tape to win over top CEOs.
• Nvidians say Jensen Huang is a perfectionist who asks tough questions — and expects them to admit mistakes.
• In the AI arms race, Big Tech keeps shooting itself in the foot and having to roll back flashy releases.
• The most important advancement in AI is making Travis Kelce pregnant.

What's happening today

• IRS quarterly tax filing deadline.
• Cannes Lions, advertising's biggest event of the year, begins.

The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. George Glover, reporter, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.

• White Castle uses SoundHound's voice AI system to take drive-thru orders at 15 restaurants.
• White Castle says the aim is to free up time for staff and make sure customers don't feel rushed placing their orders.
• SoundHound, which also works with Panda Express and Chipotle, claims that its tech is "more accurate than a human."

Go to a White Castle restaurant in St Louis, Cincinnati, or Merrillville Indiana, and you may have the option to place your order with someone called Julia.

Julia isn't a cashier, though. Julia is a voice AI.

White Castle is just one in a long line of restaurant chains toying with drive-thrus powered by voice-recognition AI. Chains such as Taco Bell, McDonald's, and Checkers & Rally's have all tested or introduced voice AI drive-thrus.

The aim is to use the tech to free up workers' time so restaurants can either reallocate staff away from order-taking to roles that can't be automated or simply cut their labor costs by reducing the number of workers they need to operate.

But voice AI drive-thrus are far from achieving widespread adoption.

Firstly, they still make mistakes. Last year, restaurant-tech company Presto Automations revealed in an SEC filing that over 70% of its voice AI orders required assistance from off-site human workers. And McDonald's was mocked on TikTok over issues with its voice AI-powered drive-thrus. McDonald's is ending its test with IBM and pulling the technology from its restaurants.

And some critics fear that widespread use of AI at restaurants will ultimately put workers out of jobs, too.

White Castle started using SoundHound's AI voice-recognition services in a restaurant in Merrillville in 2022, Jamie Richardson, White Castle's VP of marketing and publication relations, told Business Insider.

The burger chain now uses it at 15 restaurants, some of which use it for multiple drive-thru lanes, he said.

White Castle previously announced plans to deploy it in more than 100 drive-thru lanes by the end of 2024. Richardson confirmed that it's on track to reach this target.

He said that White Castle's voice AI system was designed to remove a "stress-inducing situation," freeing up time for staff who have to multitask at the drive-thru and taking the time pressure off customers who may otherwise feel rushed. Orders are more accurate, too, he said.

Richardson said that White Castle hadn't cut workers' hours at its restaurants since adding the technology. Instead, workers can focus on preparing food and greeting customers at the drive-thru window when they collect their order, he said.

"It's really been a great investment and one we're eager to continue," he said.

AI was used to solve the labor crunch

Restaurant executives have been paying attention to voice AI drive-thrus for years, but a struggle to recruit and retain workers in the summer of 2021 intensified this.

SoundHound is one of a growing number of companies offering voice AI services to restaurants.

"We're more accurate than a human," Ben Bellettini, SoundHound's senior vice president of restaurant sales, told BI.

If customers don't want to order using the voice AI system, they can ask to speak to a human, he said. But "well over 90%" of orders don't involve any human interaction, he said.

SoundHound says that using its voice AI drive-thru is faster than ordering at a human agent because customers don't have to wait for a cashier to be free when they pull up to the ordering station or wait for them to manually enter orders into their till.

SoundHound doesn't just offer services for drive-thrus. It also provides voice AI tech for restaurants to take orders over the phone and at digital kiosks and offers back-of-house technology where staff can ask questions through a tablet or headset and get information from their employee handbook on what to do if the fridge breaks or how to clean the fryer.

• Elon Musk says he voted for Joe Biden in 2020. He seems increasingly interested in Donald Trump in 2024.
• One reason Musk might root for Trump: The SEC, led by a Biden appointee, is poking around his 2022 Twitter deal.
• It's purely theoretical for now, but The Wall Street Journal suggests that the SEC might push for severe penalties against Musk this time.

Elon Musk has made it clear that he doesn't like Joe Biden. He also seems increasingly interested in Donald Trump, though he won't come out and say he's formally backing him.

So here's another reason for him to move more firmly into the Trump camp: The US Securities and Exchange Commission, currently run by Biden appointee Gary Gensler, keeps dogging him.

The SEC has spent the last couple of years investigating Musk's purchase of Twitter — and the way he did, and didn't, disclose the fact that he was buying up Twitter shares prior to buying it in 2022.

Now The Wall Street Journal suggests that the agency is getting closer to making a formal case, and floats the notion that it could cost Musk his role as the CEO of Tesla, as well as chief technical officer at Twitter/X:

"The SEC hasn't filed any enforcement action so far against Musk over his Twitter trading. If the SEC makes a formal complaint against Musk for fraud, regulators are likely to again ask a court to bar him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, former officials said, exposing him to the possibility of removal from Tesla."

Context: The SEC has already gone after Musk in the past. In 2018, it sued him for making false statements about taking Tesla private and reached a settlement that amounted to a very, very light wrist slap on one of the world's richest men.

Musk has spent a lot of time since then complaining about the SEC publicly and in court, where he has unsuccessfully tried to have the settlement voided.

But this time, the Journal says, the SEC would want to do something more meaningful. And if that's the case, you could imagine Musk having that much more incentive to back Trump, and hope that Trump takes office in time to appoint a SEC head who would stop or reverse the agency's actions.

Caveats: The last time the SEC went after Musk, Trump was in the White House, and Trump appointee Jay Clayton was running the SEC. So a Trump victory doesn't guarantee a pass.

Just as important: The Journal piece includes lots of to-be-sures from legal experts about the difficulty of the SEC winning a case against Musk. Violating the spirit of SEC disclosure rules isn't the same as committing outright fraud. But Musk would certainly prefer not having to go to court to find out.

• "Inside Out 2" took $295 million at the global box office over the weekend.
• It's a record opening for an animated movie when factoring in exchange rates, Disney said.
• The success is a boost for Disney as the summer blockbuster season gets underway.

"Inside Out 2" smashed box-office records this weekend, giving Disney a big boost as the summer blockbuster season kicks off.

Pixar's owner said on Sunday the film took $155 million in the US as part of a $295 million worldwide total, good enough for the biggest opening for an animated movie when using current exchange rates and like-for-like markets.

On that measure it's a better debut than "The Super Mario Bros Movie" managed and is also the biggest worldwide opening weekend of the year, Deadline reported. Latin America in particular embraced "Inside Out 2" with open arms, giving it a $61 million total across the region.

Disney also said "The Incredibles 2," released in 2018, was the only Pixar release to perform better in the US across its opening weekend.

The first "Inside Out" made $90 million in the summer of 2015 with a $858 million global total.

"Disney and Pixar are back, and so is the summer box office," Shawn Robbins, a film and theatrical consultant, said in a post on X last week after the House of Mouse said "Inside Out 2" made $13 million from domestic previews.

Disney shares were up 1% to about $101 in premarket trading.

The film's strong debut comes at a time when the rise of streaming services has made it tougher for theaters to attract audiences. Universal's "The Fall Guy," which some had positioned as a potential summer blockbuster, underperformed expectations when it was released last month. Last year's Hollywood strikes have also complicated release schedules for studios this year.

This will also be the first year since 2009 that Disney fails to debut a Marvel film in the second quarter. The franchise's only picture of 2024, the R-rated "Deadpool & Wolverine," is due in late July.

• A Russian soldier has described heavy losses for his unit in Kharkiv, with only 12 of 100 remaining.
• Russia launched a new front in Kharkiv on May 10, quickly capturing territory.
• But the soldier's account adds to assessments that Russia has fumbled the offensive so far.

A Russian soldier has described the "massacre" of his comrades on Ukraine's Kharkiv front, saying only 12 of his 100-strong unit were left to fight.

Anton Andreev, speaking to the influential Russian Telegram channel Astra, said that half his unit had been killed on the first night of fighting in a key town.

The video interview was posted on June 2, around three weeks after Russia opened up a new front in the Kharkiv region in northern Ukraine.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the video or its content.

Russia launched the attack on Kharkiv on May 10, with an estimated 30,000 troops taking advantage of ill-prepared Ukrainian defenses to quickly capture around 99 square miles of territory, reaching the strategic town of Vovchansk, some 28 miles northeast of Kharkiv city.

But Andreev said that after capturing one of Vovchansk's streets, his unit came under intense machine-gun fire and, targeted by drones, started taking heavy losses.

He claims his unit, the 5th company of the 1009th regiment, was sent forward armed only with machine guns and bulletproof vests, according to Astra.

"They just chop us up," he said, per The Guardian's translation.

"We are sent under machine guns, under drones in daylight, like meat. And commanders just shout 'forward and forward,'" he added.

The streets would seem quiet, but then "you get caught up in a massacre," he said.

Andreev was also critical of the military leadership who, he said, sent Russian soldiers to die "like meat."

Two days after Andreev's post, a Russian Telegram channel purporting to bring news to soldiers' families said that the 1009th regiment had been defeated. It also said another regiment refused to carry out orders.

The report was quickly dismissed as fake news by multiple state-friendly Russian outlets, who questioned the channel's origins and said that the Russian Ministry of Defence had not reported any such losses.

But Andreev's account, if confirmed, would give some weight to claims that Russian forces have been poorly equipped and supported in the offensive in Kharkiv.

Ukrainian forces have released a video that appears to show dozens of Russian soldiers surrendering in Vovchansk.

Experts told BI that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's May estimate of casualties in Kharkiv — that around eight times as many Russians were being killed as Ukrainians — was plausible.

Experts told BI last week that Russia had so far fumbled a golden opportunity in Kharkiv.

At the time of the initial Kharkiv advance, Ukraine was particularly stretched for both defenses and ammunition, which pressured it to move forces from its already-strained main front line.

The offensive has left some experts, like University of Bath military analyst Patrick Bury, commenting on "how little so far Russia has actually achieved."

Even so, Ukraine remains in a vulnerable position, and a broader and better-equipped Russian offensive in the north remains a possibility, RAND geopolitical strategist Ann Marie Dailey said.

Meanwhile, on June 7, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby declared the Kharkiv attack as "all but over."

• Brazil, India, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia declined to endorse Ukraine's sovereignty this weekend.
• It came at the end of a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland. 
• Keeping a few powerful countries undecided is one way Russia can limit any diplomatic isolation.

Over the weekend, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rallied countries from around the world to support his call for Russia to end its invasion.

"Russia can start negotiations tomorrow if they pull out of our territories," Zelenskyy said at a peace conference in Switzerland, according to the BBC.

The conference is one of the most high-profile attempts to date to find an agreement on routes to peace.

But there are some crucial problems. Russia wasn't there, nor was its key global backer, China.

Nearly 100 countries did send delegations, including many of Ukraine's most important allies and major non-Western powers.

At the end of the conference, around 80 signed a document blaming the war on Russia and affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity.

But it was telling who did not sign — Saudi Arabia, Brazil (which didn't formally attend but sent a delegation), India, and South Africa.

"Unfortunately there are people who are still balancing," Zelenskyy said of the abstentions.

He said Russia was seeking to divide the world against Ukraine — evidently with some success.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is seeking to drive a wedge between them and the West, using oil, propaganda, and diplomacy.

It has been especially effective in the "global South" of non-Western powers whose wealth and influence on world affairs is growing.

Exploiting global divisions

In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US assembled a coalition of countries to impose punishing sanctions on Russia and isolate it diplomatically.

However, powerful non-Western countries refused to take part.

Each of the countries that refused to sign the Ukraine document has strong ties with the US, particularly India and Saudi Arabia, who want American help in regional power struggles.

But each has also maintained good relations with Moscow, with Putin using Russia's oil and diplomacy to cultivate relations.

To offset Western sanctions, Russia sold oil at cut-price rates to India and Brazil and has worked closely with Saudi Arabia to control global prices.

Russia has succeeded in "bringing deep-seated resentment against the West to the fore," wrote Chatham House analyst Natalie Sabanadze in May.

"Many states have relished the opportunity to defy Western pressure by helping Russia evade sanctions and reaping benefits for themselves in the process."

Putin has exploited long-standing grievances about Western imperialism and has renewed alliances forged during the Soviet era.

Russia renews Cold War-era alliances

During its period of racial apartheid, tolerated by many in the West, the then-USSR opposed it and supported the ANC party, which has ruled since apartheid ended.

The Soviet Union also helped India in its Cold-War-era clashes with Pakistan.

Some of those allegiances appear to have held firm.

Over the past year, Russia has organized conferences with African and Latin American nations. It is seeking to expand the BRICS group of major non-Western economies, viewing it as a bulwark against Western powers.

Russia has also seized on claims that Western support for Israel in its war against Hamas is evidence of hypocrisy.

It is to Putin's advantage when those countries see Russia vs. Ukraine and Israel vs. Hamas as equivalent struggles, both complex enough to avoid taking a side.

Some analysts also suggested a more cynical calculus, telling Business Insider that some countries are simply hedging their bets by refusing to back either Russia or Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia and India have both trod this middle path.

Pavan Kapoor, a senior Indian diplomat, said his country did not endorse the statement from Switzerland because "only those options acceptable to both parties can lead to abiding peace."

For Putin, that fence-sitting is proof of success.

• Restaurant chains from Subway to Arby's to Buffalo Wild Wings have a common owner.
• Roark Capital Group has been buying up restaurant chains for nearly 25 years.
• It's one example of how consumer brands have become consolidated under a handful of owners.

There's a good chance that just one private equity firm owns one of your favorite restaurant chains.

Over the last quarter-century, Roark Capital Group has bought up nearly 20 restaurant brands in the US. Its latest acquisition happened last year when it acquired Subway, which operates the most stores out of any restaurant chain in the US.

But Roark's holdings include other restaurants that you've probably visited before:

Other notable Roark restaurant holdings include coffee chain Dunkin', Arby's, Jimmy John's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and suburban mall favorites Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's.

The private equity firm also has investments in The Cheesecake Factory, which is publicly traded, as well as midwestern burger chain Culver's. It also owns the bakery chain Nothing Bundt Cakes and some franchises of Seattle's Best, that coffee chain you used to find at Border's Books.

Founded in 2001, Atlanta-based Roark has $38 billion in assets under management, according to its website.

The firm "was named after Howard Roark, the protagonist in Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead," the firm's website reads. Rand's books have a following among libertarians and other advocates of deregulation and individual enterprise.

But the website adds: "As a firm of diverse viewpoints, it does not signify adherence to any particular political philosophy."

While Roark owns a lot of restaurant brands, it's hardly the only private equity player in the industry.

Hooters was acquired by TriArtisan Capital Advisors and Nord Bay Capital in 2019, for instance. TriArtisan also owns TGI Fridays and P.F. Chang's, according to its website.

Restaurants aren't the only consumer brands that have become more consolidated under a handful of owners. A handful of multinational corporations, from Nestle to Mars, own hundreds of food and personal care brands.

• The characters on HBO's "Succession" often referenced real events and billionaire figures. 
• Inspirations include "the Murdochs and such," its costume designer recently told Harper's Bazaar. 
• But there are less obvious nods to the superrich — and their obsessions — throughout the show.

The truth is often said to be stranger than fiction, but when it comes to "Succession," it was all pretty strange. 

The HBO drama, which has won awards for its acting and writing, was incredibly well-researched. With characters based on various business titans and politicians, the show generally depicted the lives of the ultra-ultra rich — the Roy family is said to be worth $18 billion — with skillful accuracy and few exaggerations. 

There are obvious nods: The Roys, like the Murdochs and the Arnaults, have succession drama that's made for TV. They use their money to fund political campaigns — and even a presidency. And there are many, many private jets.

But there are also the more subtle nods to the lifestyles of the .0001%, like their obsession with living forever (even billionaire Kim Kardashian seems to have joined the bandwagon).

They don't wear coats.

You may have noticed that, no matter the weather, the Roys will eschew coats — other than that bizarre down-trench Shiv was wearing in Norway. It's not because billionaires run hot; it's simply because they don't bother with the elements. Vests, of course, are another story, as proven by Josh Aaronson, who Adrien Brody plays. 

"Rich people don't wear coats when they go out, because they just go straight from the car into the venue," Mark Mylod, an executive producer of "Succession," told Robb Report.

The venue — or the private jet, as Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman Roy, explained in a recent interview with Esquire. 

"The coat thing is kind of interesting and does seem to track," the actor said. "They drive right up to the jet or helicopter, like why was I wearing a fucking coat? It's just cumbersome. I get it now, they don't ever have to walk anywhere or do anything."

Their dress code is stealth wealth.

The Roy siblings' wardrobes and styling — full of monochromatic looks, suit blazers in every hue of navy, charcoal, and black, and of course, the errant hair tie — have been dissected endlessly.

Anyone with even a passing interest in these fictional media oligarchs can probably conjure a vision board around "stealth wealth," or "quiet luxury" — a reference to the printless, logo-less look that some members of the ultra-rich favor. Kendall's $625 Cap from Loro Piana, a brand James Murdoch — one of the media mogul Rupert Murdoch's sons — wears, and Shiv's no-nonsense bob, are two strong examples.

The looks often tell a story about a particular character's mental state — recall Kendall's chunky pendant necklace accessorizing his crew-neck tee in the Season 3 finale, when the siblings stage a half-baked intervention that turns into a volley of recriminations. 

But they also reference real-life counterparts, like the "Murdochs and such," Michelle Matland, the show's costume designer, told Harper's Bazaar last month.

Kendall has certainly been known to storm a boardroom meeting or two in a no-tie-suit look that evokes Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's eldest son.

He also sometimes displays LVMH scion Alexandre Arnault's flair for a statement-sneaker look, such as when he attempted to rock a pair of Lanvin sneakers at a meeting, not unlike the Arnault son's effort at making a pair of Tiffany-blue Nike Air Force 1s — a collaboration between the brands — happen at a recent Tiffany event.

In a case of art imitating life or vice versa, Elle compared Ivanka Trump's blunt-blonde-bob look in 2019 to that of the polished Shiv Roy of season 2, who was debuting a sleeker look as she began positioning herself as a more serious contender for the reins to the fictional Waystar Royco, her father's media empire. 

They want to live forever.

When Kendall first presented his take on Living+ — "personalized longevity programs" — there were sideways glances and eye rolls. But in reality, billionaires love the prospect of immortality. They can buy almost anything, so why not buy a little more life? 

A number of tech billionaires, including Peter Thiel and Larry Ellison have tried fending off a visit from the grim reaper by focusing on various anti-aging practices — none of which involve exclusive Waystar content.

"Death has never made any sense to me. How can a person be there and then just vanish, just not be there?" Ellison once told his biographer.

The solution to the plebeian problem of death is different for each billionaire. Thiel has donated and invested millions in the cause, including organizations that focus on cryonics, the practice of freezing human corpses to stop the aging process. Jeff Bezos has reportedly put money into a company that seeks to "reverse disease, injury, and the disabilities that can occur throughout life."

Even mere millionaires are seeking answers. Bryan Johnson, a biotech CEO, said he has reduced his biological age by five years thanks to a fastidious routine involving waking up at 5 a.m., taking over 100 supplements, and eating exactly 1,977 calories a day.

Most recently, Johnson sat down with billionaire Kim Kardashian to discuss the topic at what he called a "don't die dinner." Other guests included Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner, and sister, Khloe, as well as plastic surgeon to the stars Jason Diamon and pop-neuroscientist Andrew Huberman.

Their houses really look like this.

If Logan Roy's house seems extravagant, that's because people need to cough up millions to afford it — or if you're Connor Roy, it's exactly $63 million, to be precise.

And real billionaires are lending their properties for the fictional Roys to toil around in.

In the season premiere, as Kendall, Shiv, and Roman all plot on creating a new media brand, "The Hundred," they traipse around a beautiful home in sunny Los Angeles. That home belongs to the 28-year-old billionaire Austin Russell, the founder and CEO of autonomous-car-tech company Luminar Technologies, Quartz reported. 

Russell bought that mansion for a cool $83 million, a bit more than Connor is paying for Logan's house.

And the mansion where Josh Aaronson, the Waystar Royco investor who invited Kendall and Logan over in season 3, is located in the Hamptons and hit the market for $55 million in April, the Robb Report said.

They emerge from helicopters like stepping off the bus.

Kieran Culkin, who plays the impish fascism-apologist Roman Roy, has mentioned the show's "wealth consultants" a few times in his public appearances. They help get the Roys' subtle behaviors right, he's said — such as the casual way they exit helicopters.  

"You know where the propeller is. You wouldn't be ducking your head," he told the "Schitt's Creek" star and co-creator Dan Levy in 2020. 

Helicopters are part of the arsenal of transportation that the billionaire elite and royalty favor, with leaders including Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and the English royal family relying on choppers, especially for shorter commutes, Insider has previously reported.  

They really do have armies of household staff.

From taking coats off guests at Logan's house to Kendall's "skeleton crew" who help him make coffee for Frank in a season 1 episode, the Roys rely on staff within their house throughout the series.

And it turns out billionaires do, too, in their everyday lives.

David Youdovin, the founder and CEO of Hire Society, a recruitment firm that helps high-net-worth individuals and families in New York City, the Hamptons, and Palm Beach, staff their homes and businesses, told Insider in 2018 that house staff can make a major difference in making life easier for billionaires.

"The vast majority of our clients are the .01% — they have multiple homes, private aircraft, and several members of domestic staff," Youdovin, who worked as a butler and estate manager for a billionaire family before founding Hire Society in 2012, said.

"There's major altruism in putting good people to work with these families," Youdovin told Insider at the time. "These salaries can be life-changing, especially for people not originally from the United States." 

Household-staff positions can pay upward of six figures, and positions range from drivers to butlers to nannies. Plus, there's the chance to win $1 million if you hit a home run playing baseball with your employer.

• Xi Jinping accused the US of trying to trick China into invading Taiwan, per the Financial Times.
• The Chinese leader made the claim to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, per the FT.
• One expert told BI it's a sign that China is "genuinely surprised" by the attitude of US officials.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has accused the US of trying to trick China into invading Taiwan, but he said it won't take the bait, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to the FT, Xi made the accusation during a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in April last year.

Xi has issued the same warning to officials in his own country, one source told the FT, but this would be the first time he made the claim to a foreign leader, the outlet said.

During the meeting, according to a press statement released at the time, Xi stressed that Taiwan was at the "core" of China's interests and that "if anyone expects China to compromise and concede on the Taiwan question, they are having a pipe dream and would shoot themselves in the foot."

Xi's accusations against the US didn't feature in the statement released last year.

For decades, the US has adopted a strategy of "strategic ambiguity" toward Taiwan, positioning itself as the country's most steadfast ally, while declining to explicitly say whether it would come to Taiwan's aid if China attacked.

But the mood in Washington, DC, seems to be shifting, with Congress showing itself more "overtly supportive of Taiwan than only a few years ago," Graeme Thomson, an analyst with the Eurasia Group, told BI in November.

Last month, a US congressional delegation met with senior Taiwanese officials to discuss US-Taiwan relations, a few days after China conducted military drills around the island.

During the visit, Rep. Andy Barr, cochair of the Taiwan caucus in Congress, said there should be "no doubt" and "no skepticism" in the US, Taiwan, or anywhere in the world around "American resolve to maintain the status quo and peace in the Taiwan Strait," according to the Associated Press.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly stated that the US would defend Taiwan.

Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King's College London, told BI that Xi's reported accusation is a sign that China is "genuinely surprised" and "shocked" by the US' more recent "aggressiveness."

"The US has plenty of public figures now talking of Taiwan like it is a new Ukraine, and some even saying it needs to be diplomatically recognized," Brown added.

Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state under the Trump administration, and John Bolton, a former national security advisor, are among those calling for such a measure.

This is a problem for China, Brown said, as it is "clearly a red line and one that it will need to do something about if it is crossed."

During a meeting in April, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken not to cross China's "red lines" on sovereignty, security, and development interests.

Brown, who served as First Secretary at the UK Embassy in Beijing from 2000 to 2003, said that behind Xi's "complaint" is the hope that other Western allies "might just calm the US down."

Whether it will have any impact at all is another matter, he added.

Last week, Adm. Samuel Paparo, the top US admiral in the Pacific, told The Washington Post that the US could deploy thousands of drones if China invades Taiwan, with the "unmanned hellscape" buying time for the US military to come to Taiwan's aid.